The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Government response to report on passport validity

24 August 2015

10 year passports will be delivered early

21 July 2015

Public submissions close Friday 24 July

If you would like to have your say on the increase in the validity period of New Zealand adult passports, or other changes to the Passports Act 1992 as proposed in the Passports Amendment Bill No.2, please lodge your submission to the Select Committee by this Friday, 24 July.

26 June 2015

Passports Amendment Bill update

The Passports Amendment Bill No. 2 has passed its first reading and been referred to Select Committee. You can read the debate on the Bill here. The Bill amends the Passports Act 1992 by extending the maximum validity period of the New Zealand passport from five years to 10 years for people who are at least 16 years old and by taking into account certain changes in technology. The Bill also removes a number of redundant provisions in the Act.

The Select Committee considering the Bill is now taking public submissions on the Passports Amendment Bill with a deadline of 24 July. The Committee will consider the submissions and produce a report to be published by 30 October 2015. The second reading of the Bill will debate that report. Should the Bill be agreed by Parliament in its third reading it will become an Act of Parliament. After the Passports Amendment Act is passed into law and all operational changes have been made, the Department of Internal Affairs can begin issuing 10 year adult passports.

5 June 2015

Cabinet and associated papers on 10 year passport validity

The Department of Internal Affairs has released the following Cabinet and associated papers on the recent decision to move to 10 year adult passport validity:

The papers detail the Department’s advice to government on passport validity and price. They also include an independent report on passport security. The Government decided to move to 10 year passport validity on 25 May 2015, read the Minister of Internal Affairs’ media release here, at a price of $180 for standard adult passports issued in New Zealand. This price represents a reduction in the average adult annual price of an adult passport for New Zealanders.

The Independent Review on Passport Security

Parts of this report have been redacted to protect information which has been provided to the review by foreign officials and experts on a basis of confidence. The opinions, views and conclusions reached in the review are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily represent the views of the New Zealand government.

Timeframes for implementation

The Department will now implement the Government’s decision. Customers can look forward to 10 year adult New Zealand passports by the end of this year, subject to the enactment of a change to the Passports Act 1992.

Our 10 year adult passport will be a world-class, highly secure, trusted travel document with a strong international reputation that New Zealand citizens can use to visit approximately 170 countries. The 10 year passport will contain the latest technology to protect the passport holder from identity fraud. We will successfully implement 10 year adult passports and continue to make it easier for the highly mobile 77 per cent of New Zealanders who own a passport to travel, with our world-leading online adult passport renewal service and future services such as first time adult online passport applications and online child renewals.

28 October 2014

The Minister of Internal Affairs has appointed Simon Murdoch as the independent reviewer of passport security, as part of the Government’s review of the validity period of the New Zealand passport.

12 August 2014

Below is the Cabinet paper related to this response:

 

Background information