S Sharma
[FYI request #18534 email]
Ref: DOIA 2122-1596
Dear S Sharma,
Thank you for your email of 11 February 2022 requesting under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA),
the following information:
“As at week ending 13 February 2022
• How many priority RFW applications are pending allocation to a case officer - (Count of
applications)
• Out of those, how many people have reapplied under 2021 Resident Visa Phase 1? (Count of
applications)
• How many priority RFW applications were received after 29 September 2021 (Count of
applications by reporting week Monday-Sunday)
• How many of those have been allocated to a case officer (Count of applications by reporting
week Monday-Sunday)
• How many are pending allocation
• How many case officers are assigned to process priority RFW applications that were received
after 29 September 2021?
• What are the allocation criteria for assignment of priority RFW application and how many
applications gets assigned to a case officer and at what frequency?”
Our Response Question 1: “
How many priority RFW applications are pending allocation to a case officer - (Count of
applications)” As at 21 February 2022, there are 748 Residence from Work (RFW) applications awaiting allocation.
Question 2: “
Out of those, how many people have reapplied under 2021 Resident Visa Phase 1? (Count of
applications)”
Of those 748 applications, 75 applicants have reapplied under the 2021 Resident visa phase 1 as of 21
February 2022.
Question 3: “
How many priority RFW applications were received after 29 September 2021 (Count of
applications by reporting week Monday-Sunday)” We do not hold the requested data in a format that breaks down the data by week from Monday to Sunday
therefore we are partially refusing this request under 18(f) of the OIA as this information is not held in the
requested format. However, we can provide the bulk amount of RFW applications received and confirm
that as at 21 February 2022, there are 647 applications in the Priority RFW queue received after 29
September 2021.
Question 4: “
How many of those have been allocated to a case officer (Count of applications by reporting
week Monday-Sunday)”
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We do not hold the requested data in a format that breaks down the data by week from Monday to Sunday
therefore we are partially refusing this request under 18(f) of the OIA as this information is not held in the
requested format. However, we can provide the bulk amount of Priority RFW applications allocated and
confirm that as at 21 February 2022, there have been 12 applications allocated from the Priority RFW queue
received after 29 September 2021.
Question 5: “
How many are pending allocation”
The total RFW priority applications pending allocation received after 29 September 2021 are 688
applications.
Question 6 and 7:
“How many case officers are assigned to process priority RFW applications that were
received after 29 September 2021?”
“What are the allocation criteria for assignment of priority RFW application and how many applications gets
assigned to a case officer and at what frequency?”
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) does not have a specific Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) queue, however
there is one queue for all skilled residence applications. The applications in this queue are SMC and RFW.
With the opening of the 2021 Resident Visa, most of INZ’s staff who were processing SMC and RFW category
applications are now processing 2021 Resident Visa applications. This reflects the recent change to the
order in which residence category visa applications are processed. The processing is continuing for
applications in the skilled residence queue where the applicant has not applied for the 2021 Resident Visa.
Many people in this queue have applied for the 2021 Resident Visa, which has significantly reduced the
number of applications to process and will have a positive impact on allocation times for the applications
remaining.
As of 28 February 2022, there are 10 Immigration Officers processing skilled residence applications. Visa
applications will continue to be processed in accordance with A16.1 General Instructions as to the order of
processing visa applications. More information on this can be found here:
www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/#44854.htm
Further information on the number of unallocated skilled residence applications and weekly allocation data
is publicly available on the INZ website here:
www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/waiting-for-a-visa/how-long-it-takes-to-process-your-visa-
application/smc-and-rfw-timeframe-information If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact New Zealand at
[email address]. Yours sincerely,
Nicola Hogg
General Manager - Border and Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
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