Citizenship Processing
kiwi001 made this Official Information request to Department of Internal Affairs
Currently waiting for a response from Department of Internal Affairs, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).
From: kiwi001
Dear Department of Internal Affairs,
I have applied for citizenship under Reference: YB6FYK CRM:0251083640
1. I have read a number of the FOIA's to your agency.
Some of these detail how you operate.
Please do not refer me to these.
2. I called DIA they could not answer my query. This was after a significant amount of time waiting on hold to speak to a customer service advisor.
Please do not refer me to DIA customer support.
3. I have studied the application timeframes pages both on your site and on stats NZ.
Please do not refer me to this.
4. In the application portal it just says "processing".
Why do you not have any information in the citizenship application portal as to what stage my application is at?
Given most DIA queries & FOIA's are related to Citizenship - Showing the stage my application is at would significantly cut down queries and save the Government money.
I understand that you have multiple queues in place and then the application is given to a human to process, this is post automated checks that the citizenship system is able to process.
Just stating "in progress" tells people nothing and makes the current citizenship application portal pointless.
Yours faithfully,
kiwi001
From: RIS Official Correspondence
Department of Internal Affairs
Kia ora Kiwi001
Thank you for your recent enquiry.
It appears that your request may be more of a business or
application-related query rather than an Official Information Act (OIA)
request. Just to clarify, the OIA is intended for individuals seeking
access to information held by government agencies, rather than for general
updates or questions about the status of an application.
For your convenience, processing timeframes are available on our website
here: [1]Citizenship timeframes | New Zealand Government. If you have a
specific question about your application, we recommend contacting the
Citizenship office directly by phone 0800 22 51 51 or email
[2][email address], to protect your privacy and ensure we can
assist appropriately.
Let us know if you’re seeking information that falls within scope of the
OIA, and we’ll be happy to help.
Ngâ mihi
Krystle Courtier ([3]she/her) | Advisor Official Correspondence
Regulatory and Identity Services
The Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua
[4]www.dia.govt.nz
*If you’re wondering about the use of pronouns she/her on this signature
you can find more information about how sharing pronouns can help to
create a sense of belonging and respect [5]here.
From: kiwi001 <[6][FOI #31968 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 10 August 2025 11:32 am
To: OIA <[7][DIA request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Citizenship Processing
[You don't often get email from
[8][FOI #31968 email]. Learn why this is
important at [9]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear Department of Internal Affairs,
I have applied for citizenship under Reference: YB6FYK CRM:0251083640
1. I have read a number of the FOIA's to your agency.
Some of these detail how you operate.
Please do not refer me to these.
2. I called DIA they could not answer my query. This was after a
significant amount of time waiting on hold to speak to a customer service
advisor.
Please do not refer me to DIA customer support.
3. I have studied the application timeframes pages both on your site and
on stats NZ.
Please do not refer me to this.
4. In the application portal it just says "processing".
Why do you not have any information in the citizenship application portal
as to what stage my application is at?
Given most DIA queries & FOIA's are related to Citizenship - Showing the
stage my application is at would significantly cut down queries and save
the Government money.
I understand that you have multiple queues in place and then the
application is given to a human to process, this is post automated checks
that the citizenship system is able to process.
Just stating "in progress" tells people nothing and makes the current
citizenship application portal pointless.
Yours faithfully,
kiwi001
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References
Visible links
1. https://www.govt.nz/browse/passports-cit...
https://www.govt.nz/browse/passports-cit...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://ssc.govt.nz/our-work/diversity-a...
4. http://www.dia.govt.nz/
5. https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/our-wo...
6. mailto:[FOI #31968 email]
7. mailto:[DIA request email]
8. mailto:[FOI #31968 email]
9. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
10. mailto:[FOI #31968 email]
11. mailto:[DIA request email]
12. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
13. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
From: kiwi001
Dear RIS Official Correspondence,
What did it state in my request?
You have not read it.
This is a direct question about the DIA Citizenship Application portal.
1. Can you provide the functional (business) and non-functional requirements (technical) of the application status tracking page system i.e. this page https://dia.services.govt.nz/application...
that is available to an applicant?
If not provide reason for not doing so - You should be able to at least provide the functional requirements if you are going to cite security concerns.
2. This is to understand why you are not providing applicants with information that would save the government money in the huge amount of enquiries about the status of their application.
As stated - I am aware of up to five queues in use by the DIA for citizenship applications.
You should provide a clear and concise response as to why the status of an application simply says "in progress" when it could state i) the stage in a queue or ii) the queue it is in or iii) whether it is with an end human for final sign off.
There would have been a business analyst taking requirements and someone signed the system off when implemented against those requirements - please show evidence.
Yours sincerely,
kiwi001
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