What to get ready before you apply for NZ citizenship

You need an identity referee. This is someone who can confirm you are who you say you are.

An identity referee must:

• be aged 16 or over
• have a current or expired New Zealand passport
• have known you for at least 1 year, or since birth
• not be related to you or part of your extended family
• not live at the same house as you
• consent to act as your referee
• understand that they may be contacted to verify details about your application.

If we are unable to contact your referee, this may delay your application.

You need to provide these details about your referee:

• full name
• date of birth
• email
• contact number
• residential address
• New Zealand passport number.

You need a witness.

A witness must:

• sign the back of 1 of your passport photos, and
• complete the witness section of your application form.

Your witness must:

• be aged 16 or over
• have a current New Zealand passport
• have known you for at least 1 year, or since birth
• not be related to you or part of your extended family
• not live in the same house as you.

The image must be:

• of only you
• less than 6 months old
• clear, sharp and in focus.

The image must show:

• your head and shoulders
• your face looking directly at the camera
• your eyes open and clearly visible — not covered by hair or sunglasses
• a neutral expression — not smiling or frowning — with your mouth closed.

You can wear prescription glasses, as long as your eyes are still visible.

If you are taking a photo of a baby:

• Lie the baby on a plain sheet.
• Take the photo from above with their face in full view and eyes open.
• Make sure there are no people or objects in the background.

Number of photos:

• If you are applying online, you need 1 photo — this should be saved as a .jpeg file.
• If you are applying by post or in person, you need 2 identical photos, printed on photo quality paper.

How to take a passport photo

The digital copy of your document must be:

• in colour (unless the original document is black and white)
• clear, in focus and easy to read
• no larger than 10MB in size
• in .pdf, .png or .jpeg file formats.

If you have a residence visa, any conditions on the visa must be met or cancelled. For example, if your visa was granted under the parent category, the conditions may be for 5 or 10 years. You must check these conditions are met or cancelled before applying for New Zealand citizenship.

If you already have a permanent resident visa, you do not have conditions.

To have your parent visa conditions removed, you must send Immigration New Zealand:

• a cover letter requesting the removal of section 49(1) conditions, which must include all your current contact details, and
• copies of valid passports for all the applicants who were included on the resident visa applications.

Visit the Immigration New Zealand website to find out where to send your documents:

Postal addresses for sending paper documents

If you have a Skilled Migrant Resident visa, visit the Immigration New Zealand website to find out how your visa conditions can be removed:

Skilled Migrant Category – removal of section 49(1) conditions

There is no fee for the removal of section 49(1) conditions.

Include your citizenship or descent registration certificate with your application.

You need to include something with your application that proves you can speak English.

Accepted documents:

• School certificate
• School report
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Form
• Employer reference letter
• University academic record
• University certificate – bachelor’s, diploma, master’s, PhD

If you are applying online:

• 1 parent must fill in the ‘parental consent’ section of the application form and complete an online identity check.
• All parents must be told about the application and give their consent for the child to apply for New Zealand citizenship.

If you are unable to contact the other parent or they do not consent, you need to provide details of the circumstances.

If a sole parent or legal guardian is providing consent, you must upload a document to verify this, such as:

• a court order for sole legal guardianship
• a birth certificate with one parent listed
• a death certificate for the other parent.

If you are applying in person or by post:

Both parents need to:

• sign the application form
• include their original passport.

If you are a sole parent or legal guardian, you must include evidence that you have sole legal guardianship, such as:

• a court order for sole legal guardianship
• a birth certificate with one parent listed
• a death certificate for the other parent.

If you do not have a Samoan passport, you can get a letter of confirmation of Samoan citizenship from the Samoan High Commission or Consulate-General.

• Samoan High Commission in Wellington
• Samoan Consulate-General in Auckland

Include the confirmation letter with your application.

If you were adopted, you should also include:

• the Order of Adoption
• your pre-adoptive birth certificate, and
• your post-adoptive birth certificate.

You need to provide a document that shows your name change. This must be:

• an original document — if you are applying in person or by post, or
• a digital copy of your original document — if you are applying online.

This document could be a:

• marriage or civil union certificate
• name change document
• divorce record.

You need to provide:

• original documents — if you are applying in person or by post, or
• digital copies of your original documents — if you are applying online, and
• a professional English translation for each document, if you have one.

If you do not have professional translations of your documents, we will get in touch with you to arrange these if required.

Passport:

If you travelled to New Zealand as a refugee or you cannot get a new passport from your home country, you need to provide your:

• certificate of identity, or
• refugee travel document.

Birth certificate:

If the country you were born in does not issue birth certificates or birth records, you can use your household register or national identity card.

If you do not have any of these documents, talk to the Citizenship Office.

Freephone: 0800 22 51 51 (New Zealand only)

Email: citizenship@dia.govt.nz

You can choose to have a different gender on your citizenship certificate than the one that is recorded on your birth certificate.

Choosing the gender on your citizenship record