Paul Hallett
[FYI request #16404 email]
Ref: DOIA 2122-0377
Dear Paul Hallett,
Thank you for your email of 16 August 2021 requesting under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA),
the following information:
“1) Total number of ONSHORE, PRIORITY talent (accredited employer) resident visa applications
received for each month from August 2020 to August 2021.
2) The average time (in days) for an application in the ONSHORE, PRIORITY talent (accredited
employer) resident visa applications to be granted, for each month from August 2020 to August
2021.
3) The number of applications in the ONSHORE, PRIORITY talent (accredited employer) resident
visa applications that are not finalized after 6 months (168 days) from the date they were
submitted, for each month from March 2020 to March 2021.
4) Confirmation on the current criteria to be accepted in the PRIORITY queue for talent
(accredited employer) resident visa applicants.”
Our Response Question One to Three:
Please find Tables 1-3 attached in appendix one in response to questions 1-3 respectively. Note that figures
of 5 and fewer have been withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA to protect the privacy of natural persons.
Question Four:
The criteria for prioritisation of Residence from Work talent accredited employer visas is available on the
Immigration New Zealand website.
Skilled Migrant Category and Residence from Work processing times |
Immigration New Zealand
The Employment Visa Escalation process is also available to those applicants who meet the criteria which
allows their application to be allocated to an immigration officer with urgency
. Employment Visa Escalations
(EVE) | Immigration New Zealand
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact, Immigration New Zealand
at [email address]
1
Yours sincerely,
Nicola Hogg
General Manager - Border and Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
2
Appendix One
Table One
In response to question one, please find below the total Residence from Work Accredited employer
applications in the Onshore Priority queue as at 1 September 2021 where the applications were accepted
between 1 August 2020 to 31 August 2021.
Month accepted
Total applications
August 2020
0
September 2020
<=5
October 2020
<=5
November 2020
0
December 2020
<=5
January 2021
<=5
February 2020
0
March 2021
<=5
April 2021
<=5
May 2021
0
June 2021
<=5
July 2021
<=5
August 2021
21
Table Two
In response to question two, please find below the processing timeframes for Residence from Work
Accredited employer visa applications. Immigration New Zealand measure average processing times in
calendar days from the time an application is accepted for processing, to when the application has been
finalised and completed in the Immigration Application Management System.
Please see the table below showing the average calendar days taken to process Talent (Accredited
Employer) Residence Visa applications completed in the last 3 months from 01 August 2020 to 01 August
2021 (inclusive).
Month Completed
50% of
75% of applications 90% of applications
applications
completed within
completed within
completed within
(Days)
(Days)
(Days)
August 2020 – October 2020
86
162
290
September 2020 – November 2020 70
154
292
October 2020 – December 2020
62
172
304
November 202 – January 2021
60
157
292
December 2020 – February 2021
62
135
277
January 2021 – March 2021
73
186
392
February 2021 – April 2021
78
205
399
March 2021 – May 2021
74
193
398
April 2021 – June 2021
69
177
346
May 2021 – July 2021
66
162
348
June 2021 – August 2021
65
167
345
3
Table Three
In response to question three, please find below the total number of Residence from Work (Accredited
Employer) visa applications in the onshore priority queue as at 1 September 2021 where they were
accepted for processing between 1 March 2020 to 17 March 2021, please note that we do not hold any
data for February 2021.
Month accepted Total
March 2020
<=5
April 2020
0
May 2020
0
June 2020
<=5
July 2020
0
August 2020
0
September 2020 <=5
October 2020
<=5
November 2020 0
December 2020 <=5
January 2021
<=5
February 2021
0
March 2021
<=5
4
