Kia ora Meghanniva,
 
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 6/05/2026 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
 
I request the following information under the Official Information Act.

According to data published by Immigration New Zealand, the number of
people under New Zealand’s offshore Refugee Quota Programme was 876 in the
2015/16 financial year and 1017 in the 2016/17 financial year; while it
was 1514 in the 2023/24 financial year and 1507 in the 2024/25 financial
year. Compared with about 10 years ago, this number increased by
approximately 48% to 73%.

At the same time, the number of asylum claims made within New Zealand has
been at a relatively high level in recent years: 339 in the 2015/16
financial year and 434 in the 2016/17 financial year; while it was 2346 in
the 2023/24 financial year and 2269 in the 2024/25 financial year,
approximately 5 to 7 times the number about 10 years ago.

According to a recent OIA response, as at 31 January 2026, there were
still 4001 asylum claims in New Zealand in an undecided status. The
response also stated that the Government currently has no plans to further
increase FTE for the refugee status determination system.

According to Immigration New Zealand’s published data, Refugee and
Protection Claims and Decisions by Financial Year, a total of 1084
decisions were made in the 2024/25 financial year. If calculated only at
the rate of 1084 decisions in the 2024/25 financial year, clearing 4001
undecided claims would take more than 3 years.

Based on the above, please provide the following information:

1. Please confirm whether MBIE or INZ holds any documents, analysis,
advice, assessments, briefings, meeting records, or internal
communications relating to whether some places under the offshore Refugee
Quota Programme could be reduced, and the corresponding resources, budget,
staff, or processing capacity redirected to the processing of asylum
claims within New Zealand, in order to address the backlog of domestic
claims.

2. Please provide comparative data on resource use between New Zealand’s
offshore Refugee Quota Programme and the processing of asylum claims
within New Zealand for the 2015/16, 2016/17, 2023/24, and 2024/25
financial years, such as fiscal costs, etc.

In addition, according to a recent OIA response, when reviewing
asylum-related rules or practices, New Zealand refers to the practices of
comparable asylum-receiving countries, and has consulted the United
Kingdom, Canada, and UNHCR.

According to UNHCR data cited by WorldData.info, in initial decisions made
under the New Applications category in 2024, the Acceptance rate for the
United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand was
76.6%, 79.0%, 44.7%, and 25.7%, respectively. Australia had 0 relevant
decisions under this category, and therefore should not be included in a
direct comparison under the same basis. This indicator reflects the
proportion of positive decisions among initial decisions made in 2024, and
does not equal the final acceptance rate of applicants who lodged claims
in 2024. Under this statistical basis, New Zealand’s acceptance rate was
clearly lower than that of the United States of America, Canada, and the
United Kingdom.

Based on the above, please further provide the following information:

3. Please confirm whether MBIE or INZ holds any analysis, assessments,
comparative materials, briefings, internal communications, or policy
advice used to explain, assess, or compare the reasons why New Zealand’s
2024 asylum claims Acceptance rate was clearly lower than that of the
United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

If any part of this request needs to be transferred to another agency
under the Official Information Act, please transfer it accordingly.
 
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 4/06/2026, 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]

Kia ora Meghanniva,

 

Thank you for your email of 6 May 2026 to the Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment (MBIE) requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following:

 

According to data published by Immigration New Zealand, the number of
people under New Zealand’s offshore Refugee Quota Programme was 876 in the
2015/16 financial year and 1017 in the 2016/17 financial year; while it
was 1514 in the 2023/24 financial year and 1507 in the 2024/25 financial
year. Compared with about 10 years ago, this number increased by
approximately 48% to 73%.

At the same time, the number of asylum claims made within New Zealand has
been at a relatively high level in recent years: 339 in the 2015/16
financial year and 434 in the 2016/17 financial year; while it was 2346 in
the 2023/24 financial year and 2269 in the 2024/25 financial year,
approximately 5 to 7 times the number about 10 years ago.

According to a recent OIA response, as at 31 January 2026, there were
still 4001 asylum claims in New Zealand in an undecided status. The
response also stated that the Government currently has no plans to further
increase FTE for the refugee status determination system.

According to Immigration New Zealand’s published data, Refugee and
Protection Claims and Decisions by Financial Year, a total of 1084
decisions were made in the 2024/25 financial year. If calculated only at
the rate of 1084 decisions in the 2024/25 financial year, clearing 4001
undecided claims would take more than 3 years.

Based on the above, please provide the following information:

1. Please confirm whether MBIE or INZ holds any documents, analysis,
advice, assessments, briefings, meeting records, or internal
communications relating to whether some places under the offshore Refugee
Quota Programme could be reduced, and the corresponding resources, budget,
staff, or processing capacity redirected to the processing of asylum
claims within New Zealand, in order to address the backlog of domestic
claims.

2. Please provide comparative data on resource use between New Zealand’s
offshore Refugee Quota Programme and the processing of asylum claims
within New Zealand for the 2015/16, 2016/17, 2023/24, and 2024/25
financial years, such as fiscal costs, etc.

In addition, according to a recent OIA response, when reviewing
asylum-related rules or practices, New Zealand refers to the practices of
comparable asylum-receiving countries, and has consulted the United
Kingdom, Canada, and UNHCR.

According to UNHCR data cited by WorldData.info, in initial decisions made
under the New Applications category in 2024, the Acceptance rate for the
United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand was
76.6%, 79.0%, 44.7%, and 25.7%, respectively. Australia had 0 relevant
decisions under this category, and therefore should not be included in a
direct comparison under the same basis. This indicator reflects the
proportion of positive decisions among initial decisions made in 2024, and
does not equal the final acceptance rate of applicants who lodged claims
in 2024. Under this statistical basis, New Zealand’s acceptance rate was
clearly lower than that of the United States of America, Canada, and the
United Kingdom.

Based on the above, please further provide the following information:

3. Please confirm whether MBIE or INZ holds any analysis, assessments,
comparative materials, briefings, internal communications, or policy
advice used to explain, assess, or compare the reasons why New Zealand’s
2024 asylum claims Acceptance rate was clearly lower than that of the
United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Before we proceed with your request, could you please provide additional
context and further details regarding question 3 highlighted above?

 

Please respond to this email by 14 May 2026.

 

Nâku noa, nâ

 

Izla

 

MINISTERIAL SERVICES

Immigration New Zealand

Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

15 Stout Street, PO BOX 1473, Wellington 6140

 

Kia ora Meghanniva,

 

Please see attached the response to your Official Information Act request.

 

Nāku noa, nā

 

Izla

 

MINISTERIAL SERVICES

Immigration New Zealand

Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

15 Stout Street, PO BOX 1473, Wellington 6140