The fees for New Zealand passports will increase slightly in March, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today.
"The new fees will ensure that New Zealanders and their families continue to have a high quality passport and cover a funding gap associated with the move from five to 10 year passports," says Ms Martin.
Under the new fee structure, the adult passport fee will increase from $180 to $191 while the child fee will increase from $105 to $111. The passport price is similar to that of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
The increase follows the first review of passport and travel document fees since the change of the adult passport validity period from five to ten years in 2015.
"The government has kept the fee increase to a minimum, but needed to cover a significant deficit in the memorandum account that funds the production of passports," the Minister said.
"Without a change to passport fees, the cost of producing passports would not have been met and the Passports Memorandum Account was projected to be in deficit by more than $110 million in 10 years."
The Minister said that the new prices that have been set will be in place for at least three years and cover planned improvements to ensure the security and ease of use of New Zealand passports.
"Quality passports make it easy for New Zealanders to travel internationally and our passport service is recognised for its innovation and good customer service. New Zealand passports provide access to visa-free travel to over 170 countries and use of the automated border control SmartGate service. We are also one of the few countries that offer fully online passport application services."
The Department of Internal Affairs reviews passport fees every three years. The next review is scheduled in 2021.
For more information on the passport fees structure go to https://www.passports.govt.nz/passport-costs/
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