Applying For a New Zealand Passport

This page has information about how to apply for a New Zealand passport, Emergency Travel Document (ETD), which includes important information about your passport including the fees and our contact details, what to do if your passport is lost or stolen, how to move visa stamps between passports and how to apply for a New Zealand passport for children born overseas.

How to apply for a New Zealand passport

The Embassy does not issue passports. New ZealandPassports can only issued in Wellington, London or Sydney (applications from Bangkok are processed in Wellington).

Passport and Emergency Travel Document (ETD) Application forms are available from the Embassy or can be downloaded directly from the www.passports.govt.nz website.

1. Sending your application direct to New Zealand
   You can apply for a new passport by sending your application directly to New Zealand yourself. You will need to pay by credit card and include the return courier fee.
   Return Address: The Passport office in New Zealand can send a passport to a residential address in Thailand or to the New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok.

2. Applying for a New Zealand Passport via the Embassy
   The Embassy can send your application to Wellington for processing. The regular, 10 working day service takes approximately 4 weeks to process from the receipt of the correctly completed application form. The application is processed in New Zealand, and the passport will be returned to the Embassy.
   The cost for this service is Baht 5,060 (Adult) and Baht 3,300 (children). This includes the diplomatic bag fee of NZ$50 (Baht equivalent) for sending the applications via the diplomatic bag.
   The Embassy accepts payment in cash (Thai baht) only. Applications can be dropped off at the Embassy or received by mail. Please ensure that the envelope is addressed for the attention of the Consular Officer. Applications are sent to New Zealand every week.
3. Urgent applications (via the Embassy)
   The Department of Internal Affairs also offers an urgent service that generally takes two weeks to process and return. The fee for this service is Baht 8,700 (adult) and Baht 7,100 (child), and includes return to the Embassy by diplomatic bag. Applicants may request that the passport is returned by courier, but you will need to pay the applicable courier fee.
    

Important note about photographs

Passport photo standards are precise. A summary of these are set out on the passport application. You need to:

• provide two identical, recent, good quality colour photos
• the photograph must have a plain, light (but not white) background, and strong definition between the subject and background
• the length of the subject’s face from the base of the chin, to the crown of the head (this is not the top of the hair) must measure between 32-36mm.

   

Delivery of passports within Thailand

The passport office in New Zealand may send the new passport to a residential address in Thailand, if this is requested in the application form.

In most cases the passport will be returned to the New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok for collection. When we receive the passport, we will contact you to inform you that the passport is here.

If you are unable to come to the embassy to collect the passport, we can send it to you by courier:

• EMS courier: no charge for delivery within Thailand
• DHL or TNT Courier: this is more secure, but you will need to pay the courier fee (approx 400-500 baht).

   

Fees

Passport and ETD fees (including the $50 fee for the diplomatic bag) are set by the Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand. The Embassy is not able to reduce this fee under any circumstances.

In extreme situations only, the Embassy is able to issue an ETD and accept an undertaking from the recipient to repay the cost of the ETD. Any default in repayment will be followed up using debt collection agencies.

No additional Visa pages

As from, 1 July 2005, additional pages can no longer be added to a passport. If your passport pages have filled up with visas and entry stamps, you will need to apply for a new passport.

Validity

New Zealand passports have a maximum five year validity. Note that many countries (including Thailand) require passports to have six months validity from the planned departure date

For further information regarding the replacement of a New Zealand passport overseas or to download an application form, please visit www.passports.govt.nz, or contact the Consular Officer at the New Zealand Embassy.

Attention: Consular Section
New Zealand Embassy
M Thai Tower, 14th Floor
All Seasons Place
87 Wireless Rd
Lumphini
Bangkok 10330

Tel: 02 254 2530 ext 21
Fax: 02 253 9045

Applying for an Emergency Travel Document

New Zealand diplomatic posts can no longer issue passports. In emergency situations some posts (including Bangkok) can issue an Emergency Travel Document (ETD).

ETDs are primarily issued on occasions where a visitor’s passport has been lost or stolen, and the length of time required to obtain a replacement passport from New Zealand would severely affect their pre-arranged travel arrangements, or where a person needs to travel urgently for compassionate reasons.

ETDs are only issued at the discretion of the Embassy, and authorised by the Department of Internal Affairs in Wellington. New Zealand citizens do not have an automatic entitlement to be issued with an ETD.

ETDs have a limited validity, generally of one or two months, although the requirement for travel documents to have six-month validity means ETDs are on occassion issued for seven months validity.

The processing fee of NZD 350 (Baht 8,700) is the same for an adult or a child. It includes the cost of a new full replacement passport upon application to Department of Internal Affairs Passport Offices in New Zealand, Sydney or London before the expiry date of the ETD.

New Zealand citizens are strongly advised to ensure that their passports are kept up-to-date and to obtain a full-validity, machine-readable passport at least six months before their passports are due to expire.

ETD application forms are available from the Embassy or www.passports.govt.nz.

Lost or stolen passports

If your passport has been lost or stolen, you need to:

• report this to the Police and obtain a Police report, and
• report the loss/theft to the nearest New Zealand Embassy or the Department of Internal Affairs immediately.
   

Once reported, the lost or stolen passport will be permanently invalidated and cannot be used for travel. Anyone attempting to use a lost or stolen passport will be refused travel at border control, and may face investigation by border officials.

Moving Visa or Immigration stamps from cancelled to current passports

Once your old passport has been ‘cancelled’ or replaced, and you have been issued with a new passport, you will need to take it to the relevant Immigration Bureau to have the immigration visa stamp ‘transferred’ into your new passport.

We advise applicants to do this at an Immigration office, and not to wait until they are at the airport.

New born children overseas

A child born overseas to a New Zealand parent does not have automatic right to a New Zealand passport. They must first obtain New Zealand citizenship.

An application for New Zeland Citizenship by Descent and a New Zealand Passport application can be sent together / at the same time, and will take approximately 2 months to fully process. You should read the applicable section concerning Citizenship by Descent on the www.dia.govt.nz website and discuss your circumstances with the Embassy Consular Section well ahead of any planned travel as the processes do take some time to complete and for citizenship and passports to be issued.