Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Information release: NZ Citizenship of Mr Peter Thiel

NZ Citizenship of Mr Peter Thiel


While the Department doesn’t usually discuss individual citizenship details due to the standard privacy considerations applicable to all NZ citizens, there is sufficient public interest in Mr Peter Thiel’s case to warrant the release of further information requested under the Official Information Act.
Some of this information has been redacted for privacy reasons, due to commercial sensitivity, or to protect the free and frank exchange of opinions between public officials.

Around 30,000 citizenship applications are received every year. Of those approximately 300 (1%) are submitted to the Minister of Internal Affairs for individual consideration.

Some of these submissions will focus on where a sole eligibility criteria is not clearly met, while others may be considered on multiple grounds.

The assessment of applications under section 9(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act 1977 (Citizenship Act) takes into account the applicant's exceptional circumstances, as well as assessing any advantage, or positive benefit to New Zealand from approving the application. All applications may be considered under this provision.

Since 2012, there have been 632 applications where the Minister has been specifically asked to consider Section 9(1)(c); of these 92 have been approved by the Minister as decision-maker.

YearNumber of applications approved under 9(1)(c)*#Number of applications received (approximately)*
2012930,000
20132328,000
20142029,000
20151231,000
20162834,000

*note these figures have been manually compiled and therefore may be subject to error.
# submissions may be considered under multiple sections of the Citizenship Act and may have been recorded against an alternate section.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

As previously confirmed, Mr Peter Thiel applied for New Zealand citizenship in January 2011. His application was approved by Ministerial decision, under Section 9(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act on 30 June 2011.

Once citizenship has been approved, all applicants over the age of 14 must take either the Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance in accordance with the Citizenship Act for their citizenship to be effective. The majority of applicants attend public ceremonies, however some applicants are unable to do this and they may attend a private ceremony.

Since 2012, an average of 270 applicants attended a private ceremony each year. Of these, an average of 24 people attended their private ceremony overseas.

Mr Thiel attended a private ceremony at the New Zealand Consulate in Santa Monica in August 2011.

You can access the full information released today via the below link

https://www.dia.govt.nz/Citizenship-of-Mr-Peter-Thiel

The Department will not be making any comment on the information released and believes the release answers all the requests submitted on the topic under the OIA.

Scoop copy of information: PeterThielrelease1February2017.pdf

© Scoop Media

 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.