Kia ora Mary,
 
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 19/12/2024 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
I kindly request clarification on the following matters related to the
Parent Resident Visa process, particularly regarding the steps following
applicants’ fulfillment of all pending requirements stated in the
Approval-in-Principle (AIP) letter:

1. For the 2,500 yearly parent visas, how many have been issued to date in
the current financial year? Please provide a monthly breakdown,
categorised by the queued pool and the ballot pool.

2. Is the visa quota allocated at the Approval-in-Principle (AIP) stage,
or is the quota only applied after applicants have fulfilled all AIP
conditions (such as payment of ESOL fees, passport verification) and the
eVisa is granted?

3. If the visa quota is exhausted, for applications that have been
approved in principle and where applicants have met all AIP conditions,
will applicants be notified when the quota limit has been reached?

4. Please provide the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), staff
guidance, templates, and any other relevant documentation outlining the
steps involved in issuing an eVisa once applicants have met all AIP
conditions after their application has been approved in principle.

5. Clarification on "Internal Process" Status:
When an application is advised by the immigration officer that it is
undergoing an "internal process" after meeting all AIP conditions and
while still awaiting the eVisa, could you please clarify what specific
steps or procedures this status entails?

6. Why is it that in some cases, an eVisa is issued within the next
working day, while in other cases, it takes weeks or even months? What
factors influence this variation in processing times?
 
Please note that the days from 25 December 2024 to 15 January 2025
(inclusive) are defined as non-working days in the Act and are not counted
in the calculation for the response due date. This will affect the time
period for responding to your request.
 
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 10/02/2025, being 20 working days after the day your request
was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe. If you have any enquiries
regarding your request feel free to contact us via email to
[1][MBIE request email].
 
Nâku noa, nâ
Ministerial Services
Strategy and Assurance
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011 |  P O Box 1473 Wellington 6140

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[MBIE request email]