11 March 2021

M Munker
[FYI request #14659 email]
Ref: DOIA 2021-1478

Dear M Munker,

Thank you for your email of 12 February 2021 requesting under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
OIA), the following information:

“I would like to request the number of applications that were lodged and are stil
unallocated in the non-priority skil ed residency queue for every single day between 01
August 2019 and 29 February 2020.

Furthermore, I would like to know how many applications have been al ocated from
the non-priority (and priority - if applicable) skil ed residency queue on a weekly basis
between 01 November 2020 to the date you respond.

In addition please advise the current number of officers processing the skil ed residency
queue. “

Our Response

Question One: “I would like to request the number of applications that were lodged and are stil
unal ocated in the non-priority skil ed residency queue for every single day between 01 August 2019
and 29 February 2020.”
Please see Table One included in Appendix One below that provides the number of Skilled Migrant
Category (SMC) and Residence from Work (RFW) applications in the onshore non-priority queue as at
13 February 2021, that were accepted for processing between 01 August 2019 and 29 February 2020,
broken down by accepted date.

Please note that these figures exclude offshore non priority applications that are not being processed
because they were submitted by applicants who are offshore. While New Zealand’s border is closed, INZ
cannot legally grant a visa to an applicant who is currently offshore, unless they are either exempt from
the border restrictions or have had an expression of interest for a border exception approved.

Question Two: ‘’Furthermore, I would like to know how many applications have been al ocated from
the non-priority (and priority - if applicable) skil ed residency queue on a weekly basis between 01
November 2020 to the date you respond.”
Table Two below provides the number of SMC and RFW applications that were allocated from the
onshore non priority and priority queue between the periods 01 November 2020 to 08 March 2021.

Allocations of applications to immigration officers occur weekly and the number of applications that are
al ocated is dependent upon processing capacity.  The Government is currently reviewing its approach
to the New Zealand Residence Programme (NZRP) and is considering replacing the planning range with
a more targeted approach that focuses on management of specific residence visa types.  In the
1

meantime, INZ will continue to process applications at the same volume and with the same level of
resourcing as the previous NZRP allowed for. This has an impact on the number of applications that can
be al ocated and the timeliness of application processing.

Any updates in regards to the allocation of applications can  be found at the fol owing
link www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/media-centre/news-notifications/how-we-prioritise-resident-
visa-applications/smc-and-rfw-timeframe-information

Table Two:
Al ocation Date
Priority
Non Priority
Queue
Queue
2-Nov-20
16
175
9-Nov-20
67
172
16-Nov-20
68
184
23-Nov-20
40
205
30-Nov-20
70
156
7-Dec-20
52
143
14-Dec-20
57
171
21-Dec-20
50
79
28-Dec-20
0
122
4-Jan-20
47
104
11-Jan-20
16
97
18-Jan-20
49
114
25-Jan-20
58
92
1-Feb-20
41
129
8-Feb-20
17
177
15-Feb-20
60
17
22-Feb-20
21
49
1-Mar-21
35
30
8-Mar-21
52
0

Question Three:  “In addition please advise the current number of officers processing the skilled
residency queue.”
Skilled residence applications are processed in the Manukau office. As of 01 March 2021, there are 78
immigration officers who process skilled residence applications.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact Lautalie Leausa Vaa,
Senior Business Advisor, Operations Support, Immigration New Zealand at
[email address].

Yours sincerely,

Nicola Hogg
General Manager - Border and Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand

2

Appendix One:

Table One: The number of SMC and RFW applications in the onshore non-priority queue as at 13
February 2021, that were accepted for processing between 01 August 2019 and 29 February 2020,
broken down by the accepted date.

Accepted Date
Count of
Applications
2-Aug-19
4
5-Aug-19
2
6-Aug-19
2
7-Aug-19
2
8-Aug-19
9
9-Aug-19
15
10-Aug-19
62
12-Aug-19
27
13-Aug-19
12
14-Aug-19
28
15-Aug-19
24
16-Aug-19
11
19-Aug-19
16
20-Aug-19
21
21-Aug-19
22
22-Aug-19
32
23-Aug-19
24
24-Aug-19
28
26-Aug-19
26
27-Aug-19
26
28-Aug-19
36
29-Aug-19
25
30-Aug-19
21
2-Sep-19
21
3-Sep-19
17
4-Sep-19
18
5-Sep-19
25
6-Sep-19
26
7-Sep-19
46
9-Sep-19
24
10-Sep-19
1
11-Sep-19
28
12-Sep-19
34
16-Sep-19
27
17-Sep-19
38
18-Sep-19
30
19-Sep-19
17
20-Sep-19
21
21-Sep-19
43
23-Sep-19
31
3

24-Sep-19
20
25-Sep-19
30
26-Sep-19
36
27-Sep-19
24
28-Sep-19
26
30-Sep-19
26
1-Oct-19
30
2-Oct-19
24
3-Oct-19
21
4-Oct-19
22
5-Oct-19
33
7-Oct-19
22
8-Oct-19
24
9-Oct-19
36
10-Oct-19
34
11-Oct-19
26
14-Oct-19
26
15-Oct-19
22
16-Oct-19
29
17-Oct-19
34
18-Oct-19
4
19-Oct-19
41
21-Oct-19
20
22-Oct-19
26
23-Oct-19
11
24-Oct-19
30
25-Oct-19
19
29-Oct-19
33
30-Oct-19
51
31-Oct-19
37
1-Nov-19
32
4-Nov-19
42
5-Nov-19
33
6-Nov-19
35
7-Nov-19
41
8-Nov-19
44
11-Nov-19
43
12-Nov-19
52
13-Nov-19
37
14-Nov-19
45
15-Nov-19
42
18-Nov-19
44
19-Nov-19
35
20-Nov-19
39
21-Nov-19
37
22-Nov-19
33
25-Nov-19
29
26-Nov-19
28
4

27-Nov-19
42
28-Nov-19
52
29-Nov-19
24
2-Dec-19
42
3-Dec-19
61
4-Dec-19
30
5-Dec-19
51
6-Dec-19
46
7-Dec-19
46
9-Dec-19
54
10-Dec-19
44
11-Dec-19
30
12-Dec-19
38
13-Dec-19
47
14-Dec-19
48
16-Dec-19
38
17-Dec-19
39
18-Dec-19
32
19-Dec-19
40
20-Dec-19
44
23-Dec-19
34
24-Dec-19
26
27-Dec-19
1
30-Dec-19
11
31-Dec-19
7
3-Jan-20
13
6-Jan-20
36
7-Jan-20
30
8-Jan-20
33
9-Jan-20
23
10-Jan-20
36
11-Jan-20
63
13-Jan-20
31
14-Jan-20
29
15-Jan-20
30
16-Jan-20
20
17-Jan-20
26
18-Jan-20
42
20-Jan-20
16
21-Jan-20
23
22-Jan-20
27
23-Jan-20
33
24-Jan-20
26
28-Jan-20
24
29-Jan-20
22
30-Jan-20
14
31-Jan-20
21
1-Feb-20
35
5

3-Feb-20
20
4-Feb-20
27
5-Feb-20
46
7-Feb-20
38
10-Feb-20
49
11-Feb-20
50
12-Feb-20
59
13-Feb-20
55
14-Feb-20
34
15-Feb-20
23
17-Feb-20
74
18-Feb-20
66
19-Feb-20
56
20-Feb-20
59
21-Feb-20
46
24-Feb-20
35
25-Feb-20
42
26-Feb-20
49
27-Feb-20
63
28-Feb-20
50
Total
4,951

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Document Outline