51120 (2025). Ingrid Leary to the Minister of Internal Affairs

51120 (2025). Ingrid Leary to the Minister of Internal Affairs: How much time does it take to grant citizenship from permanent residency, if the applicant does not meet the time requirements of permanent residency?

Hon Brooke van Velden: I am advised by the Department of Internal Affairs that if a person applies for citizenship without meeting the ‘presence in New Zealand’ requirement of section 8(2)(b) of the Citizenship Act 1977, their application will take longer to process than those who meet the presence requirements. These applications typically require manual assessment and additional correspondence with the applicant. As such, they fall outside of standard timeframes. Applications that do not meet the presence requirement are typically referred to me, as Minister of Internal Affairs, for final decision. The decision to approve or decline the application is made under the discretion provided by the Citizenship Act 1977 and is based on the applicant’s individual circumstances, rather than solely on the length of time they have held residency. There are no prescribed timeframes for applications that require ministerial consideration. Currently, these applications may take, approximately, a further 12 months to reach my office after allocation and assessment.