Travellers who have to renew their New Zealand passports in order to meet the requirements of countries they are visiting will have any time remaining on them added as a credit on their new passport.
Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain announced the validity period for passports would be extended so New Zealanders could get their full five years out of the documents.
"Some New Zealanders need to renew their passports early because some countries require visitors to have six months validity remaining on their passport at the time of arrival
"This effectively means they do not get full use of their passport's five-year validity period. The validity period will be increased so that time lost on renewing a passport can be credited to the new passport, up to an additional nine months," Mr Tremain said today.
"This change directly benefits anyone who needs to renew their passport early at no additional cost."
