February 2019 | Read a plain text version of this newsletter

Message from the Registrar-General

Tēnā koutou, kia ora rawa atu – hello, and thank you. I hope you all had a pleasant holiday break.

I’d like to take the time to congratulate and thank you for efforts in 2018, and the great work that was achieved. During the last 12 months, we started a pilot to move citizenship by grant online, filmed a snapshot of a real citizenship ceremony, and re-recorded the Governor-General’s segment of the Choice video. Together, we helped over 106,000 people obtain NZ citizenship (35,737 by grant, 13,691 by descent and 57,260 by birth). Over 79% of these applications were presented to the Minister within 30 days of the application being submitted - it’s fair to say it was a busy, but successful, year.

Now, we’re already into the second month of 2019, so it’s time to focus on what we can achieve this year. I look forward to it being just as fulfilling as the last.

Jeff Montgomery,
General Manager and Registrar-General;
Services and Access

New Choice Whiriwhiria DVD

We have produced a new version of the Choice Whiriwhiria DVD with an updated message from the Governor-General, Her Excellency The Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy. The video also features new backing tracks by OMC and Goldenhorse and visuals to go with them.

The new DVD will be posted to you. The new DVD will say “Issued January 2019” in the bottom right-hand corner of the cover. You are encouraged to play this during the citizenship ceremonies.

As you will be aware the video, which features commentary from Her Excellency the Governor-General and the Minister of Internal Affairs, highlights the value that new citizens bring to
New Zealand, and encourages people to not only retain pride in their origins, but also to commit to their new country.

The DVD compliments the Choice Whiriwhiria book, which can be gifted to all new citizens.

The video is also available at https://youtu.be/n9b3V40TYW8

Video shows what happens at a ceremony

One of the most common citizenship questions our contact staff are asked is “what can I expect at my citizenship ceremony?”

The ceremonies are a big deal to those going through the citizenship process. Once their citizenship application has been approved, they’re officially welcomed as New Zealand citizens and given a certificate. It’s a time to celebrate.

The DIA citizenship team used the power of video to clearly communicate what happens at a citizenship ceremony. Information about the process is already available, but using visuals and a more in-depth explanation makes it easier for all customers, especially those with English as a second language.

The video features clips from a real ceremony taking place at Auckland Council’s Henderson Service Centre and includes captions that talk through each aspect, from the Kaumātua greeting, to photo taking and refreshments at the end. It’s posted on the ceremonies page of www.govt.nz/citizenship, alongside details of the invitation process, certificates, and the oath/affirmation of allegiance.

Pilot to apply online for Citizenship by Grant

The Citizenship by Grant Online Application pilot launched for eligible customers on 24 September 2018. It is the first step towards an online, end-to-end service for citizenship applications. The idea behind the pilot was to learn and test before we started implementing new technology.

Customers have responded positively to the pilot, finding the online application convenient, easy to navigate, and straightforward to complete. Customers told us it took them 8–15 minutes to complete the online application, which was shorter than they expected. They also found our Contact Centre people friendly and helpful.

Customers identified improvements such as:

better communication about the information they need to have at hand to complete the application in one session
the ability to ‘save and resume’ the online application, so they don’t have to complete the application in one session
greater clarity about the purpose and length of the appointment (especially when it is very short)
having the wider context and their next steps more clearly communicated so they knew what to expect throughout the process (although other customers said the information provided was clear and helpful)
being able to email their (scanned or photographed) documents, instead of having to travel to a site.

We are looking at implementing further enhancements and expanding the service to more groups later this year.

2018 citizenship statistics

There are three types of citizenship available in New Zealand – by birth, for those born in New Zealand; by grant, for those born outside of New Zealand, and by descent, for those born overseas to a New Zealand citizen.

Citizenship by birth

57,260 babies obtained NZ citizenship by birth where at least 1 parent is a NZ citizen or has permanent residence status. Almost all births are now notified online via https://smartstart.services.govt.nz. When registering the baby’s birth through SmartStart, parents can:

apply for Best Start payments
apply for an IRD number for their baby
choose to let MSD know that they’ve had a baby, if they’re an existing MSD customer.

Citizenship by grant

35,737 people were approved for citizenship by grant. Citizenship by grant is for people who have come to NZ from another country. Citizens by grant can pass their New Zealand citizenship on to children born overseas, as long as it is granted to one parent before the child is born. Applications are considered on assessment of eligibility criteria, including how much time the applicant spends here in New Zealand, basic English skills and a good character requirement.

Citizenship by descent

13,691 people were registered with citizenship by descent. Citizenship by descent is for people born overseas where at least 1 parent is a citizen of NZ by birth or grant when the person was born. If you have citizenship by descent, you can't pass on citizenship to any children born outside of New Zealand.

New Zealand allows dual citizenship or multiple citizenship.

For more statistical information, such as the top 10 countries in 2018, refer to our news release Department of Internal Affairs releases 2018 citizenship statistics.

Candidates attending citizenship ceremonies in 2018

Only public ceremony attendees are counted in this table, so the number of attendees is less than the number of new citizens by grant. Minors, for instance, don't need to attend a ceremony, while others may have a private ceremony.

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