Staff Reporter
Auckland, May 30, 2022
The cost of New Zealand passport has gone up from May 25, 2022, Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti has announced.
The cost of an adult passport has moved up to $199 (from $191), while that of a child passport has increased from $111 to $115 (GST Inclusive).
These costs remain in line with Australia, Canada and the United States, Ms Tinetti said and added that New Zealand Passports are only required to be renewed every 10 years for adults and every five years for children.
The cost will rise to $206 ($120 for children) and $215 ($125 for child) from May 25, 2023 and 2024.
These costs compare well with Australia where an adult passport costs about $329, and the United States of America ($247) but are higher than Canada (about $191), European Union ($127.75) and United Kingdom ($152).
Ms Tinetti said that the move was a part of a regular review and justified that the ‘slight increase’ was due to decrease in demand caused by Covid-19.
“The passport system is designed to be entirely funded by passport fees, and while passport income has taken a significant hit, the fixed costs to run the service remain consistent so we have been advised a small increase is required,” she said.
Ms Tinetti said that the department’s regular review of the passport fee structure presented a range of options that would help address Covid cost pressures over the last two years, and ensure that the passport service remains on the path to full cost recovery.
“Passport applications have dropped from over 730,000 in 2018-2019 to just over 150,000 in 2020-2021 which has meant that current fees are not covering full costs. The Cabinet decided to go with the smallest incremental increases between 2022 and 2024. We appreciate any increase to costs at this time will pose a challenge to some families, but this outcome is the best balance between keeping the increase to a minimum and returning the passport service to full cost recovery,” she said.
The Covid-19 global pandemic caused a significant and unexpected reduction in demand. Additionally, the change in validity period (from 5 years to 10 years), means that the costs need to be recovered from a smaller number of passports issued. Without this change costs will exceed revenue, Ms Tinetti said.
