29 October 2021
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
Emily Hughes
fyi-request-16953-
[email address]
fyi-request-16954-
[email address]
Tēnā koe Emily
OIA request 21/22 0274 Request for information relating to citizenship processing delays
Thank you for your Official Information Act (Act) requests received by the Department of
Internal Affairs (Department) on 30 September 2021.
You first requested –
1. As per your responses on FYI, you are telling people that you are working effortlessly on
reducing the processing time for citizenship applications by implementing number of
ways such as hiring more staff, etc. but as new page was added into Citizenship
Website on 28 Sept 2021 (Link attached), it doesn't seems that the processing times are
decreasing instead of that the processing timeline is increasing (13 to 16 months).
Can you please explain why processing timeline is increasing after those efforts?
2. Can you please also tell that currently Case Officers are working on which month
applications? For Example: Jan 2021
You then also requested –
3. As per the above official document, the total number for citizenship approved by grant
is less in 2020.
Does this means these number reflect all application received and processed in 2020?
4. Citizenship applications received in 2020 are processed / completed fully?
5. Is DIA started working on citizenship applications received in 2021?
As advised in our email of 1 October 2021, because you made two requests on the same topic in
short succession, the Department has combined your requests to provide a single response.
In response to your request, I can provide you with the following information.
Question one
I can confirm that there are several factors contributing to the current processing timeframes
for citizenship applications.
The Department is currently in the process of transitioning citizenship processing systems which
has been a contributor to the delays in processing timeframes. This transition is from a paper-
based application system supported by aging technology, to a modern customer-centred case
management system which supports a fully online application process.
I note that with the introduction of this new system, there has been a reduction of output in the
period of the new system being introduced and the old one phased out. Processing timeframes
have been further impacted by the training requirements of staff on the new system, staff
becoming proficient in the new system and the need for staff to work across both the online
and offline systems. I note that the inability for all staff to work at full productivity during
COVID-19 lockdowns has also contributed.
It is important to explain that the new system is being designed iteratively, with new features
and functionality being developed progressively. New features that have been and will be
released will automate more aspects of the process and subsequently provide faster processing
times.
In addition to the changes in systems, limited citizenship processing occurred during COVID-19
lockdowns, as unlike birth or death registrations, it was not deemed an essential service. Some
key systems are not able to be accessed offsite due to privacy and security reasons, which
meant processing applications from home was not a feasible option for many of our staff. The
Department followed Ministry of Health COVID-19 guidelines including physical distancing in the
office, which limited the number of staff who could physically be present in our workplace to
undertake their work. This limitation remains in our Auckland office.
Questions two, three, four and five
I can confirm that the oldest unassigned paper applications waiting to be allocated to a
citizenship trained Life and Identity Services Officer (LISO) are from 25 November 2020 and the
oldest unassigned online applications waiting to be assigned to a LISO are from 2 January 2021.
This means that early 2021 applications have now started to be allocated to LISOs for processing
but that not all citizenship applications submitted in 2020 have yet been allocated, as there are
still some paper based applications remaining.
I can confirm that the numbers which you reference in question three refer to the number of
people who
gained New Zealand citizenship in the year 2020. These are not necessarily
applications that were received that same year.
Information on what month’s applications citizenship trained staff are working on will be
regularly updated on the Department’s website here;
https://www.govt.nz/browse/passports-
citizenship-and-identity/nz-citizenship/how-to-apply-for-nz-citizenship/application-timeframes/.
Further comments
I can assure you that the Department has been endeavouring to reduce these timeframes as a
top priority, working hard behind the scenes to create and implement strategies to decrease the
long wait times currently effecting citizenship applicants. This includes more training, investing
in technology changes to speed things up, and establishing a temporary workforce dedicated to
working through these applications.
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It may be if interest to you to know that a team of 10 temporary staff has been brought on to
process the approximately 9,000 cases that remain in the old system, freeing up existing staff to
increase proficiency and speed in using the new system. New staff need to be trained in systems
and policy, and it can take several months before they begin to impact processing times.
Although we are unable to predict a specific date citizenship by grant processing timeframes will
reach the standard two to five months again, the Department is confident that the above steps
taken mean we will have the skills and processes in place early next year, to ensure we can slow
the backlog and begin to reduce it by mid-2022.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, the Department has
decided to proactively release a copy of this response on the DIA website. All requestor data,
including your name and contact details, will be removed prior to release. The released
response will be made available here:
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-
Requests-2.
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.
Ngā mihi
Julia Taylor
Manager Operational Policy and Official Correspondence
Service Delivery and Operations
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