11 July 2025
Immigration Trust
[FYI request #31032 email]
DOIA-REQ-0014522
Tēnā koe
Thank you for your email of 20 May 2025 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
(MBIE) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following:
I hereby request the fol owing statistical information regarding Section 61 requests considered
by Immigration New Zealand:
-The total number of Section 61 requests received each year over the past five years
-A breakdown of who submitted these requests: applicants themselves, lawyers, or licensed
immigration advisers
-The success rate of Section 61 requests for each group
-A breakdown of the types of visas granted fol owing a successful Section 61 outcome
-The number of requests by nationality, along with the corresponding success rates for each
nationality
On 16 June 2025, we advised that MBIE had assessed and decided to grant your request and would
send you the information as soon as it is ready and without undue delay.
Our Response
Please refer to the Appendix at the end of this response for the requested data.
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.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Stephen Vaughan
Chief Operating Officer Immigration
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Appendix
Table one: The number of Section 61 requests submitted between 1 January 2020 and 9 June 2025,
broken down by calendar year.
Year submitted
Total
2020
6,300
2021
8,031
2022
5,596
2023
5,385
2024
6,142
2025*
2,595
Total
34,049
*
to 9 June 2025
Table two: The number of Section 61 requests submitted between 1 January 2020 and 9 June 2025
and of those the number approved, broken down by calendar year and if the applicant had
representation.
Year submitted Representative
Submitted Decided Approved Approved %
2020
Adviser (Licensed)
1,107
902
556
62%
Lawyer
1,011
785
460
59%
No representative
4,182
3,411
2,423
71%
2020 Total
6,300
5,098
3,439
67%
2021
Adviser (Licensed)
1,634
1,329
920
69%
Lawyer
1,172
942
579
61%
No representative
5,225
3,546
2,543
72%
2021 Total
8,031
5,817
4,042
69%
2022
Adviser (Licensed)
1,400
1,213
684
56%
Lawyer
830
722
438
61%
No representative
3,366
2,603
1,731
67%
2022 Total
5,596
4,538
2,853
63%
2023
Adviser (Licensed)
1,196
984
618
63%
Lawyer
992
842
580
69%
No representative
3,197
2,680
1,912
71%
2023 Total
5,385
4,506
3,110
69%
2024
Adviser (Licensed)
1,420
1,183
735
62%
Lawyer
1,312
1,089
811
74%
No representative
3,410
2,967
1,969
66%
2024 Total
6,142
5,239
3,515
67%
2025*
Adviser (Licensed)
604
455
253
56%
Lawyer
575
409
205
50%
No representative
1,416
1,142
676
59%
2025 Total
2,595
2,006
1,134
57%
Total
34,049
27,204
18,093
67%
* to 9 June 2025
Please note decided applications include applications that were approved, refused to grant, refuse to
consider and withdrawn. Requests that were cancelled for administrative reasons are not included in
this
number.
Table three: The number of visas granted following a successful Section 61 outcome, for requests
submitted between 1 January 2020 and 9 June 2025, broken down by calendar year and visa type.
Year submitted Visa type
Approved
2020
Resident
192
Student
486
Visitor
1,843
Work
918
2020 Total
3,439
2021
Resident
256
Student
690
Visitor
2,030
Work
1,066
2021 Total
4,042
2022
Resident
312
Student
362
Visitor
1,555
Work
624
2022 Total
2,853
2023
Resident
311
Student
279
Visitor
1,718
Work
802
2023 Total
3,110
2024
Resident
148
Student
272
Visitor
1,861
Work
1,234
2024 Total
3,515
2025*
Resident
37
Student
129
Visitor
591
Work
377
2025 Total
1,134
Total
18,093
* to 9 June 2025
Please note decided applications include applications that were approved, refused to grant, refuse to
consider and withdrawn. Requests that were cancelled for administrative reasons are not included in
this
number.
Table four: The number of requests for Section 61 submitted between 1 January 2020 and 9 June
2025, broken down by nationality and approval percentage.
