2 September 2024
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
Jaspreet
fyi-request-27949-
[email address]
Tēnā koe Jaspreet
OIA request 24/25 0136 Request for citizenship ceremony information
Thank you for your Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) request
received by Christchurch City Council on 7 August 2024. Your request was transferred to the
Department of Internal Affairs (Department) on 8 August 2024 in accordance with section 12 of
the LGOIMA.
Section 12 of the LGOIMA provides that the information, or some of the information, to which
the request relates is believed by the person dealing with the request to be held by, or more
closely connected with the function of another local Authority, Minister, or organisation.
You requested –
1. the capacities of each citizenship ceremony in Christchurch.
2. the number of people currently on the citizenship ceremony waitlist for Christchurch.
In response to your request, I can provide you with the following information under the Official
Information Act (Act).
Question one
I can advise that each ceremony is allocated between 310 to 320 candidates. However, recent
correspondence with the council has found that they prefer an allocation of 300 as this takes
into account the challenges of planning the day, the needs of families with children, and the
long wait times during the ceremony.
Question two
As of 22 August 2024, there are 405 candidates on the Christchurch citizenship ceremony
waitlist.
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 its website. All requestor data,
including your name and contact details, will be removed prior to release. The released
response will be made available here:
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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