New Zealand Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Manatū Aorere
20 June 2024
195 Lambton Quay
Private Bag 18−901
Wellington 6160
New Zealand
Noah Fitzgerald
T +64 4 439 8000
[FYI request #26626 email]
F +64 4 472 9596
OIA 29389
Tēnā koe Noah Fitzgerald
I refer to your email of 22 May 2024 in which you request the following under the Official
Information Act 1982 (OIA):
Could you please provide me with a list based on country and year of consular loan
payments made to New Zealanders overseas from 2014 to date (3 May 2024)?
Could you please also provide me with the total outstanding balance across all loans, the
average loan amount, the highest loan amount and lowest loan amount?
Please note that prior to 2020, consular loans were called consular advances.
Consular advances were made in the following countries:
Financial Year 2014/15 - Occupied Palestinian Territories
Financial Year 2015/16 – No consular advances were made during this period.
Financial Year 2016/17 – No consular advances were made during this period.
Financial Year 2017/18 – Egypt; Viet Nam
Financial Year 2018/19 – Brazil; Mexico; Peru.
The attached
appendix contains information relevant to your request for consular loan payments
for the period 1 July 2019 to 3 May 2024.
Total outstanding balances across all loans, with the average loan amount, the highest loan
amount and lowest loan amount (in NZD), as at 3 May 2024, are set out in the table below.
Total outstanding loan balances
as at 3 May 2024 (in NZD)
Total outstanding balance
$756,411.85
Average current loan value
$3,707.90
Highest outstanding loan
$35,000.00
Lowest outstanding loan
$40.00
e [MFAT request email]
w www.mfat.govt.nz
Page 2 of 5
Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official information
requests where possible. Therefore, our response to your request (with your personal information
removed) may be published on the Ministry website:
www.mfat.govt.nz/en/about-us/contact-
us/official-information-act-responses/
If you have any questions about this decision, you can contact us by email at:
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of this decision by contacting
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Sarah Corbett
for Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Page 3 of 5
Appendix: Consular loans and Consular Advances made to New Zealanders overseas
from 1 July 2019 to 3 May 2024
Consular loans and Consular Advances made to New Zealanders
overseas from 1 July 2019 to 3 May 2024
Financial 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024
Year
(1 July
2023 to 3
May 2024)
Location Australia
Afghanistan Afghanistan Bahrain
Australia
Bangladesh China
Australia
Ethiopia
Egypt
Belgium
Colombia
Colombia
India
Ethiopia
Brazil
Egypt
Ethiopia
Indonesia
Germany
Canada
Ethiopia
France
Italy
Hungary
Chile
India
Israel
Mexico
Israel
China
Indonesia
Italy
Malaysia
Japan
Cook
Ivory Coast Laos
Philippines Laos
Islands
(Cote
d'lvoire)
Egypt
Jordan
Moldova
Samoa
Myanmar
(Burma)
Ethiopia
Kiribati
Peru
Singapore Namibia
Germany
Kuwait
Republic of Somalia
Occupied
Korea
Palestinian
Territories
Guatemala Lebanon
South
Spain
Pakistan
Africa
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India
Malaysia
Thailand
Sudan
Philippines
Indonesia
Norway
Turkey
Tanzania
Somalia
Iraq
Pakistan
Uganda
Thailand
Sri Lanka
Israel
Papua New United
Tonga
Thailand
Guinea
States of
America
Jordan
Somalia
Kenya
Turkey
Malaysia
Spain
United
United
States of
States of
America
America
Mexico
Syria
Vietnam
Myanmar
Tanzania
(Burma)
Pakistan
Thailand
Peru
Timor-
Leste
Philippines Turkey
Qatar
Uganda
Samoa
United Arab
Emirates
South
United
Africa
States of
America
Spain
Vietnam
Sri Lanka
Page 5 of 5
Tanzania
Thailand
Tonga
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
United
Arab
Emirates
United
States of
America
Uruguay
Vietnam
