(SR 2002/73)
Silvia Cartwright, Governor-General Order in Council At Wellington this 18th day of March 2002 Present: Her Excellency the Governor-General in Council Pursuant to section 28 of the Citizenship Act 1977, Her Excellency the Governor- General, acting on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council, makes the following regulations. Contents Page 1 Title 2 2 Commencement 2 3 Interpretation 2 Applications for and certificates of citizenship 4 Application for grant of citizenship 3 5 Certificates evidencing grant of citizenship 3 6 Evidentiary certificate of citizenship 3 Note Changes authorised by subpart 2 of Part 2 of the Legislation Act 2012 have been made in this official reprint. Note 4 at the end of this reprint provides a list of the amendments incorporated. These regulations are administered by the Department of Internal Affairs. r 1 Citizenship Regulations 2002 Reprinted as at 28 September 2017 Oath of allegiance 7 Taking of oath of allegiance 3 Renunciation and deprivation of citizenship 8 Declarations of renunciation of citizenship 4 9 Deprivation of citizenship 5 10 Giving notice relating to deprivation of citizenship 5 Registers Register of citizenship by descent Register of persons granted citizenship Registers of persons renouncing or deprived of citizenship 13A Register of persons whose citizenship status confirmed under Act or obtained under other Act Maintenance of registers Public access to registers Restriction of access to register entries in certain cases [Revoked] Miscellaneous provisions Fees Fee for grant of citizenship not payable by certain immigrant 18A children Refund for withdrawal of application for grant of citizenship in certain cases Offences Revocation Schedule Fees Regulations
These regulations are the Citizenship Regulations 2002.
These regulations come into force on the 28th day after the date of their notifi- cation in the Gazette.
In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,— Act means the Citizenship Act 1977 citizenship means the status of New Zealand citizenship; and citizen has a cor- responding meaning Reprinted as at
Citizenship Regulations 2002 r 7 Department means the Department of Internal Affairs Secretary means the Secretary for Internal Affairs.
Terms or expressions used and not defined in these regulations but defined in the Act have, in these regulations, the same meanings as they have in the Act. Regulation 3(2): added, on 9 June 2011, by regulation 4 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2011 (SR 2011/131).
An application for the grant of citizenship under section 8 or section 8A or sec- tion 9 or section 10 of the Act must—
be in the form provided by the Secretary; and
be accompanied by the prescribed fee; and
be lodged with an office of the Department.
A certificate issued under section 12 of the Act attesting to the grant of citizen- ship to any person must be in the form for the time being prescribed by the Minister.
An application under section 21 of the Act for a certificate to the effect that a person is a citizen must—
be made in the form provided by the Secretary and addressed to the Sec- retary:
be accompanied by the prescribed fee (if any):
be lodged with an office of the Department.
The oath of allegiance set out in Schedule 1 of the Act, or an affirmation to the same effect, may be taken—
in New Zealand, before—
a District Court Judge; or
a solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand; or
a Justice of the Peace; or
a member of Parliament; or
the mayor or deputy mayor of a territorial authority; or
the chairperson or deputy chairperson of a regional council; or r 8 Citizenship Regulations 2002 Reprinted as at 28 September 2017
the chairperson of a local board of the Auckland Council; or
the Secretary; or
an officer of the Armed Forces who holds a rank not below that of lieutenant-commander in the Navy, major in the Army, or squad- ron leader in the Air Force, in the case of a person who is a mem- ber of the regular forces, reserve forces, or territorial forces (as those terms are defined in section 2(1) of the Defence Act 1990):
in any island of Tokelau, before the person elected as the Faipule for that island:
in any other country, before a New Zealand representative or such other British overseas representative as is authorised for the purpose by the Minister.
In any country in which there is no New Zealand or British overseas represen- tative, the oath of allegiance or an affirmation to the same effect may be taken before—
any other Commonwealth representative; or
a Judge; or
a person who is authorised by the law of that country to administer oaths; or
a person who is authorised for that purpose by the Minister.
