24 February 2021
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
Email
[email address]
Jeanette
Websit
e www.dia.govt.nz
fyi-request-14497-
[email address]
Dear Jeanette
Official Information Act 1982 request 2021-0410
I refer to your request received by the Department of Internal Affairs (Department) on 27
January 2021. This response is provided to you under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
You requested—
- the total number of New Zealand citizenship applications made in the last three years
that were successful.
- the average length of time taken to process the successful New Zealand citizenship
applications for the last three years (if three years cannot be provided, can this be
supplied for the last six months?).
- I note that the New Zealand Immigration website states citizenship applications take
between seven and 12 months to process, has this been the case for the last three
years? Or has the timeframe been extended, and if so, when?
Before we provide you with the information requested, it is important to note the following:
• The timeframe for this data is from 1 January 2018 to 31 January 2021.
• “Successful New Zealand citizenship applications” are those which have been
approved for citizenship by grant by the Minister. Not all approved applicants would
necessarily have been granted citizenship yet as some would still be waiting for a
ceremony, which can take between three to five months after approval.
• As you have quoted New Zealand Immigration in your third point, we have referred to
our New Zealand Citizenship website regarding the processing timeframe as we do not
oversee matters relating to Immigration New Zealand.
• “Time taken to process” is the number of days between the date the application was
submitted with payment received and when the application was approved by the
Minister.
• We have only counted working days and we do not take into account public holidays.
Response
1. From 1 January 2018 to 31 January 2021, 85,316 applications were approved for
citizenship by grant. The annual numbers can be found in the table below in response
to question 2.
2. The table below covers the information requested over the last three years:
YEAR Total citizenship by grant Average number of
applications approved
working days to process
2018
32,288
27
2019
31,717
38
2020
20,492
90
2021
819
127
Total
85,316
47
3. The messaging on the govt.nz website
at https://www.govt.nz/browse/passports-
citizenship-and-identity/nz-citizenship/how-to-apply-for-nz-citizenship/after-you-
apply-for-nz-citizenship/ was updated in early December 2020 from "It takes 5 to 10
months to find out if your application is approved" to "It takes 7 to 12 months to find
out if your application is approved".
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available
at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Tiffany Scott
Manager Branch Development and Support
Service Delivery and Operations
Page 2 of 2