16 March 2021
Anatoliy Goryachev
By email: [FYI request #14724 email]
File No: DOIA 2021-1565
Dear Anatoliy Goryachev
Thank you for your email of 19 February 2021, requesting the fol owing information under the
Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
1) Could you please share the numbers on how many skil ed residence applications were
allocated to case officers (separately for priority and non-priority queue) for each of the
weeks below:
Week commencing 04 January 2021;
Week commencing 11 January 2021;
Week commencing 18 January 2021;
Week commencing 25 January 2021;
Week commencing 01 February 2021;
Week commencing 08 February 2021;
Week commencing 15 February 2021;
Week commencing 22 February 2021;
Week commencing 01 March 2021;
Week commencing 08 March 2021, etc..
(Please provide numbers up to the date of the reply)
2) What is the total number of priority / non-priority applications in SMC/RFW queue
currently awaiting for CO al ocation? Also, please provide number of applicants behind
these applications.
3) Could you please provide data for the number of EOI applications (and number of
applicants behind these EOIs) currently sitting in the pool and waiting for the selection.
4) Also please share if Immigration New Zealand have any plans on resuming EOI for the
SMC stream in a foreseeable future.
Our response
1) Could you please share the numbers on how many skil ed residence applications were allocated to
case officers (separately for priority and non-priority queue) for each of the weeks [from 4 January
2021 to present].
Please refer to Table One attached. Auckland moving to Alert Level 3 twice in February had an
impact on the processing of skil ed residence applications and therefore the capacity of the
Immigration Officers processing these categories to be allocated new applications. While all
Immigration Officers who work on skilled residence applications were able to continue working
during Alert Level 3, it was at differing levels of capacity dependent on infrastructure and personal
constraints.
2)
What is the total number of priority / non-priority applications in SMC/RFW queue currently
awaiting for CO allocation? Also, please provide number of applicants behind these applications.
Please refer to Table Two attached for the number of applications and applicants in the skilled
residence queues awaiting allocation, as at 23 February 2021.
3) Could you please provide data for the number of EOI applications (and number of applicants behind
these EOIs) currently sitting in the pool and waiting for the selection.
We have interpreted this question to relate to Skil ed Migrant Category (SMC) Expressions of Interest
(EOI) given the context of the other questions. As at 23 February 2021 there were 6,902 SMC EOI
awaiting selection from the pool.
4)
Also please share if Immigration New Zealand have any plans on resuming EOI for the SMC stream
in a foreseeable future.
This is not a request for Official Information under the OIA but we can provide some general
information. In October 2020 the Government continued to defer the EOI selection process for the
Skilled Migrant Category for a further 6 months. The continued deferral of these EOI selections allows
INZ to focus on processing applications from people who are in New Zealand or those eligible to travel
here while border restrictions are in place. No decisions have been made at present about resuming
selection of SMC EOI. For updates please refer to the INZ website here:
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/media-centre/news-notifications.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact Anna McLachlan,
Business Advisor, Operations Support, Immigration New Zealand
at [email address].
Yours sincerely
Nicola Hogg
General Manager
Border and Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Table One:
Allocation information relating to skilled residence applications (Skilled Migrant Category – SMC, and
Residence from Work – RFW)
Week commencing
Priority skilled residence
Non-prioirty skilled
applications al ocated
residence applications
al ocated
4 January 2021
47
104
11 January 2021
16
97
18 January 2021
49
114
25 January 2021
58
92
1 February 2021
41
129
9 February 2021
17
177
16 February 2021
60
17
22 February 2021
21
49
1 March 2021
35
30
8 March 2021
52
0
Table Two:
Number of applications and applicants in the skilled residence queues awaiting allocation, as at 23
February 2021:
Priority
Non-priority
Applications
69
13,217
Applicants
168
29,983