Where the Minister makes a grant of citizenship conditional on the applicant taking the oath of allegiance or making an affirmation to the same effect,—
the Secretary must advise the applicant in writing of the requirement; and
the oath must be taken or the affirmation made within 1 year of the date of that letter; and
if the oath is not taken or the affirmation is not made within that time or within any further time that the Minister may allow, the grant of citizen- ship lapses. Regulation 7(1)(a): substituted, on 1 November 2010, by section 113(1) of the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act 2010 (2010 No 37). Regulation 7(1)(a)(viii): amended, on 9 June 2011, by regulation 5 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2011 (SR 2011/131). Regulation 7(1)(a)(ix): added, on 9 June 2011, by regulation 5 of the Citizenship Amendment Regu- lations 2011 (SR 2011/131).
A declaration of renunciation of citizenship under section 15 of the Act must be subscribed in duplicate in the form provided by the Secretary. Reprinted as at
Citizenship Regulations 2002 r 10
A declaration of renunciation of citizenship may be made—
in New Zealand, before a District Court Judge or the Secretary:
in any other country, before a New Zealand representative or any other British overseas representative authorised for the purpose by the Minis- ter.
In any country in which there is no New Zealand or British overseas represen- tative, a declaration of renunciation of citizenship may be made before—
any other Commonwealth representative; or
a Judge; or
a person who is authorised by the law of that country to administer oaths; or
a person who is authorised for the purpose by the Minister.
Both copies of a declaration of renunciation of citizenship must—
be transmitted by the person making it, or by the person before whom it is made, to the Department:
be accompanied by the prescribed fee (if any).
Unless the Minister declines to register the declaration pursuant to section 15(3) of the Act, the Minister must cause one copy to be officially noted as having been registered. That copy must be returned to the declarant, and the other copy must be filed in the Department.
The person who has renounced citizenship, or any other person having in their possession or control any certificate to the effect that the person who has re- nounced citizenship is a citizen, or a New Zealand passport or emergency trav- el document in the name of that person or in which the name of that person ap- pears, must deliver up the certificate or passport or emergency travel document to the Secretary.
A person who has been deprived of citizenship under section 16 or section 17 of the Act, or any other person having in their possession or control a certifi- cate to the effect that the person who has been deprived of citizenship is a citi- zen, or a New Zealand passport or emergency travel document in the name of that person or in which the name of that person appears, must deliver up the certificate or passport or emergency travel document to the Secretary.
A notice by the Minister under section 19 of the Act of the Minister’s intention to deprive a person of citizenship must be given to the person concerned or sent to the person at his or her last known address. r 11 Citizenship Regulations 2002 Reprinted as at 28 September 2017
There must be set up and maintained within the Department a register of citi- zenship by descent.
The purpose of the register is to provide a record of persons who have regis- tered their citizenship by descent status.
A person who wishes to have his or her birth, or the birth of any other person, registered for the purposes of section 7(2) of the Act may apply to the Secre- tary on the form provided by the Secretary. (3A) The application may be lodged with any office of the Department, or with any New Zealand representative, and must be accompanied by the prescribed fee (if any). (3B) On being satisfied of the relevant person’s entitlement to be registered for the purposes of section 7(2) of the Act, the Secretary must cause an appropriate entry of the matter to be inserted in the register of citizenship by descent.
If a person registered as a citizen by descent has renounced or been deprived of citizenship, the Secretary must cause an appropriate entry of the matter to be inserted in the register.
The Secretary may remove the name of a person from the register if satisfied that the person’s name was registered as a result of—
fraud; or
false representation; or
wilful concealment of relevant information; or
administrative error. Regulation 11(1): substituted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 4 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Regulation 11(2): substituted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 4 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Regulation 11(3): substituted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 4 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Regulation 11(3A): inserted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 4 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Regulation 11(3B): inserted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 4 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324).
There must be set up and maintained within the Department a register of per- sons who are granted citizenship. (1A) The purpose of the register is to provide a record of persons who have acquired citizenship by grant. Reprinted as at
Citizenship Regulations 2002 r 13A
If a person registered as having been granted citizenship has renounced or been deprived of citizenship, the Secretary must cause an appropriate entry of the matter to be inserted in the register. Regulation 12(1A): inserted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 5 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324).
There must be set up and maintained within the Department—
a register of persons who have renounced citizenship; and
a register of persons who have been deprived of citizenship. (1A) The purpose of the registers is, respectively,—
to provide a record of persons who have renounced citizenship:
to provide a record of persons who have been deprived of citizenship.
