22 March 2021
Ranvir
[FYI request #14758 email]
Ref: DOIA 2021-1621
Dear Ranvir,
Thank you for your email of 25 February 2021 requesting under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
OIA), the following information:
“Would you please provide me data on SMC residency application which are pending for
allocation til 11 Dec 2019 (included) month wise and i need only onshore pending files
numbers.”
Our Response
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) does not have a specific Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) queue but one
for skilled residence applications. The applications in this queue are SMC and Resident from Work (RFW),
and are not split into two separate queues based on the application category.
The SMC and RFW Category applications will be prioritised for allocation to an immigration officer if the
principal applicant is in New Zealand and:
• is paid twice the median wage or higher (currently NZD $51 an hour or NZD $106,080 a year), or
• works in an occupation where registration is required by immigration instructions and holds that
registration.
Applications that do not meet the criterion for prioritisation are allocated to an immigration officer in
the order they are received. Applications however, can be prioritised or deprioritised if an applicant’s
circumstances change.
As of 03 March 2021, INZ is allocating:
• Non-prioritised SMC and RFW applications received in August 2019, and
• Prioritised SMC and RFW applications within two weeks of the application joining the priority
queue.
Please refer to the table below which provides the number of SMC applications in the onshore non
priority queue as at 03 March 2021 that are yet to be al ocated to an immigration officer, and were
accepted for processing up to 11 December 2019 (inclusive). This has been broken down by the month
the applications were accepted.
1
Month
Number of
Accepted applications
Aug-19
437
Sep-19
600
Oct-19
633
Nov-19
684
Dec-19
345
Any updates in regards to the allocation of applications can be found via the following link:
www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/media-centre/news-notifications/how-we-prioritise-resident-visa-
applications/smc-and-rfw-timeframe-information
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
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