The Department of Internal Affairs spoke to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, finding \u201cmixed success\u201d in identifying and confirming cheating on exams.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome are starting to move away from these systems because proving subtle behaviours, such as a test taker looking away from the screen, remains difficult even with the technology in place,\u201d officials warned.<\/p>\n
Van Velden was told \u201csignificant\u201d privacy and security considerations were likely as personal and biometric information would be collected and stored in a now-scrapped online option.<\/p>\n
In a statement, van Velden said that when work began on the test, the Government first explored the option of an online test, which would have been faster to implement – but opted instead for an in-person model.<\/p>\n
Van Velden said an online option \u201cwould undermine the integrity of the test\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had concerns that it would be too easy to cheat in this format, especially given increasing AI capability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn in-person model was ultimately chosen to ensure a robust assessment of applicants\u2019 knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of being a New Zealander, which in turn meant the implementation timeframe was pushed out to find a provider to administer the test. The procurement process is now actively underway.\u201d<\/p>\n
A tranche of briefings proactively released by Internal Affairs relating to the rollout, shows the hurdles it faced.<\/p>\n
The test was announced in May this year, with the rollout expected to commence from late 2027.<\/p>\n
Officials first briefed van Velden on eligibility settings for citizenship by grant in early August 2025, noting that Australia, Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom all have \u201csome form of test\u201d in place.<\/p>\n
The minister was told that among comparable countries: \u201cNew Zealand is the only country without a formal citizenship test\u201d. <\/p>\n
At the time, officials suggested an assessment for citizenship, within the existing legal framework, \u201ccould be achieved within this Parliamentary term\u201d.<\/p>\n
Briefings in September and early October last year suggested implementation for the test could begin by December 2025. <\/p>\n
The go-live date of the test was pushed to March 2026 in a briefing from October 30, 2025.<\/p>\n
A November 2025 briefing said officials anticipated the test could apply to applications submitted on or after March 23, 2026.<\/p>\n
A separate briefing, from January this year, said the test would take effect for applications made on or after May 6. Officials recommended delaying the implementation date, to finalise supporting information.<\/p>\n
The in-person test is currently planned to start from the second half of 2027.<\/p>\n
Fees to be charged per attempt<\/p>\n
Documents also show the Internal Affairs Minister pushed for fees to be charged per attempt, rather than per-person or per-application.<\/p>\n
A late March 2026 briefing to van Velden said the minister instructed officials to ensure the cost of the test could be recovered through a \u201cper test attempt fee, separate to the existing citizenship by grant application fee\u201d.<\/p>\n
Officials also noted van Velden wanted the waiting period for a test re-sit increased from 10 to 30 working days.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the minister said that as signalled in May, she intends for there to be a separate fee for each test attempt.<\/p>\n
\u201cA cost per test model incentivises people to study for the test and pass at the first attempt. It also ensures proper cost recovery for providing an in-person test which is fairer than having those who study hard and pass the first time subsidising those who do not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The 30-day waiting period was also announced in May, and van Velden said it\u2019s intended to encourage applicants to take the time to carefully prepare for the test.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of implementation, the Department will publish guidance and supporting material with the information needed to successfully pass.\u201d<\/p>\n
Internal Affairs officials also noted the Ministry of M\u0101ori Development Te Puni K\u014dkiri suggested the test \u201cmay not be appropriate\u201d for M\u0101ori born overseas.<\/p>\n
The agency also queried whether an online test was possible, though department officials said it would make it difficult to verify someone\u2019s identity and ensure people aren\u2019t getting outside help.<\/p>\n
Applicants over-65 will be exempt from the test. Departmentofficials had initially recommended the upper age limit to be 67, \u201cto align with a potential future increase in the New Zealand superannuation age\u201d but later admitted 65 was \u201cmore reasonable\u201d.<\/p>\n
Further documents prepared by the department, said officials anticipated 85% of applicants to pass on their first go, and 96% to pass eventually.<\/p>\n
Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament\u2019s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Department of Internal Affairs spoke to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, finding \u201cmixed success\u201d in identifying and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[53669,9218,682,32294,27083,31742,16492,3052,266,53906,48949,127505,1743,6722,300,2510,111,43,139,42876,69,90,1642,263611,7241,8808,765,61],"class_list":["post-534399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-basis","tag-before","tag-being","tag-charge","tag-citizenship","tag-considered","tag-delays","tag-faced","tag-government","tag-incoming","tag-initially","tag-intervened","tag-launched","tag-minister","tag-money","tag-multiple","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-numerous","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-online","tag-pertest","tag-publicly","tag-running","tag-test","tag-to"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534399","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=534399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}