The Department of Internal Affairs is reminding all people intending to stand as candidates in this year’s Local Body
Elections that they must be New Zealand citizens.
“A requirement of the Local Electoral Act is that all candidates for Local Body Elections must be New Zealand citizens
at the time of their nomination,” says Jeff Montgomery, Registrar-General, Births, Deaths and Marriages.
The Department of Internal Affairs is responsible for managing the citizenship process. New Zealand citizens must meet a
variety of criteria including good character requirements, length of residence in New Zealand and proficiency with the
English language. All citizenship applicants must attend a citizenship ceremony (a ceremony can be public or private) to
become a New Zealand citizen.
“Those people intending to put themselves forward as candidates at local elections who are unsure of their status or who
need to apply for citizenship, should contact the Department of Internal Affairs. Potential candidates should contact
the Department as soon as possible and should allow at least 10 working days for their citizenship submission to be
processed,” says Mr Montgomery.
The nomination period for candidates opens on 19 July and closes at 12 noon on 16 August 2019. Nominations must be
lodged with the relevant council’s electoral officer.
Useful links:
Contact DIA about citizenship:
Further information about citizenship in New Zealand:
Key dates for Local Elections
Local Government New Zealand and Society of Local Government Managers’ VOTE 2019 Campaign.
Society of Local Government Managers’ guide to local body elections