May 26, 2015 10:00am by David Farrar

10 year passports return

Passports will be valid for 10 years from the end of this year and cost $180, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has confirmed on Monday.

Dunne said the Government had listened to New Zealanders and adult passports will again be valid for 10 years, once required law changes are made.

“The 10-year validity period gives greater convenience to most adult passport holders, as they will need to renew their passport less frequently.

“This will also result in a reduction in the annual price of an adult passport for New Zealanders. The 10-year adult passport price will cost $180 (including GST), an average saving of more than $90 over the 10-year validity period.”

Pleased to see the Government do this. The current five year term effectively meant that you need to start getting a new passport shortly after four years, as many places won’t let you in within six months of expiry.

The Taxpayers’ Union did a report and campaign on this issue, so pleased to see another policy win for it.

The current passport cost is $134.50 for the five year passport. The fee of $180 for a ten year passport doesn’t seem unreasonable on the basis that they will have a mixture of fixed and variable costs. The annual cost of $18 is less than the Government’s new sneaky border tax of $22 per return trip.