NZ Passport Renewal for Adults & Child

If your New Zealand passport is damaged or lost, you must apply for an NZ passport renewal as soon as possible if you need to visit other countries for travel or business purposes. If you do not have a valid NZ passport, you are not allowed to enter other countries. Therefore, New Zealand passport holders need to renew their passports on time. In this article, we will show you a complete guide on how to renew NZ passports for adults and children.

When Do I Need to Renew NZ Passports?

You must renew your NZ passport if you are in one of the following situations:

• You need to renew your passport because it has expired.
• You need to replace your current passport because of changing your name or gender on your passport.
• You must replace a lost, stolen, or damaged passport.

NZ Passport Renewal Requirements

Before applying for an NZ passport renewal, you must prepare the necessary documents for the passport renewal in advance. However, there are some differences in the documentation required when renewing NZ passports for adults and children. 

For Adults

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must prepare the following documents.

• A completed application form if you apply on paper or a Realme login if you apply online.
• Two identical recent passport photos of yourself.
• A witness over 16 years of age holds a valid New Zealand passport.
• The correct application fee.
• The expired passport.
• Declaration for lost, stolen or damaged passports.
• If you change your name by marriage or civil union, you must show the marriage certificate or civil union certificate.

For Minors below 16

If the applicant is a minor under 16, you must show the following requirements.

• The child’s original passport.
• RealMe login.
• An identity referee, is a non-family member who has known your child for more than 1 year or since your child was born.
• A passport photo.
• The application fee.
• Consent of a parent or guardian to apply for a passport renewal.
• Delivery details and your passport will be sent by courier.

How to Renew NZ Passports

After you have prepared all the required documents, you can renew your lost, damaged or expired NZ passport online, offline or by post. Here you can choose the most suitable way to renew your NZ passport.

 Renew NZ Passport Online

If you choose to renew your NZ passport online, it can be easy for you to access the website. You can follow the steps here to renew your passport.

• You must prepare all the required documents in advance, and you can check the list of required documents above.
• Then you can log in to the New Zealand government website, go to ‘Start Now’ at the bottom of this page, and then log in using RealMe account and password when you use it to apply for your first passport.

• Then you need to complete the passport renewal application online. You must make sure that all the information entered is correct.

• After completing the form, you will be asked for payment details at the end of the application. You can see the ‘Payment’ section below for details.
• Then you can submit your application. Officers will assess it and contact you if any supporting documentation is required. 
• Once your new passport is ready, it will be delivered by post or available for collection. And you can check the “Delivery Details” for delivery information.

You should remember that an application can take at least 20 minutes to complete. So the app will time out after 15 minutes of inactivity to protect your security. And you can save your application information for 30 days if you don’t complete it.

👀 View the video tutorial below:

Renew NZ Passport Offline

If you can’t renew your NZ passport online, you can follow these steps to renew your NZ passport in person at the office. Here you can follow the steps below and complete the application.

• You need to download and print a PDF passport form online for NZ passport renewal, such as lost, stolen or damaged passport, changed name on your passport, or child’s passport renewal.
• After completing the application form, you can bring all the required documents, such as paper passport photos, application form and other supporting documents to the office.
• You must then pay for the NZ passport renewal.
• After that, you can wait for the delivery of a new NZ passport.

Renew NZ Passport by Post

If you are overseas and have lost your NZ passport, you need to renew your NZ passport by post.

• You must download and fill out the application form according to your needs.
• You must then mail the application form and other supporting information to a New Zealand Passport Office, such as passport photo and payment details paid by credit card, debit card or money order.
• If you are in NEWZEALAND, you can post the application to this address: 
• New Zealand Passport Office Home Affairs Department P0Box1568 Wellington6140 New Zealand.

Compared to online NZ passport renewals, paper applications and applications by post can take longer as they require additional processing.

How to Make Expedited Passport Renewal?

If you urgently need a valid passport, you can apply for an urgent passport online by following the steps shown above. You can call the New Zealand passport office right away. If you are in New Zealand, you can call 0800 22 50 50. And you can call +64 (4) 463 9360 outside NZ. If you are in the UK, you can call +44 (20) 7968 2730. However, you need to pay more for an expedited passport renewal. And you need to show some evidence of why you need the urgent passport renewal.

NZ Passport Renewal Cost & Processing Time

When you apply for an adult and minor passport, the fee and time will vary depending on the standard passport or urgent passport service. Here you can check the form below:

If you want to check the process time of passport renewal, you can check the passport timeframe. And it needs some time for delivery too, so you need to apply for a passport with enough time to spare. When you want an urgent passport, the “working day” is a normal Monday to Friday workday, excluding public holidays.

FAQ

📌Where can I get passport photos taken?

When applying for a renewal of your NZ passport, you must provide two recent passport photos. You can take a photo at a professional photoshop or photo booth. Or you can take a photo at home and upload it to a professional passport photo editor, such as AiPassportPhotos, to make a passport-compliant photo. So you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get passport photos. 

With AI technology, you can take a passport photo with AiPassportPhotos in seconds. Just simply upload the photo on the passport photo editor and click “Upload”.

Then the photo maker will process your photo and change it into a qualified passport New Zealand passport photo.

You can download the templates and print it on paper. Or you can just upload the digital photo on your online application form.

📚 Explore More: How to Take a New Zealand Passport Photo

📌Can you renew your passport while abroad? 

Of course, you can renew your NZ passport while abroad. If you live outside New Zealand, Australia or the United Kingdom, you can either mail or courier your application to the nearest New Zealand passport office. Or you can contact your nearest New Zealand embassy or High Commissioner to see if you can submit your application through their office. However, some offices don’t accept passport renewal, so it is suggested that you should contact them in advance.

📌What is the fastest passport renewal?

When applying for a passport renewal, the quickest way is to apply online. Paper passport renewals and renewal by post can take longer because they require additional processing. Therefore, with convenient online passport renewal, you don’t need to post your application or visit the office in person. However, if you can’t renew the NZ passport online, you can still apply for a passport renewal in person at the office or by post. You need to download the application form according to the purpose of passport renewal.

Conclusion

All in all, you must renew your NZ passport on time if it is expired, damaged, stolen or lost, no matter what method you want to complete the passport renewal. You must prepare all the necessary documents in advance to ensure that your renewal application will not be rejected because of missing documents. Get your new NZ passport and start the journey.