demonstrate a sufficient connection to New Zealand to acquire that status. The criteria that must be satisfied to be eligible for “citizenship by grant” are set out in s 8 of the Act. At the heart of those criteria are the twin requirements of residence and duration. As to the first, according to the logic of s 8, the initial gateway for “citizenship by grant” is lawful migration to New Zealand in accordance with New Zealand’s immigration rules. To be eligible for “citizenship by grant”, a person must have first acquired a residence visa – that is, a visa under the Immigration Act 2009 entitling them to reside in New Zealand indefinitely.28 Once they have done so, the clock starts ticking. To be eligible for “citizenship by grant”, the applicant must ordinarily have resided in New Zealand (that is, been present in New Zealand while holding a residence visa) for a minimum of 1350 days during the preceding five years, and for at least 240 days in each of those five years.29 There are a number of additional criteria that must be met. The Minister must be satisfied, for example, that the applicant is at least 16 years old,30 is of good character,31 has not been convicted of a disqualifying conviction,32 and intends to continue to live in New Zealand if citizenship is granted.33 At the heart of the eligibility criteria, however, are those dual requirements of eligibility to reside in New Zealand, and duration of residence. The difficulty for Roland Kun was that he failed both these standard requirements. As Australian citizens, Dr Le Roy and the three children had become residents of New Zealand on arrival.34 This opened the door for Mr Kun to apply for a residence visa on the basis of his marriage to Dr Le Roy.35 But instead, Mr Kun chose to enter and remain in New Zealand on a temporary visa, deferring the considerable paperwork involved in a residence application until the family were more settled. Even if Mr Kun had obtained a residence visa at the outset, he would still not have met the s 8 duration requirement of 1350 days as the family had only been in New Zealand for a little over a year at the time of Mr Kun’s ill-fated trip to Nauru. 3. Section 9 of the Citizenship Act: grant of citizenship in special cases Fortunately for Mr Kun, however, s 8 is not the end of the matter. A person who does not meet one or more of the s 8 criteria for an award of “citizenship by grant” may still be awarded citizenship under s 9 of the Act, which allows for the grant of citizenship in special cases. For our purposes, the specific provision of interest is s 9(1)(c),36 which stipulates that the Minister of Internal Affairs may make a grant of citizenship: 28 Section 8(2)(a). Section 8(2)(b). Section 8(7)(a) empowers the Minister to reduce this requirement in exceptional circumstances, but not to less than 450 days of residence during the preceding 20-month period. 30 Section 8(1)(a). 31 Section 8(2)(c). 32 Section 9A. 33 Section 8(1)(f). The Minister must also be satisfied that the applicant has sufficient knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges attaching to New Zealand citizenship (s 8(2)(d)) and, subject to certain exceptions, that he or she has sufficient knowledge of the English language (ss 8(2)(e), 8(8)). 34 See Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual, RA2.5; Immigration (Visa, Entry Permission, and Related Matters) Regulations 2010, cl 8. 35 See Immigration New Zealand, above n 34, F2. 36 Section 9 also provides for other special cases, such as the grant of citizenship to a person who is not yet 16 years old (s 9(1)(a)), and the grant to a person who would otherwise be stateless (s 9(1)(d)). 29 7 Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3094731