Passports and Emergency Travel Documents

If you are in France and your New Zealand passport has expired or been lost or stolen and your 

• travel is not imminent (>one week)

then you must obtain a full validity passport from a Department of Internal Affairs office, the closest of which is in London. (New Zealand diplomatic posts no longer issue passports). Download and complete a passport application form and forward it to DIA London with relevant supporting documentation for processing. Turnaround times are either 3 (urgent) or 10 (standard) working days.

We recommend you send your application in a Chronopost envelope, either "Chrono Express Europe" (next weekday delivery) or "Chrono Premium Europe" (before 10:30 next weekday); these envelopes are available from any French post office. As an indication, allowing for courier times to London and back, with the urgent passport service, your new passport should be back to you a week later. You may use the Embassy address for the return of your passport but not for other personal affairs.

If you need to

• travel within a week 

then you may be eligible for an Emergency Travel Document (ETD). An ETD is a short-term validity, machine-readable travel document that can be issued to New Zealand citizens overseas in emergency and compassionate situations. Please contact the Embassy consular service to discuss your situation. ETDs are recognised by most international border authorities except the United Arab Emirates. For travel to/transit through the USA with an ETD, a visa is required from the nearest US Embassy. An ETD application form can be downloaded from the Department of Internal Affairs’ website.

The processing fee of NZ$350 (200 € payable in cash) is the same for an adult or child. It includes the cost of a full replacement passport upon application to a Department of Internal Affairs passport office in either London, Sydney or Wellington before the expiry date of the ETD.

ETDs were introduced to improve the overall security of New Zealand travel documentation by ensuring New Zealanders overseas have access to a secure and internationally accepted short-term emergency travel document when circumstances prevent a passport from being obtained. Nonetheless, New Zealand citizens are strongly advised to ensure their passports are kept up-to-date and in a safe place at all times.