13 June 2022 | Read a plain text version of this newsletter

Please continue to follow the advice from the government and Ministry of Health:

• Information about COVID-19 from the Ministry of Health
• Government advice about COVID-19 on Govt.nz

Keep safe.

Kia pai tō rā (Have a good day)
Julia

Ceremonies resume late September 2022

Thank you for your responses to our recent survey about the reinstatement of ceremonies.

We appreciate that resuming ceremonies may take some time for different local authorities to coordinate dates and venues; however, councils need to be prepared to resume hosting ceremonies from late September or early October 2022.

How candidates will know they are attending a ceremony

From 1 August 2022, all candidates will be informed of the need to attend to a ceremony.

Candidates will know they are attending a ceremony when they receive an invite. 

It takes a few weeks to build up sufficient numbers for councils to host ceremonies, which is why actual ceremonies won't commence until late September at the earliest.

If a candidate feels unsafe attending a ceremony

The safety of our customers, their whānau and the people hosting these ceremonies is important to us.

All local authorities are required to adhere to the following advice from the government and Ministry of Health, but there may be candidates that are uneasy about attending a large public gathering:

• Information about COVID-19 from the Ministry of Health
• Government advice about COVID-19 on Govt.nz

We recommend that local authorities make available hand sanitiser and masks, ensure there is the capability to maintain physical distancing if required, and clearly display the COVID-19 QR code for contact tracing of all attendees and guests.

If a candidate has concerns about attending a public ceremony, they should email CitizenshipCeremonies@dia.govt.nz stating that they consider they should not attend a ceremony because:

• they or a family member has been or may have been exposed to a transmissible illness; or 
• they consider that attending the ceremony would create a risk to their own or others’ health.

Candidates will be advised of this by the Department.

Monitoring of COVID-19 traffic lights

We appreciate that COVID-19 remains in the community and that the COVID-19 Protection Framework (the Traffic Light System) may change. We are proactively making a plan for potential future outbreaks and a shift from the Orange to Red setting, and will be consulting with you on this in the coming weeks. We will continue to monitor the situation and follow public health guidance on how to proceed safely.

Support during the resumption of ceremonies

Our Citizenship Team are available to provide support and answer questions at CitizenshipCeremonies@dia.govt.nz. 

Celebratory Ceremonies

Some councils have been hosting celebratory events for candidates whose certificates have been couriered to them while citizenship ceremonies were temporarily suspended.

Councils need to invite the candidates themselves. DIA is not involved other than supplying their contact details.  Celebratory events could be as part of the next ceremony or a special ceremony just for people who have already received their citizenship certificates. Do not delay citizenship ceremonies so you can host a celebratory event – candidates must attend a ceremony to receive their citizenship, whereas those attending a celebratory event have already received their citizenship.

DIA pays the normal fee for these events for candidates who attended. Councils need to email CitizenshipCeremonies@dia.govt.nz a list of names for those who attended to get the payment.

New Choice video is available

The new version of the Choice Whiriwhiria video is now 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=93zM9KTmCHc 
• MP4 file for download (578.3 MB): www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/Choice-citizenship-2022/$file/Choice-NZ-Citizenship-story-2022.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.

Choice book

The Choice book is available as a PDF at www.dia.govt.nz/Services-Citizenship-Choice-The-New-Zealand-citizenship-story