<\/p>\n
\nMore than 1.3 milllion passports were set to expire in the next two years.
\nPhoto: 123RF\n<\/p>\n
With a massive surge in passport applications expected next year, the government is urging people to renew early to beat the rush.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
She said the government had succeeded in reducing processing times for all passports down from 25 days in 2023, to just three days.<\/p>\n
The government was not expecting wait times to exceed the 10-day timeframe set as an expectation, she said.<\/p>\n
“We’re expecting to see a lot more demand, but we’re doing our best to try and keep those wait times low.”<\/p>\n
She said it was easy and secure to renew a passport online at passports.govt.nz<\/a>.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n