Kia ora Brooke H,
 
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 3/03/2026 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
 
I am writing to request information under the Official Information Act
1982.

This request relates to individuals whose country of citizenship is the
Philippines and who were granted a Working Holiday Visa under the
Philippines scheme.

No personal identifying information is requested.

1. Working Holiday Visa Applications and Decisions (Per Opening Date)

For each of the following Working Holiday Visa (Philippines scheme)
opening events:

5 February 2014

5 February 2015

5 February 2016

8 February 2017

8 February 2018

7 February 2019

11 February 2020

31 March 2022

1 November 2022

16 March 2023

12 March 2024

12 March 2025

Please provide:

a) The total number of applications submitted in that opening round.

b) Of those applications, the number:

Granted

Declined

Withdrawn

1B. Special Direction – 13 March 2022

Please provide:

a) The number of Working Holiday Visas granted under the Special Direction
batch on 13 March 2022 for applicants whose country of citizenship is the
Philippines.

1C. Annual Grant Totals

For each calendar year from 2014 to 2025, please provide the total number
of Working Holiday Visas granted under the Philippines scheme.

2. Transition from Working Holiday Visa to Residence (Cohort-Based)

For each cohort of individuals granted a Working Holiday Visa under the
Philippines scheme in each calendar year from 2014 to 2025 (as identified
in Section 1), please provide the following:

A. Preferred Breakdown – By WHV Grant Cohort Year

For each year’s WHV grantee cohort, the number of individuals who were
subsequently granted a Resident Visa, including breakdown by residence
category:

Skilled Migrant Category (SMC)

Skilled Migrant Category (2023)

Other Skilled Residence

Straight to Residence (STR)

Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL) Residence

Talent (Accredited Employer) Residence

Other Residence from Work

Tier 2 Green List Residence

2021 Resident Visa

Partnership Residence

Any other residence category (please specify category name)

For each residence category above, please indicate:

Number granted as principal applicant

Number granted as secondary applicant

B. If Cohort-Year Breakdown Is Not Readily Available

If breakdown by WHV grant cohort year is not readily available, please
provide:

The total number of Philippines Working Holiday Visa grantees (2014–2025
combined) who were subsequently granted residence; and

Breakdown by residence category and applicant status (principal vs
secondary), if available.

3. Quota Administration and Allocation Mechanism

For the Working Holiday Visa (Philippines scheme):

a) Please confirm whether the annual quota (e.g., 100 places) represents:

A cap on the number of applications that may be successfully submitted at
lodgement;

A cap on the number of visas that may ultimately be granted; or

A cap on the number of approved applicants once all decisions are
finalised.

b) Please explain how the quota is operationalised in practice, including:

Whether more than the stated quota of applications may be accepted at
lodgement;

Whether additional applications may be accepted after the initial opening
date if places become available due to declines or withdrawals; and

Whether Immigration New Zealand grants additional visas beyond the stated
quota in order to account for declines or withdrawals.

c) Please explain why previously published financial year data for the
Philippines scheme may show grant totals exceeding the stated annual
quota.

d) Please confirm whether any Working Holiday Visas under the Philippines
scheme were granted as Exceptions to Instructions (ETI), and if so,
whether such grants are counted within or outside the annual quota.

If any requested breakdown is not available in the exact form specified,
please provide the closest available aggregated dataset held by
Immigration New Zealand systems and briefly outline any limitations.
 
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 31/03/2026, 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].
 
Nāku noa, nā
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]