NZ Citizenship - time taken for approval

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Silvrav

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#3244884 5-Jun-2024 17:16

invisibleman18:
With the amount of UK citizens living here I can't imagine there will be some sudden change of policy revoking my residency, and the Australian visitor visa with a UK passport is a 5 minute online application. But I do take the point, should get around to it whilst it's easy to do in case there's some time in the future it's needed and isn't. Citizenship plus passport is a reasonable chunk of money at a time things are pretty tight currently. Curious as to how my Mum got it approved within 2 weeks when others are still waiting a year for a reply though.

It is indeed...$1200 for our fam of 3 😑

If your mom shares her secret please let me know. I also know of some that's now at 18months and still waiting

invisibleman18

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#3244885 5-Jun-2024 17:25

There's no secret. She applied, got the email it would take however many months then 2 weeks later got the email it was granted. I just assume being UK citizen who has been here as a PR for 30+ years it was just a simple tick box with no questions needed. There's a wait for the ceremony then I assume another wait for a passport so it's not all finalised.

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#3402617 14-Aug-2025 16:37

An update:

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the number of people waiting for an outcome of their Citizenship by Grant application is at the lowest level since August 2020.

“Finding efficiencies within the Department of Internal Affairs, including by reducing wait times for citizenship applications, has been a priority for me, and I’m pleased to see the real progress being made,” says Ms van Velden.

“In the past, I’ve heard about the impact citizenship delays have had on people and their families. Becoming a New Zealand citizen is a milestone moment that deserves to be celebrated, not overshadowed by lengthy wait times.”

“Currently, just over 13,700 people are waiting for citizenship decisions, down from a high point of 37,690 in April 2022.”

A sustained focus on performance and improved processing flows implemented in March this year have made a hugely positive impact on citizenship processing and has delivered real results.

“These are not just numbers, these are people who are contributing to our economy and communities. From teachers and nurses to engineers and small business owners, these people are building lives here while waiting on citizenship.”

“Focusing on performance and reducing the backlog continues while new applications continue to be made, however I’m proud of the hard work in the citizenship office to date.”

Currently the oldest applications being picked up are just over two months old, compared to October 2023 when the oldest applications were from September 2022.

This represents an 11-month improvement in how quickly the Department starts work on applications.

“Congratulations to the Department for the results and a larger congratulations to all the new Kiwi citizens.”

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everettpsycho

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#3402630 14-Aug-2025 18:49

Not to completely undermine their achievements, but around 5 years ago immigration pretty much ground the migrants visa processing to a halt with record low approvals leading up to COVID. Around November 2019 the queue of applications in that process got frozen and didn't unfreeze until COVID ran the "priority queue" dry. That would have seriously limited how many people were crossing the 5 year threshold to actually apply for their citizenship in the last 9 months.

What will be interesting is next year marks 5 years from the floodgates opened by the 2021 resident visa stream, I will be watching on to see how they handle that influx. We qualify next month as we were front of the queue when they froze the thing back then and we aren't waiting about to apply knowing how many people are about to become eligible.

Behodar

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#3402636 14-Aug-2025 20:31

A friend of mine applied for citizenship in May and had it granted in July. That seems to mesh with the press release.

Geektastic

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#3402639 14-Aug-2025 20:51

I did it so long ago I can barely remember how long it took. I do recall that it was far quicker than the Permanent Residency Application.

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Silvrav

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#3402642 14-Aug-2025 20:59

10 months approval and another 4months until the ceremony which I just attended on the 11th August. Finally have my citizenship

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#3416877 21-Sep-2025 08:19

Another update here:

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says a sustained focus on delivering efficient government services has produced the shortest citizenship wait times in five years.

“I’m focused on fixing what matters. That means delivering tangible benefits to those spending their money on government services by improving efficiency,” says Ms van Velden.

In October 2023, people were waiting an average of 180 days to get a decision on their citizenship by grant application. Now, the average wait time is 69 days.

“This data shows wait times for outcomes on citizenship applications have more than halved since Labour were last in Government.

“I asked the Department of Internal Affairs to work on the oldest applications first to clear the backlog, and they smashed it.

“Those applying for citizenship by grant have already spent a minimum of five years in New Zealand, contributing to our economy, businesses, and culture. We want them to feel that this contribution is valued and recognised.”

There are currently just over 11,000 people waiting for an outcome of their application. Well down from a high point of 37,690 in April 2022. This represents a 70 per cent decrease in the number of people waiting for an outcome and speaks to the Department’s improved ability to process applications quickly.

“These aren’t just statistics. People applying for citizenship have taken a risk to uproot their lives and build a new home in New Zealand. I know that after going through that process, it means a lot to be at the point of applying for citizenship. I am pleased new Kiwis don’t have to wait as long for a decision.

“Great work the staff in the Citizenship Office, and massive congratulations to all the new Kiwis,” says Ms van Velden.

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everettpsycho

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#3431787 6-Nov-2025 21:16

We were approved today, applied late September so very happy with the 6 week turnaround. They did request new photos for out application last week so might have been faster had that not happened.

Now we wait for the citizenship ceremony whenever that may be.

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#3431790 6-Nov-2025 21:30

Congratulations 🎉

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Rmani

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#3431953 7-Nov-2025 15:34

Congratulations!

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#3490110 12-May-2026 12:15

An update (press release):

After six years of not meeting timeliness targets, citizenship by grant processing has been within target timeframes for the past six months consecutively, says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden.

“The Department of Internal Affairs aims to get 90% of applications processed within 75 days of being received. April 2022 was a low point, with just 0.6% of applications meeting that target. Four years later, 94.6% of applications met that goal, the highest result since July 2019,” says Ms van Velden.

“This is the longest period of consistent on time processing we’ve seen in many years. A focus on efficiency and taking practical steps to improve processing have gotten us to this point.

“As processing time is improving, we saw a 12% increase in the number of citizenship applications received in 2025 compared to 2019. The 2025 year also saw the Department process the most applications it has done in recorded history.

“When I became Minister of Internal Affairs, there was a backlog of unprocessed citizenship applications. I directed the citizenship office to work on the oldest applications first, and I am pleased applicants are consistently getting their outcomes within target timeframes.

“It is a privilege to grant citizenship to people who have contributed to our country, and made the choice to build their lives here. We are lucky that people from all over the world bring their skills here and want to become New Zealanders.”

“Thank you to the staff in the citizenship office for your continued hard work, and a huge congratulations to all those who have received their citizenship by grant.”

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