Nationality
Submitted
Decided
Approved
Approved %
Afghanistan
169
139
115
83%
Albania
5
4
3
75%
American Samoa
20
18
8
44%
Argentina
257
194
137
71%
Australia
31
24
18
75%
Austria
15
12
12
100%
Azerbaijan
4
4
3
75%
Bangladesh
158
133
89
67%
Barbados
2
1
1
100%
Belgium
29
24
20
83%
Bhutan
5
4
3
75%
Bolivia
10
9
6
67%
Botswana
3
3
2
67%
Brazil
483
393
283
72%
Brunei Darussalam
9
7
5
71%
Bulgaria
9
9
3
33%
Burundi
7
5
3
60%
Cambodia
131
114
88
77%
Cameroon
1
1
1
100%
Canada
270
218
167
77%
Chad
2
1
1
100%
Chile
337
271
198
73%
China
3,184
2,586
1,750
68%
Colombia
115
89
72
81%
Congo
9
8
5
63%
Costa Rica
4
4
3
75%
Croatia
10
10
8
80%
Cuba
6
5
4
80%
Czech Republic
47
43
25
58%
Democratic Republic of
Congo
10
7
7
100%
Denmark
21
16
12
75%
Dominican Republic
1
1
1
100%
Ecuador
5
4
1
25%
Egypt
21
15
12
80%
El Salvador
1
0
0
0%
Eritrea
20
13
10
77%
Estonia
11
9
6
67%
Ethiopia
33
28
20
71%
Federated States of
Micronesia
2
1
1
100%
Fiji
1,919
1,597
1,018
64%
Finland
8
6
5
83%
France
304
241
186
77%
Gambia
1
1
0
0%
Georgia
1
1
1
100%
Germany
251
207
148
71%
Ghana
12
11
9
82%
Great Britain
1,342
1,075
905
84%
Greece
10
7
7
100%
Guinea
1
0
0
0%
Haiti
1
0
0
0%
Honduras
3
3
1
33%
Hong Kong
128
101
77
76%
Hungary
15
14
12
86%
Iceland
1
1
1
100%
India
4,531
3,777
2,449
65%
Indonesia
453
337
197
58%
Iran
90
73
54
74%
Iraq
51
43
38
88%
Ireland
147
122
102
84%
Israel
21
18
16
89%
Italy
84
67
49
73%
Jamaica
2
2
2
100%
Japan
153
117
92
79%
Jordan
21
18
15
83%
Kazakhstan
28
22
10
45%
Kenya
27
22
18
82%
Kiribati
321
225
134
60%
Kuwait
4
3
3
100%
Kyrgyzstan
1
1
1
100%
Laos
9
6
3
50%
Latvia
6
5
5
100%
Lebanon
17
14
14
100%
Lithuania
8
6
4
67%
Luxembourg
1
1
1
100%
Macau
1
1
1
100%
Macedonia
5
5
5
100%
Malaysia
551
445
264
59%
Maldives
2
1
1
100%
Malta
1
1
1
100%
Marshall Islands
2
1
1
100%
Mauritius
13
11
9
82%
Mexico
73
57
38
67%
Moldova
1
1
1
100%
Mongolia
34
30
7
23%
Morocco
5
4
4
100%
Myanmar
70
51
39
76%
Namibia
3
3
2
67%
Nauru
10
7
4
57%
Nepal
223
179
128
72%
Netherlands
61
55
43
78%
Nicaragua
1
1
1
100%
Nigeria
58
46
31
67%
Norway
23
16
16
100%
Oman
14
10
8
80%
Pakistan
144
115
72
63%
Palestine
11
7
7
100%
Panama
1
1
1
100%
Papua New Guinea
107
81
67
83%
Paraguay
2
1
1
100%
Peru
30
21
17
81%
Philippines
1,588
1,273
973
76%
Poland
37
22
20
91%
Portugal
12
9
9
100%
Romania
24
16
14
88%
Russia
79
67
59
88%
Rwanda
2
2
2
100%
Samoa
4,473
3,403
2,024
59%
Saudi Arabia
113
95
46
48%
Serbia
3
3
2
67%
Seychelles
2
2
2
100%
Singapore
42
33
25
76%
Slovakia
19
17
10
59%
Slovenia
3
3
3
100%
Solomon Islands
21
20
13
65%
Somalia
35
30
21
70%
South Africa
871
738
594
80%
South Korea
333
264
228
86%
Spain
40
37
23
62%
Sri Lanka
473
379
309
82%
Stateless
4
4
0
0%
Sudan
18
15
14
93%
Sweden
36
29
23
79%
Switzerland
28
25
19
76%
Syria
10
9
9
100%
Taiwan
78
57
47
82%
Tajikistan
1
1
1
100%
Tanzania
2
2
1
50%
Thailand
363
295
202
68%
Timor Leste
16
10
10
100%
Tonga
5,400
4,517
2,460
54%
Trinidad and Tobago
6
6
5
83%
Tunisia
5
4
1
25%
Turkey
23
17
15
88%
Tuvalu
771
667
387
58%
Uganda
2
1
0
0%
Ukraine
39
29
26
90%
United States of America
984
797
653
82%
Unknown
21
18
4
22%
Uruguay
84
62
49
79%
Uzbekistan
4
4
1
25%
Vanuatu
555
57
35
61%
Venezuela
8
5
5
100%
Vietnam
495
394
261
66%
Yemen
1
1
1
100%
Zambia
5
4
3
75%
Zimbabwe
45
39
35
90%
Total
34,049
27,204
18,093
67%
