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Department of Internal Affairs – Te Tari Taiwhenua 

CIT101 Application for non-evidentiary letter or New Zealand citizenship

Use this form to request a letter about the New Zealand citizenship status of a parent, grandparent, or third party.

Before you apply
Things you need to know:
• The fee for this application is $112.40.
• Processing time is 20 working days. Allow extra time for postage.
• There is no urgent service.
• We may ask for further identification before we give you any information.
• You cannot claim New Zealand citizenship through a grandparent.

You will need to provide:
• a photocopy of your driver licence or the biodata page (the page that shows your personal details and photo) of your current passport
• a death certificate, if the person whose record you are searching for died overseas
• the completed form
• the application fee.
We need a photocopy of your (the person filling out this form) passport or driver licence, not the passport or driver licence of the person you are requesting information about.
If you want a letter about the New Zealand citizenship status of a parent or grandparent in order to check if you are eligible to claim to New Zealand or overseas citizenship, you must also provide the birth certificate of each generation of the family involved in the search.
If you want a letter about the New Zealand citizenship of a third party for another reason (not to check if you are eligible to claim New Zealand or overseas citizenship), you must also provide a letter that includes: 
• the reason you are searching for the third party’s citizenship status
• the name of the person or organisation who requested the search.
If you are applying on behalf of an organisation, provide the letter on your organisation’s letterhead.

Contact details
Website: govt.nz/contact-citizenship-office
Email: staykiwi@dia.govt.nz
Do not email the completed form to us. Only use email for queries about the form. To return the form, follow the postage instructions at the end of this form.

Checklist
Make sure you have everything you need. If you do not provide all the documents that you need, your application may be delayed. 
All original documents will be returned to you.
You need to send us:
1. a photocopy of your driver licence or the biodata page (the page that shows your personal details and photo) of your current passport
2. a death certificate, if the person whose record you are searching for died overseas
3. the filled out payment section in question 11. 
4. the birth certificate of each generation of the family involved in the search.
If you are requesting a letter about the NZ citizenship status of a parent or grandparent, you also need to send us the birth certificate of each generation of the family involved in the search.
If you are requesting a letter about the NZ citizenship status of a third party, you also need to send us a letter describing why you are searching and who requested the search.

Section 1: Record to be searched
If the person being searched has only one name, enter this into the ‘Surname or the family name’ field.    
First and middle names ^
Surname or family name ^
Other names. Include all names they are, or have been known as. For example, For example, official name changes, names used at school or work, English name, adoptive namesfamily names, and any other names used. ^

2.  Place and date of birth of person being searched
Village, town or city of birth ^
Country of birth ^
Date of birth (dd/mm/yyyy) ^

3.  Date of death of person being searched, if applicable (dd/mm/yyyy) ^

Section 2: Applicant details
4.  Your name and title 
If you have only one name, enter this into the ‘Surname or family name’ field.
Please enter your title, for example Mr, Ms, Miss, Master or Other ^
First name(s) ^
Surname or family name ^

5.  Your date of birth, if you were born in New Zealand (dd/mm/yyyy) ^

6.  Are you related to the person being searched? Yes or no ^

7.  The purpose of your search (choose one)
Is the purpose of your search to check if your parent or grandparent was an NZ citize? Yes or no ^
Is the purpose of your search explained in a letter you have included with your application? Yes or no ^

Section 3: Applicant declaration
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) processes applications using information matching programmes to share data with other agencies.  These authorised information matching programmes share citizenship data we hold with:
• the Electoral Commission
• Inland Revenue
• Waka Kotahi, New Zealand Transport Agency
• the Ministry of Education
• the Ministry of Social Development
• Immigration New Zealand.
Details are available on the DIA website at www.dia.govt.nz

Collection and use of information given to support your application
We need you to give certain information to support your application. The decision to give us your information is your choice. If you do not give us all the information we need, we may decline your application.
We need your information:
• to process your application
• to check if the application meets the requirements of the Citizenship Act 1977.
We collect and hold information from this form at the Department of Internal Affairs, PO Box 10680, Wellington.
Under the Privacy Act 2020 you can access, check and correct the personal information you choose to give us.

8. Applicant declaration 
• I understand that the information, to the best of my knowledge is true, complete and correct.
• I understand that if I give false information, any document issued on the basis of that information may be cancelled and the matter referred to the New Zealand Police.
• I confirm that I have read and understood all the statements in this applicant declaration.
• I allow an authorised matching programme, under Section 112 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021 to use my information to determine my eligibility for this application.
• I allow DIA to contact me or other agencies, if needed, to process this application.

Signature of applicant ^
Date of signature (dd/mm/yyyy) ^

Section 4: Fees and delivery 
9.  Fees
The application fee for a non-evidentiary letter of New Zealand citizenship is $112.40.
Select a delivery method:
I want the letter couriered to a New Zealand address for $0.  Yes or no ^ 
I want the letter couriered to an overseas address for $15-30.  Yes or no ^ 
Delivery to Australia, Asia, or Pacific will cost $15. Delivery to the USA will cost $20. Delivery to Europe will cost $25. Delivery to the rest of the world (includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Croatia, Greece, Georgia, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova) costs $30.
Contact us if you are unsure whether we can deliver to your country. 

10.  Delivery address
We may need your email address to contact you if your postal address changes.
Delivery name ^
Street number and name ^
Suburb ^
Town or city ^
Country ^
Postcode ^
Contact phone number ^
Email address ^

11.  Payment

Do not post cash or card. Do not email credit card details.
Charge my credit or debit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Prezzy Card):
Card number ^
Card expiry date (mm/yy) ^
Name on card ^
Cardholder signature ^

Next steps 
Print and sign the form. 
Post the form, payment information, and documents to us.
When you post the application, it is best to use a ‘track and trace’ courier bag to keep track of your original documents. 
We will return your documents by courier.

Postal address
Citizenship Office
Identity Services
Department of Internal Affairs
PO Box 10680
Wellington 6140

Courier address
Citizenship Office
Level 2, 7 Waterloo Quay
Pipitea
Wellington 6011
New Zealand


Last updated 18 July 2024