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Pathway

New Zealand Citizenship for Samoan Families

New Zealand Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

A special citizenship grant covers people born in Western Samoa between May 13, 1924 and December 31, 1948, and certain pre-1949 children or spouses. The applicant must personally fit one of four historical categories. This grant does not pass citizenship to children born outside New Zealand.

Main birth category
Born in Western Samoa from May 13, 1924 through December 31, 1948
Other categories
Certain pre-1949 children or spouses described in the law
Who must qualify
The applicant personally, not only a parent or grandparent

Summary

New Zealand offers a narrow citizenship restoration route for eligible people covered by the Citizenship (Western Samoa) (Restoration) Amendment Act 2024. It is highly fact-specific and tied to the older Western Samoa citizenship categories referenced in the 1982 Act.

Checking the special Western Samoa citizenship rules
  1. Match your own circumstances to a legal category Check the exact birth, marriage, and historical-country dates.
  2. Gather the records that prove that category Resolve missing records and differences in names or dates.
  3. Apply using the current section 7A process If approved, obtain citizenship proof and apply separately for a passport.

A qualifying ancestor alone does not make someone born in 1949 or later eligible under these categories.

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Eligibility

An applicant may use this process under section 7A of the law if at least one of these descriptions applies:

  1. They were born in Western Samoa on or after 13 May 1924 and before 1 January 1949.
  2. They are a woman who, before 1 January 1949, legally married a person in the first category.
  3. Their mother or father was born in Western Samoa during that period, and the applicant was born before 1 January 1949 in a country that was then within the British Empire.
  4. They are a woman who, before 1 January 1949, legally married a person in the third category.

The applicant applies to the Minister of Internal Affairs using the required form and must prove the category to the Minister's satisfaction. Identity, birth, parentage, marriage, adoption, and name-change records are therefore central. A parent or grandparent's eligibility does not place a person born in 1949 or later into these categories.

The current application fee is NZD 278 including GST, or NZD 241.74 excluding GST where the overseas exemption applies. It is refunded if the application is approved. Applicants should still check the current form and fee immediately before filing.

What This Route Allows

If the applicant proves they meet one of the legal categories and applies in the required way, the Minister must grant the special form of New Zealand citizenship. Citizenship does not expire and may support an application for a New Zealand passport.

New Zealand permits dual or multiple citizenship, but another country may not. Applicants should check the law of every other citizenship before relying on dual status.

What This Route Is Not

Citizenship granted under section 7A cannot itself make a child born outside New Zealand a citizen by descent. The restoration law specifically prevents this citizenship from being passed to children born abroad.

The route is not the Samoan Quota residence ballot and does not depend on a New Zealand job. It is also distinct from the older section 7 route for certain Samoan citizens or covered persons who were in New Zealand on 14 September 1982 or later entered lawfully with permission to stay indefinitely.

Next Steps

  1. Match the applicant — not only an ancestor — to one of the four descriptions in the law.
  2. Obtain the applicant's long-form birth record and any qualifying parent's Western Samoa birth record.
  3. For a marriage category, obtain proof that the legal marriage occurred before 1 January 1949.
  4. For the parent category, document that the applicant's country of birth was within the British Empire on the birth date.
  5. Resolve spelling, adoption, parentage, or name discrepancies with official records or the evidence requested by the Citizenship Office.
  6. Use the current section 7A application material and do not claim overseas-born children through the resulting special grant.

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Other routes in New Zealand.

Sources