![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Brooke-van-velden-e1778107282681.jpg\")
Minister of internal affairs Brooke van Velden. File photo supplied<\/p>\n Minister of internal affairs Brooke van Velden. File photo supplied<\/p>\n
Minister of internal affairs, Brooke van Velden, has announced a test to strengthen New Zealand citizenship by the grant process will be introduced from late 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cCitizenship is a commitment to our shared responsibilities and privileges,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy ensuring applicants understand\u00a0these\u00a0responsibilities and privileges, we strengthen what it means to be a citizen of New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The test builds on the existing requirement in the Citizenship Act that the minister of internal affairs is satisfied people applying for citizenship by grant have sufficient knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of being a citizen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe test\u00a0requires\u00a0applicants to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0that\u00a0by completing an in-person, multi-choice test.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople seeking citizenship should understand New Zealanders believe in certain rights, like freedom of\u00a0speech, or that\u00a0no one person or group is above the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis test ensures people have sufficient knowledge of their responsibilities and privileges before receiving citizenship by grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Questions will include topics such as the Bill of Rights Act, human rights,\u00a0certain criminal offences,\u00a0voting rights, democratic principles, the structure of government, and travel to and from New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cApplicants will\u00a0be required\u00a0to get 75 per cent of questions correct to pass,\u201d van Velden says.<\/p>\n
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) will produce guidance and other resources ahead of implementation to ensure applicants are well prepared to complete and pass the test.<\/p>\n
Further details on the test are being worked on by the DIA, and work on the implementation process has begun so the test is in place and required for applications in the second half of 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecoming a New Zealand citizen is a significant milestone in a person\u2019s life and a great honour,\u201d van Velden says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis change reinforces the value of New Zealand citizenship, and what it means to obtain it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minister of internal affairs Brooke van Velden. File photo supplied Minister of internal affairs, Brooke van Velden, has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[215470,38314,27083,215471,215472,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-419520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-bill-of-rights-act","tag-brooke-van-velden","tag-citizenship","tag-citizenship-act","tag-department-of-internal-affairs","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}