If a citizen has renounced or been deprived of citizenship, the Secretary must cause an appropriate entry of the matter to be inserted in the appropriate regis- ter.
A certified copy of any such entry to the effect that a person has renounced or been deprived of citizenship is sufficient evidence, without proof of the signa- ture and in the absence of proof to the contrary, of the facts stated in the certifi- cate. Regulation 13(1A): inserted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 6 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). 13A Register of persons whose citizenship status confirmed under Act or obtained under other Act
There must be set up and maintained within the Department—
a register of persons whose citizenship status (whether or not as a citi- zen) has been confirmed by a certificate issued under section 21 of the Act; and
1 or more registers of persons whose citizenship status (whether or not as a citizen) was obtained under the British Nationality and New Zea- land Citizenship Act 1948; and
a register of persons to whom section 4(3) of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 applies.
The purpose of the registers is, respectively,—
to provide a record of persons whose citizenship status has been con- firmed under section 21 of the Act:
to provide a record of persons whose citizenship status was obtained under the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948:
to provide a record of persons to whom section 4(3) of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 applies. r 14 Citizenship Regulations 2002 Reprinted as at 28 September 2017
Nothing in subclause (1)(b) requires the Department to keep a record of a per- son whose citizenship status was obtained under the British Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 by birth or descent. Regulation 13A: inserted, on 9 June 2011, by regulation 6 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2011 (SR 2011/131).
Subject to the direction of the Minister, the Secretary is responsible for keeping and maintaining the registers referred to in regulations 11 to 13A.
The registers may be kept—
in the form of duplicates of certificates; or
in writing; or
in the form of information stored by electronic means that is readily re- trievable; or
a combination of those methods. Regulation 14(1): amended, on 9 June 2011, by regulation 7 of the Citizenship Amendment Regula- tions 2011 (SR 2011/131).
Except as provided in subclause (2), information from a register referred to in regulations 11 to 13A (a citizenship register) may be disclosed—
only in respect of a named individual; and
only on request, in a manner specified by the Secretary, by—
the individual concerned; or
a person who has the authorisation of the named individual; or
a person who needs confirmation of the citizenship status of a parent or grandparent to establish a claim to citizenship; or
a person who satisfies the Secretary that he or she requires the in- formation for a genuine and proper purpose that is related to the purpose of the relevant register.
Despite subclause (1), information from a citizenship register may be disclosed for any of the following purposes:
to avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by a public sector agency:
for an intelligence and security agency to perform its functions under section 10 or 11 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017:
for the conduct of any proceedings before any court or tribunal:
for statistical or research purposes where the information will not be published in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify any in- dividual concerned. Reprinted as at
Citizenship Regulations 2002 r 18
In this regulation, intelligence and security agency has the meaning given to it by section 4 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017. Regulation 15: substituted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 7 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Regulation 15(1): amended, on 9 June 2011, by regulation 8 of the Citizenship Amendment Regula- tions 2011 (SR 2011/131). Regulation 15(2)(b): replaced, on 28 September 2017, by section 335 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10). Regulation 15(3): inserted, on 28 September 2017, by section 335 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
The fees set out in the Schedule are payable in respect of the matters specified in that schedule.
The fees are inclusive of goods and services tax (where applicable).
Despite anything to the contrary in these regulations, no fee is payable in re- spect of an application for a grant of citizenship under the Act that—
is made by a person who can show, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that he or she was an immigrant child and not a refugee child; and
is made in respect of the person himself or herself; and
is made after 13 November 1995.
No person may make more than 1 application free of charge under this regula- tion.
In this regulation,— immigrant child means a child who, before attaining the age of 18 years, came to New Zealand from Great Britain between 1 January 1949 and 31 December 1954 in accordance with an arrangement between the Government of New Zea- land and his or her parents or guardian that the child would live in New Zea- land subject to the provisions of Part 1 of the Child Welfare Amendment Act 1948; but does not include any person who came to New Zealand accompanied by and in the charge of his or her parent or any of his or her relatives refugee child means a child who came to New Zealand as an immigrant pur- suant to an arrangement made for that purpose between the Government of New Zealand and the International Refugee Organisation. r 18A Citizenship Regulations 2002 Reprinted as at 28 September 2017 18A Refund for withdrawal of application for grant of citizenship in certain cases
Where a person who has applied for a grant of citizenship withdraws that appli- cation before completion of its initial processing, the person is entitled to a re- fund of—
$310, in the case of a person who has paid the fee set out in item 1 or item 3 of the Schedule:
$155, in the case of a person who has paid the fee set out in item 2 or item 4 of the Schedule.
