07 March 2023
Azaria Bialik
[FYI request #21544 email]
Ref: DOIA 2223-1458
Dear Azaria,
Thank you for your email of 10 January 2023 requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), the following information:
“In DOIA 2223-1229 your reply was that 370 EOI applications were selected from the pool as
planned, however in DOIA 2223-1047 you replied that as of 13 December 2022, only 86
Invitations to apply (ITA) were issued.
Since there is a large gap between the number of selected EOI's and the number of issued ITA's
could you please clarify the composition of the EOI's that were not granted an ITA?
It would be useful to know the following data:
1. How many ITA's have been issued currently and how many applicants do they represent?
2. How many EOI's out of the 370 didn't meet the eligibility criteria and what is the composition
of conditions that disqualified the applications (how many applicants didn't meet the income
and other criteria)?
3. Is INZ checking as part of the initial assessment process the relevance of the application
before issuing an ITA to ensure that the applicants are still alive and can meet the health and
income criteria after so many years since the initial application?
4. How many EOI's are expected to be selected in the next round on February 2023?
5. Would all the 370 EOI's selected in November 2022 be assessed before the next round of EOI's
selection in February 2023?”
Our Response
Question 1:
As at 9 February 2023, 171 Invitations to Apply (ITA’s) have been issued, and this represents 270 applicants.
Question 2:
There were 177 Expressions of Interest (EOI’s) that did not meet the eligibility requirements and were
declined. There are a number of reasons why they were declined with the most common being:
• they did not have an eligible sponsor,
• they did not meet Immigration instructions,
• or they failed to meet other requirements.
There is reporting limitations on our ability to provide the data about how many applicants didn’t meet the
income criteria. Reporting limitations mean that Immigration New Zealand (INZ) would have to manually
review 177 Expressions of Interest to compile the specific reasons that the EOI did not meet the eligibility
requirements. This part of your request is refused under section 18 (f) of the Act as the information cannot
be made without substantial collation or research. I have considered whether the Ministry would be able
to respond to your request given extra time or the ability to charge for the information requested. I have
concluded that, in both cases, the Ministry’s ability to undertake its work would remove staff from their
core duties and therefore the greater public interest would not be served.
Question 3:
As part of Immigration New Zealand eligibility checks, clients are requested to provide updated information
of their circumstances. When an ITA is sent to a client, it is made clear what information the eligibility checks
are based on.
Question 4:
In the draw on 14 February 2023, 1,100 EOI’s were selected.
Question 5:
There will be a number of the 370 EOI’s selected in November 2022 that were not assessed before the
selection held in February 2023. This is due to some clients requesting extensions, some who are not
lawfully in New Zealand, and others who have been uncontactable (INZ is still attempting to make
contact with these applicants).
I hope you find this information helpful. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of the Ministry’s response to your request, in accordance with section 28(3) of the Act.
Information about how to make a complaint is available
at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact
[email address]. Yours sincerely,
Michael Carley
General Manager (Acting), Border and Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
