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Request for information on Special Assessment Team/Third Party verification

B. D. Rekha made this Official Information request to Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

This request has an unknown status. We're waiting for B. D. Rekha to read recent responses and update the status.

From: B. D. Rekha

Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

I hope all is well. The reason behind this request is to seek information regarding the SMC residency applications and Resident visa 2021 visa applications that are being sent to the Special Assessment Team (SAT) or Third party verification.

To provide a brief background i am a civil engineer by profession, holds a masters degree from NZ, and a job in the same filed. I have applied my residency (SMC) in May 2020 and due to COVID no Case officer has been allocated till date. This means it will be close to 2 years before we reach May 2022 without any movement considering the backlog is from November 2019 approximately.
As such I have applied for Resident Visa 2021 on December 1st 2021 which has a faster approval rate and While it is understandable that SMC applications are on hold due to new 2021 Resident Visa, my application was sent to Special Assessment Team for review. It is highly speculated that i might have to wait 12 to 36 months at least for the review to come back? I have emailed and called Immigration New Zealand on multiple occasions to seek information on why is my application being sent to special assessment team even though it is pretty straightforward considering my travel history, education, and professional background. Waiting for 12 to 36 months doesnt make any sense considering the expected percentage of residency approvals is 90% before the end of year. It is very stressful not being able to get any answers from the advisors or customer care team. Therefore, i would be very grateful if you could answer the following questions for me.

1. What information can be provided on third party verification or SAT? why is it considered as Nation security when we question about our own applications and triggering factors?
2. As of today, which date's application (RV2021) is at the front of the queue (to be allocated to an officer in the SAT)
3. Are the applications cherry picked when assigned to an officer in SAT, or does it go date wise?
4. Where is my application sitting in the queue?
5. How long will it take for my application to be picked by SAT officer? on a average how long will it take to process the application and sent back to the case officer
6. How many officers have been allocated to complete the SAT assessments for RV 2021 inflow?
7. can you please provide us with a contact for SAT team?

The contact center does not have this information. Is it because the files are cherry picked from the queue?

Thanks in advance. Please feel free to contact me if you require my details once this request has been categorized

Yours faithfully,

B. D. Rekha

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From: Ministerial Services
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

Ref: 2122-1553

 

Dear B.D.Rekha,

 

On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 4/2/22 requesting under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act), the following:

 

“1. What information can be provided on third party verification or SAT?
why is it considered as Nation security when we question about our own
applications and triggering factors? 2. As of today, which date's
application (RV2021) is at the front of the queue (to be allocated to an
officer in the SAT) 3. Are the applications cherry picked when assigned to
an officer in SAT, or does it go date wise? 4. Where is my application
sitting in the queue? 5. How long will it take for my application to be
picked by SAT officer? on a average how long will it take to process the
application and sent back to the case officer 6. How many officers have
been allocated to complete the SAT assessments for RV 2021 inflow? 7. can
you please provide us with a contact for SAT team? The contact center does
not have this information. Is it because the files are cherry picked from
the queue?”

 

Your request is being processed in accordance with the Act and a response
will be sent to you in due course.

 

If you have any enquiries regarding your request, or its urgency, feel
free to contact us via email at [1][MBIE request email].

 

Nâku noa, nâ

MINISTERIAL SERVICES

            

Ngâ Pou o te Taumaru

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Level 4, 15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

[2]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services

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References

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1. mailto:[MBIE request email]
2. http://www.govt.nz/

Link to this

From: INZ OIAs
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment


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Kia ora B D Rekha,

 

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request sent to us
on 4 February 2022 requesting the following:

 

“1. What information can be provided on third party verification or SAT?
why is it considered as Nation security when we question about our own
applications and triggering factors?

2. As of today, which date's application (RV2021) is at the front of the
queue (to be allocated to an officer in the SAT) 3. Are the applications
cherry picked when assigned to an officer in SAT, or does it go date wise?

4. Where is my application sitting in the queue?

5. How long will it  take for my application to be picked by SAT officer?
on a average how long will it take to process the application and sent
back to the case officer 6. How many officers have been allocated to
complete the SAT assessments for RV 2021 inflow?

7. can you please provide us with a contact for SAT team?”

 

Given you have requested information specific to your Visa application,
please provide either of the following so that we can continue with
forming a response to your OIA request:

 

o Client/Application number; or
o Name and Date of Birth.

