More than 1.3 milllion passports were set to expire in the next two years. Photo: 123RF
With a massive surge in passport applications expected next year, the government is urging people to renew early to beat the rush.
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden said with the anniversary of 10-year passports coming up, more than 1.3 million were set to expire in the next two years.
She said about 622,000 people were set to renew next year and about 759,000 the year after, and called for people to get that done.
"We're expecting quite a large surge above what we had in some previous years ... we're urging all people who haven't checked their passports for quite a while to give your passport a look, check if it's expiring quite soon, and make sure that you get your application in time.
"If you can get in early, that will certainly help us to smooth the demand over the year ... it's a reminder for everybody that a lot of countries out there do require you to have a passport that's valid for up to six months upon your return back to New Zealand."
She said the government had succeeded in reducing processing times for all passports down from 25 days in 2023, to just three days.
The government was not expecting wait times to exceed the 10-day timeframe set as an expectation, she said.
"We're expecting to see a lot more demand, but we're doing our best to try and keep those wait times low."
She said it was easy and secure to renew a passport online at passports.govt.nz.
"The other thing is, if you do want really efficient service, the department says don't use selfies, make sure you do get a proper photo taken, so that you can use that three day time. If a selfie is taken and it's not accepted, that will just delay your application."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
