Passports, citizenship and identity
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Get or renew a New Zealand passport
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Renew or replace your adult passport
Renewing an adult New Zealand passport costs $215. Adult passports are valid for 10 years.
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Apply for your first adult passport
If you are 16 or older, you need an adult passport. Adult passports cost $215 and are valid for 10 years.
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Renew or replace a child passport
Renewing a child's passport costs $125. Child passports are valid for 5 years. Once a child turns 16 their passport is valid until it expires or is cancelled. After that, they must renew their passport as an adult.
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Apply for a child's first passport
Child passports are for children aged 15 and under. They cost $125 and are valid for 5 years. When a child turns 16, their passport is still valid until it expires or is cancelled.
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Get your child a New Zealand passport when born overseas
If you are a New Zealand citizen by birth or grant and have a child overseas, you can register them as a citizen by descent and get them a New Zealand passport.
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Get yourself a New Zealand passport when born overseas
If you were born overseas and at least 1 of your parents was a New Zealand citizen by birth or grant when you were born, you can register as a citizen by descent and get a New Zealand passport.
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New Zealand citizenship
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Types of citizenship: birth, descent and grant
There are 3 main types of New Zealand citizenship: by birth, by descent and by grant.
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Requirements for NZ citizenship
Before you apply, check you meet the requirements to become a New Zealand citizen.
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How to apply for NZ citizenship
Follow these steps when you apply for New Zealand citizenship.
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Register as a citizen by descent and get a passport
If you are a citizen by descent, you must register your citizenship before you can get a New Zealand passport.
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Proof of citizenship
What to do if you have lost your New Zealand citizenship certificate, or if you need to prove whether or not you are a New Zealand citizen.
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Changing your citizenship status
Your citizenship status may change if you want citizenship of more than 1 country or to give up New Zealand citizenship — or if the New Zealand government takes away your citizenship.
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NZ citizenship if you are adopted
If you were born and adopted in New Zealand you are likely to be a New Zealand citizen. If you were born or adopted outside New Zealand, you might be a citizen — if not, you may be able to apply to become one.
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Privileges and responsibilities of a citizen
When you become a New Zealand citizen, you will have the same privileges as a person who was born here. You will also have the same responsibilities.
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Contact the Citizenship Office
Phone numbers, emails and addresses for New Zealand citizenship offices in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
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Proving and protecting your identity
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Order a birth certificate
New Zealand birth certificates are a record of birth. You can order a birth certificate online. It costs $33 for a standard certificate.
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Get a marriage certificate
Your New Zealand marriage or civil union certificate is an official record of your marriage. It costs $33 to get one sent to you.
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Get a death certificate
You might need a death certificate if you're administering someone's estate or applying for a funeral grant from Work and Income or ACC.
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Name change certificate
A name change certificate is official evidence of a name change. You can order online and it costs $33.
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Access to your birth, marriage and name change records
Birth, death, marriage, civil union and name change records are a public register — anyone can generally request copies of someone's information. You can see who's accessed your records since 2009 or block access to them if your safety is at risk.
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Translating official documents
If you need a document translated into English or another language, you can organise the translation yourself or use the Department of Internal Affairs Translation Service.
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Use your NZ documents overseas
To use a document overseas it may need to be apostilled or authenticated. Apostilles and authentications are certificates that prove the signature, stamp or seal on a document is genuine.
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Use RealMe to prove your identity online
Use RealMe to prove who you are online and securely access many government and private sector services online.
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BDM service timeframes
Check this page regularly for up-to-date BDM processing times.
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Changing your name
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Change your own name
You can change your own name in New Zealand if you’re 18 or over and a citizen or entitled to live here indefinitely. If you're 16 or 17, you can apply with your guardians' consent.
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Change your child's name
You can change your child’s name in New Zealand if they are 15 or under and a citizen or entitled to live here indefinitely. Once your child is 16, they can apply themselves with your consent.
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Change your name on your driver licence
If you legally change your name, you don't have to replace your driver licence — but you can if you want to. You'll need to provide an original document that shows the change.
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Change your name in your passport
If you want to change the name in your passport, you’ll need to apply for a new one. The name in your passport must be your officially registered name.
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Changing your gender
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Change the registered sex on your birth certificate
To change the sex marker on your birth certificate, you must complete a statutory declaration and apply to Births, Deaths and Marriages.
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Choose the gender on your citizenship record
If your gender is different to the one on your birth certificate, you can ask for your citizenship certificate to show your new gender (if you have not yet applied for citizenship), or request an evidentiary certificate (if you have been granted citizenship).
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Change your gender on your official ID
If you’ve changed your gender, or if your gender has been wrongly recorded, you can update your official identification. You can record your gender as M (male), F (female) or X (gender diverse).
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