 

In addition to this, we also received a request asking the same questions
as you have above under the OIA as follows on 9 February 2022 via FYI:

 

“1. What information can be provided on third party verification or SAT?
why is it considered as Nation security when we question about our own
applications and triggering factors?

2. As of today, which date's application (RV2021) is at the front of the
queue (to be allocated to an officer in the SAT) 3. Are the applications
cherry picked when assigned to an officer in SAT, or does it go date wise?

4. Where is my application sitting in the queue?

5. How long will it  take for my application to be picked by SAT officer?
on a average how long will it take to process the application and sent
back to the case officer 6. How many officers have been allocated to
complete the SAT assessments for RV 2021 inflow?

7. can you please provide us with a contact for SAT team?”

 

Could you please confirm if this was a request made by yourself?

 

Please provide a response by 21 February 2022 to clarify your request.

 

Nga Mihi,

 

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TEAM

Immigration New Zealand

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

[1]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.govt.nz/

Link to this

From: B. D. Rekha

Dear INZ OIAs,

Can you please provide me with an email or contact that i could send my information to? And kindly note that this is the only request i made and the ones that popped up on 7th is not from me. Thank you for your help :)

Yours sincerely,

B. D. Rekha

Link to this

From: INZ OIAs
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

Kia ora B.D Rekha,

Can you provide your client or application number to our Immigration OIA's email address - [email address] - so that we can resolve your OIA request.

Thanks
Nimo

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TEAM
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140
NZBN 9429000106078

show quoted sections

Link to this

From: B. D. Rekha

Dear INZ OIAs,

Thank you for your response. I have emailed my details as requested.

Yours sincerely,

B. D. Rekha

Link to this

From: B. D. Rekha

Dear INZ OIAs,

I hope you are well. May i please ask for an update on this request. Thank you

Yours sincerely,

B. D. Rekha

Link to this

From: INZ OIAs
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

Kia ora B. D. Rekha,

We are still forming the response for this OIA.

We will provide you with an update shortly.

Kind regards,

Business Management Team

From: B. D. Rekha <[FOI #18448 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 3 March 2022 2:24 pm
To: INZ OIAs <[email address]>
Subject: RE: OIA 2122-1553 [IN-CONFIDENCE: RELEASE-EXTERNAL]

Dear INZ OIAs,

I hope you are well. May i please ask for an update on this request. Thank you

Yours sincerely,

B. D. Rekha

show quoted sections

Link to this

From: INZ OIAs
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment


Attachment image001.png
26K Download


Kia ora B. D. Rekha,

 

Thank you for your email of 4 February 2022 to the Ministry of Business
Innovation and Employment (the Ministry) requesting information under the
Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):

 

“1. What information can be provided on third party verification or SAT?
why is it considered as Nation security when we question about our own
applications and triggering factors?

2. As of today, which date's application (RV2021) is at the front of the
queue (to be allocated to an officer in the SAT) 3. Are the applications
cherry picked when assigned to an officer in SAT, or does it go date wise?

4. Where is my application sitting in the queue?

5. How long will it  take for my application to be picked by SAT officer?
on a average how long will it take to process the application and sent
back to the case officer 6. How many officers have been allocated to
complete the SAT assessments for RV 2021 inflow?

7. can you please provide us with a contact for SAT team?”

 

The Ministry has decided to extend the period of time available to respond
to your request under section 15A(1)(b) of the Act as further consultation
is required.

 

You can now expect a response to your request on or before 21 March 2022.

 

You have the right, under section 28 of the Act, to ask the Ombudsman to
review my decision to extend the time available to respond to your
request.

 

Nga Mihi,

 

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TEAM

Immigration New Zealand

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

[1]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.govt.nz/

Link to this

From: INZ OIAs
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment


Attachment image001.png
26K Download


Kia ora B D Rekha,

 

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request.

 

We apologise for the delay in delivering your OIA response, we will have
our response to you by 23 March 2022

 

Nga Mihi,

 

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TEAM

Immigration New Zealand

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

[1]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.govt.nz/

Link to this

From: INZ OIAs
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment


Attachment image001.png
26K Download

Attachment OIA Response 2122 1553.pdf
248K Download View as HTML


Kia ora B D Rekha,

 

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request sent to us
on 4 February 2022 – please find our response attached.

 

Thank you again for your patience and we apologise for the delay

 

Nga Mihi,

 

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TEAM

Immigration New Zealand

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

[1]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.govt.nz/

Link to this

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