17 February 2026
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
David Singh
fyi-request-33550-
[email address]
Tēnā koe David
OIA request 25/26 0761 Request for Citizenship Data
Thank you for your Official Information Act (Act) requests received by the Department of
Internal Affairs (Department) on 17 February 2026.
On 4 February 2026 you were advised via email that the two separate requests received by the
Department on the same day would be consolidated into one request. The questions have been
numbered for ease of response.
You requested –
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)?
1. 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
Guidelines for assessing city (town) of birth
2. 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?
Historical city name changes
3. 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
Birth city no longer exists
4. 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?
Birth city name has changed (use of historical vs current names)
5. How does the Department handle cases where the applicant’s birth city has changed
name since the time of birth?
In particular:
a) Is the city of birth recorded in the passport required to use the current official
name, or can a historical name also be used?
b) 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?
In response to your request, I can provide you with the following information.
Question one
Approval for citizenship by grant under section 8(4) for applicants in Cook
Islands, Niue, and Tokelau from 2021 to 2025
Territory
Cook
Year granted
Islands
Niue
Tokelau
Total
2021
0
0
0
0
2022
11
0
4
15
2023
13
1
1
15
2024
1
1
4
6
2025
7
2
2
11
Total
32
4
11
47
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Approval for citizenship by grant under
section 8(4) by country of birth from 2021 to 2025
Country of birth
Count
Australia
2
Brazil
2
England
2
Fiji
9
French Polynesia
1
Kiribati
10
Korea, Republic of
1
Northern Ireland
1
Philippines
1
Samoa
2
Scotland
1
Tonga
6
Tuvalu
4
United Kingdom
2
United States of America
3
Total
47
Caveats
• The data was collated on 27 January 2026 and is accurate as at this date.
• As the data comes from a dynamic system, any past or future reporting may have slight
differences.
• The reason for no 8(4) applications being granted in 2021 is due to COVID19 restrictions
limiting the Department’s ability to process these during that time. Many of the
applications granted in 2022 were received in 2021.
Questions two to five
Pursuant to section 15(1)(b) of the Act, the Department has decided to provide this information
to you. We are currently preparing this information for release and will provide it to you as soon
as practicable. We anticipate having the requested information to you no later than 24 February
2026.
Please note that some information may be withheld under:
• 9(2)(a) - protect the privacy of natural persons
• 9(2)(k) - prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or
improper advantage.
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 the DIA website. All requestor data,
including your name and contact details, will be removed prior to release. The released
response will be made available here:
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-
Requests-2.
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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.
Nāku noa, nā
Julia Taylor
Director Branch Performance
Regulatory and Identity Services
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