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Annual Report
Purpose: To verify a parent's citizenship status if required for determining an applicant's eligibility for New Zealand citizenship.
BDM disclosure to Citizenship (DIA): Possible matches from the Births, Deaths, and Marriages (relationships) databases are displayed to Citizenship staff as they process each application. These details include full name, gender, birth date, birthplace and parents' full names.
Compliance: Compliant.
| Information matching provision | Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021, s 112 |
| Year authorised | 2001 |
| Year commenced | 2005 |
| Programme type | Confirming eligibility |
| Online transfers | Yes |
System description
This programme enables DIA Citizenship Office staff to verify information when processing applications involving:
• citizenship by descent;
• 1948 residence claims;
• claims regarding British people married to New Zealanders prior to 1949; and
• denials, renunciations and deprivations of citizenship.
DIA staff search on family name, given name, date of birth, country of birth and Citizenship Certificate Number and compare the possible matches, displayed on the system, to the information provided on the citizenship application form. If more than one individual’s record matches the selection criteria, the user can enter more selection criteria to narrow down the search results. If a clear match is not found, the applicant will be contacted for further identifying information and the application held pending their response.
Every search conducted using the DCS creates an auditable ‘footprint’ that provides protections against inappropriate browsing of personal information and could also be used in any investigation into a suspect grant of citizenship.
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | |
| Applications for citizenship by descent (may include more than one person) | 14,793 | 14,211 | 14,002 | 13,120 | 11,817 | 11,497 | 15,525 |
| Notice of adverse action (arising from failure to match) | 2 | 6 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 23 |
| Successful challenges | 1 | 6 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 22 |
| Citizenship by descent registered | 14,487 | 13,777 | 13,733 | 12,444 | 11,739 | 11,005 | 15,191 |
Notices of adverse action are sent when Citizenship staff cannot satisfactorily match the information supplied to the appropriate birth, death, marriage, or relationship record. Almost all of these are resolved by contacting the applicant for clarification.
The difference between the number of applicants and the number registered is primarily due to the applicants not meeting eligibility criteria, rather than a failure to correctly match the record.
The utility of this provision was assessed in a report “Passports and Citizenship” (July 2014) and again in “Department of Internal Affairs, Government Super Fund, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, National Provident Fund and New Zealand Transport Agency information matching” (July 2020).