No refund is payable if the person withdraws the application after completion of its initial processing.
For the purposes of this regulation, initial processing of an application is treated as completed once—
an employee of the Department has given written notification to the ap- plicant of the option to withdraw the application; and
the applicant has responded to that written notification. Regulation 18A: inserted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 9 of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Regulation 18A(1)(a): amended, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 4(a) of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2006 (SR 2006/341). Regulation 18A(1)(b): amended, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 4(b) of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2006 (SR 2006/341).
Every person who knowingly fails to deliver up any document in contravention of regulation 8(6) or regulation 9 commits an offence and is liable on convic- tion to a fine not exceeding $200. Regulation 19: amended, on 1 July 2013, by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
The Citizenship Regulations 1978 (SR 1978/181) are revoked. Schedule Fees r 17 Schedule: substituted, on 1 September 2003, by regulation 3 of the Citizenship Amendment Regula- tions 2003 (SR 2003/158). No Matter
Application for grant of citizenship under Citizenship Act 1977 (other than to child under the age of 16 years) Fee ($) 460 Reprinted as at
Citizenship Regulations 2002 Schedule No Matter
Application for grant of citizenship under Citizenship Act 1977 for child under the age of 16 years
Application for grant of citizenship under section 7(1) of Citi- zenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 (other than to child under the age of 16 years)
Application for grant of citizenship under section 7(1) of Citi- zenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 for child under the age of 16 years Fee ($) 230 460 230
Application under section 21(1) of Citizenship Act 1977 for a certificate confirming that an applicant is a New Zealand citizen—
if the applicant’s New Zealand citizenship has previously been granted, registered, or confirmed
if the applicant’s New Zealand citizenship has not previ- ously been granted, registered, or confirmed
Application under section 21(1) of Citizenship Act 1977 for cer- tificate confirming that an applicant is not a New Zealand citi- zen 6A Application for written confirmation of citizenship status of an- other person (if authorised by regulation 15)
Application for registration of persons born outside New Zea- land (if application made in New Zealand) (citizenship by de- scent)
Application for registration of persons born outside New Zea- land (if application made outside New Zealand) (citizenship by descent) 110 200 110 110 200 200
Application for replacement certificate of citizenship 110
Application for registration of declaration of renunciation of citizenship (overseas or in New Zealand)
Provision of printout or copy of entry in register in respect of a named person (if authorised by regulation 15) 390 26 Schedule item 5: substituted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 10(1) of the Citizenship Amend- ment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Schedule item 6A: inserted, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 10(2) of the Citizenship Amend- ment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Schedule item 11: added, on 16 November 2006, by regulation 10(3) of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324). Marie Shroff, Clerk of the Executive Council. Schedule Citizenship Regulations 2002 Reprinted as at 28 September 2017 Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2012. Date of notification in Gazette: 21 March 2002. Reprinted as at
Citizenship Regulations 2002 Notes Reprints notes
General This is a reprint of the Citizenship Regulations 2002 that incorporates all the amendments to those regulations as at the date of the last amendment to them.
Legal status Reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by any amendments to that enactment. Section 18 of the Legislation Act 2012 provides that this reprint, published in electronic form, has the status of an official version under section 17 of that Act. A printed version of the reprint produced directly from this official elec- tronic version also has official status.
Editorial and format changes Editorial and format changes to reprints are made using the powers under sec- tions 24 to 26 of the Legislation Act 2012. See also http://www.pco.parlia- ment.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/.
Amendments incorporated in this reprint Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10): section 335 Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81): section 413 Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2011 (SR 2011/131) Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act 2010 (2010 No 37): section 113(1) Citizenship Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2006 (SR 2006/341) Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/324) Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2003 (SR 2003/158) Wellington, New Zealand: Published under the authority of the New Zealand Government—2017