When quarantine free travel opens, will you be ready?

29 March 2021

Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs is encouraging people to renew their passports now to avoid the rush when quarantine free travel opens.

“With the announcement of quarantine free travel expected soon, now’s the time to renew your passport so you can visit friends and family overseas,” says Julia Wootton, General Manager Services and Access.

You can renew your passport quickly and easily online at www.passports.govt.nz. Step-by-step instructions are available on the passports website to guide you through this process.

“Currently, over 400,000 passports have expired. We want New Zealanders to be ready for international travel when they need or want to head overseas.

“If you need to renew your passport, check the passports of others living with you too as they may have expired. Passports for families are often ordered together for an upcoming holiday, meaning they will expire at the same time,” says Julia.

When booking travel online, travellers usually need to provide valid passport numbers for everyone in the group, so now’s the time to check those passports haven’t expired.

Visit www.passports.govt.nz to renew your passport now.

Background information

• The Department is currently running a campaign to let customers know that their passport has expired.
• This includes direct email and social media posts on the DIA Facebook page.
• Adult passports cost $191 (including GST), less than $20 a year.
• It usually only takes 10 working days for the Department to process and issue your passport.
• Adult passports are issued for 10 years and children’s for 5 years.
• Passports aren’t just for travel. They are also the gold standard in ID documents.
• You don’t have to wait until your passport expires to renew it. Many countries require a passport to have at least six months left on it to enter.
• We have one of the most trusted passports in the world and it provides entry to more countries without a visa than most other passports.
• If you have a New Zealand passport, you can also hold a passport from another country.

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs
Media phone | +64 27 535 8639
media@dia.govt.nz