Hon Brooke van Velden
Minister of Internal Affairs

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden say the number of people awaiting a decision on their application for New Zealand citizenship by grant is down 14 percent in the past year, and the public will soon be able to track monthly progress in processing citizenship.

“The Department of Internal Affairs has made great progress in steadily reducing the backlog in citizenship applications so new New Zealanders can receive their citizenship by grant faster,” says Ms van Velden.

“I have asked the Department to focus efforts on reducing the number of outstanding applications, and I am pleased to see progress being made. In October 2024 the Department completed 4,415 applications, the highest amount in the past year, and processed the same amount per working day in November.”

The Department has been working to cross-skill staff to process passport, citizenship, and RealMe applications. The more adaptable workforce is better able to respond to fluctuations in demand for different products, leading to increased productivity.

“It’s also important to me that the public has visibility of the progress being made to reduce the backlog and bring down wait times for New Zealanders. From today, the Department will have a public dashboard showing the output and average processing time, to improve transparency about service delivery.”

The dashboard will include data on citizenship by grant, passports, digital identity (RealMe), certificate issuance and registration of births and deaths. It will be updated monthly to show average processing time, the number of applications received, the number completed, and the number issued without error.

“I know that receiving New Zealand citizenship is a significant moment in a person’s life, and I have heard from many individuals about the impact that delays to obtaining citizenship have on them and their family. Reducing the backlog of applications and publicly reporting on progress to do so will benefit those who choose to make New Zealand home.

“While the 14 percent reduction is good news, I also know there is more work to be done. I will continue to remain focussed on this area to ensure high service standards across the life and identity products administered by the Department,” says Ms van Velden.

The dashboard can be found here: https://www.dia.govt.nz/Life-and-Identity-Services-Performance-Measures-Dashboard

Notes:

• The citizenship processing service is entirely funded through fees collected from applicants
• The average timeframe for citizenship applications to be decided was 142 working days in October 2024, just over six months
• 98% of applicants receive an outcome within 18 months of submitting their application

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