31 March 2023

Message from the General Manager

Tēnā koe – hello.

The new Whiriwhiria (Choice) video is now available for download below. Please make sure that you use the new video in ceremonies. The old video link will soon be deleted.

We also provide a table of the average monthly candidates that will be ready to attend a citizenship ceremony. These are so you can plan when ceremonies are held.

Please take care when confirming who attended the ceremony as errors can cause stress to the candidate, especially if they cannot re-enter Aotearoa.

Kia pai tō rā (Have a good day)
Julia

Julia Wootton
General Manager
Services and Access

Confirming attendance

Double-check they attended

Be very careful when you scan the certificates of the candidates that didn’t attend the ceremony. We use this information to record who became a citizen, and who did not. We invite those who didn’t attend, to another ceremony.

If the council accidently fails to scan the certificate of someone who did not attend the ceremony, we record that person as having become a citizen. This can cause severe consequences for the candidate and their whanau: their residence visa will be cancelled and if they travel overseas, they will be refused re-entry into Aotearoa. If they were issued a New Zealand passport in error, that will also be cancelled.

In addition, they will not be invited to another ceremony because the Department's records show they have already attended a ceremony. If a person does not attend a ceremony within 12 months of approval, the approval will lapse and they have to apply for citizenship again.

Return ASAP

New citizens are often keen to apply for their first New Zealand Passport. Please return the scans of certificates for those that did not attend the ceremony as soon as you reasonably can after the ceremony, so we can update our systems. This is even more important if candidates have urgent travel.

New Minister | New Choice video

The Department of Internal Affairs has a new Minister, Hon Barbara Edmonds. Minister Edmonds succeeds her Cabinet colleague Hon Jan Tinetti, who was the Minister of Internal Affairs from late 2020.

The new Choice Whiriwhiria video is available for download at www.psi.govt.nz/home/guidance/guidance-for-citizenship-ceremonies under the heading "Choice Whiriwhiria video". This special video has been developed for councils to welcome new citizens. For your convenience, here are the brand new links that replace the old:

YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfg4px8jNFU
MP4 file for download (583 MB): www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/Choice-NZ-Citizenship-2023/$file/Choice-NZ-Citizenship-2023.mp4. Click on the link and allow a few seconds for the file to download as it is a large file. Once downloaded, go to your desktops "Download" folder to access the MP4 file. If you encounter issues contact CitizenshipCeremonies@dia.govt.nz.

Candidates ready for ceremony in your region

This table is a guide to the estimated average number of candidates each month that will need ceremonies over the year. Candidates should ideally attend a ceremony within 1 to 3 months of receiving a grant of New Zealand citizenship.

Your council will need to host ceremonies for your existing waitlist plus the average approvals each month. If you do not know your current waitlist, contact CitizenshipCeremonies@dia.govt.nz.

Get in touch