New Zealand Legislation: Acts

9 Grant of citizenship in special cases

• (1) Without limiting anything in section 8, the Minister may, upon application in the prescribed manner, authorise the grant of New Zealand citizenship to any person, including a person who may be a New Zealand citizen by descent,—

  • (a) who has not yet attained the age of 16 years; or

  • (b) whose father or mother was, at the time of that person's birth, a New Zealand citizen by descent; or

  • (c) if the Minister is satisfied that granting a certificate of New Zealand citizenship to the applicant would be in the public interest because of exceptional circumstances of a humanitarian or other nature relating to the applicant; or

  • (d) if the person would otherwise be stateless.

  (2) In considering whether to authorise the grant of New Zealand citizenship to any person under subsection (1), the Minister—

  • (a) may have regard to such of the requirements of section 8(2) (as subject to section 8(3) to (9)) as the Minister thinks fit; and

  • (b) must have regard to the requirements of section 9A(1) (but subject to the Minister's discretion under section 9A(2) and (3)).

  Subsection (1)(b) was repealed, as from 18 November 1992, by section 8(1) Citizenship Amendment Act 1992 (1992 No 104).

  Subsection (2) was amended, as from 18 November 1992, by section 8(2) Citizenship Amendment Act 1992 (1992 No 104) by inserting the words “or of section 8A”.

  Subsection (3) was amended, as from 18 November 1992, by section 8(3) Citizenship Amendment Act 1992 (1992 No 104) by omitting the words “except subsection (1)(b)”.

  Section 9 was substituted, as from 21 April 2005, by section 7 Citizenship Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 43). See section 17 of that Act for the transitional provisions relating to applications for citizenship.