Tēnā koe David

Thank you for your OIA request to the Department of Internal Affairs.

The Department will provide its response to your request as soon as practicable and within twenty working days. The 20th working day is 17 February 2026.

We received two requests from you on the same day, please see below:

Can you provide data for Citizenship by Grant applications relating to individuals associated with the Cook Islands, Niue, or Tokelau (for example, cases falling under section 8(4) of the legislation) that were approved between 2021 and 2025 (inclusive)?

Specifically, can you provide:
- The number of New Zealand citizenship grants per year, broken down by the territory to which the applicant is connected (for example, the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau); and
- The total number of New Zealand citizenship grants in this cohort, broken down by the applicant’s country of birth

And:

I have a few questions regarding how city (or town) of birth is assessed and recorded for New Zealand passport applications, particularly for applicants born outside New Zealand.

1. Guidelines for assessing city (town) of birth

Can you share any guidelines or internal instructions used when assessing an applicant’s city (or town) of birth for New Zealand passport applications, particularly for overseas births?

2. Historical city name changes

If available, can the Department share any reference material or lists used to account for historical city name changes, including changes due to regime change, renaming, or administrative restructuring?

For example:
- Bombay → Mumbai
- Nanking → Nanjing
- Saigon → Ho Chi Minh City

3. Birth city no longer exists

How does the Department handle cases where the applicant’s birth city no longer exists, for example where it has been merged into another city or administrative area?

4. Birth city name has changed (use of historical vs current names)

How does the Department handle cases where the applicant’s birth city has changed name since the time of birth?

In particular:

- Is the city of birth recorded in the passport required to use the current official name, or can a historical name also be used?
- Does the applicant have any discretion in choosing which name is recorded, where both the historical and current names clearly refer to the same city?

For example:
- If an applicant’s birth certificate records the place of birth as Bombay, can the applicant choose to have either Bombay or Mumbai recorded as the city of birth in their New Zealand passport?
- Conversely, if an applicant was born in Ho Chi Minh City, can the applicant choose to have Saigon recorded as the city of birth?

We amalgamated your requests into one.

Please note that in cases where the Department’s response provides information that is identified to be of general public interest, the response may also be published on the Department of Internal Affairs website. If the Department publishes its response to your OIA request, all personal information, including your name and contact details, will be removed.

Ngā mihi

Vi Saena| Official Correspondence Advisor
Regulatory and Identity Services
The Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua
7 Waterloo Quay, Wellington
http://www.dia.govt.nz/

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