2020 citizenship numbers drop due to COVID-19

25 March 2021

New Zealand welcomed 31,870 new citizens in 2020, down from 44,413 in 2019.

The decrease is due to the effects of COVID-19, says Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs as it released new data today.

Australia is still the most common country of birth for people born outside New Zealand to gain citizenship. Just over 5,200 Aussies became Kiwis in 2020, either because they had a parent who is a citizen or they migrated to New Zealand. The United Kingdom comes second, with 5,199 new Kiwis, followed by India, with 2,970.

Julia Wootton, General Manager Services and Access, says there are various ways people can become citizens. The easiest way is to be born here. Or people can become citizens ‘by descent’ – they have a parent who was born in New Zealand – or ‘by grant’ where they have migrated to New Zealand and applied for citizenship.

“In 2020, we gained 31,870 new foreign-born Kiwis, 11,436 by descent and 20,434 by grant.

“Over the past few years we’ve seen a decrease in the number of people gaining citizenship by grant, although 2020 saw a significant drop due to COVID-19.”

Citizenship by grant 2017-2020

Year	New citizens
2020	20,434
2019	31,030
2018	35,737
2017	36,450

“While we don’t collect data on why people do or don’t apply to become citizens, we believe that the drop in citizenship numbers is due to the disruption that COVID-19 has caused worldwide. We forecast that this will continue to be the case this year too.”

Part of Te Tari Taiwhenua’s role is to ensure people can easily access the services and information they need.

“The easiest way to apply for citizenship is online. Regardless of how people become citizens, they can check their eligibility online from anywhere in the world.”

By the numbers
· Total new citizens by descent or grant for 2020: 31,870 (2019: 44,413)

· By descent in 2020: 11,436 (2019: 13,383)

· By grant in 2020: 20,434 (2019: 31,030)

Top 10 countries of birth of new citizens who gained citizenship by grant

Rank	Country of birth	New citizens
1	United Kingdom*	3,521
2	India	2,970
3	Philippines	1,806
4	South Africa	1,580
5	Samoa**	1,331
6	Fiji	1,039
7	China***	650
8	United States of America	489
9	Australia	473
10	Pakistan	424

Top 10 countries of birth of new citizens who gained citizenship by descent

Rank	Country of birth	New citizens
1	Australia	5,229
2	United Kingdom*	1,678
3	United States of America	1,336
4	Samoa**	700
5	China***	369
6	Canada	265
7	Taiwan	153
8	Germany	117
9	Japan	107
10	Korea	98

* Includes data for United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Great Britain.
** Includes data for Samoa and Western Samoa
*** Includes data for China, Hong Kong, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Macau and Macao.