Children, pets and the effects of alcohol were the most common excuses given by New Zealanders needing a new passport over the past year.
With the cost of new passports going up this month – above $1000 if an urgent, out of hours replacement is needed – not keeping a passport safe has become more expensive than ever.
However, between May 2024 and April 2025, a total of 12,236 passports were reported as lost, numbers provided to 1News by the Department of Internal Affairs show. A further 6745 were reported damaged.
The department, responsible for issuing the little black books, said it had also received 618 calls about urgent and emergency applications since July 2024.
Adrian Jarvis, GM of services and access at DIA, said the most common excuses for new passport applications were the actions of children and pets, as well as the impacts of alcohol.
Jarvis said that among the reasons given were several “colourful” stories.
“Passport was dropped down a drain in some of the heavy rain by a child and was never to be seen again,” one person needing a new passport said.
Water appeared to be a common feature, with another person’s experience of unfortunate weather while hiking also resulting in the need for a new passport.
“Hiking in the Tararua Ranges. Passport got wet in a storm. Passport stamps can no longer be read.”
Another person dropped it in the bath, while another accidentally put it in the washing machine… and then the dryer to see if it could be fixed. It couldn’t.
One person lost balance and fell into a swimming pool with their passport in their pocket.
While fishing, another Kiwi’s passport flew out of their pocket as they reeled in a fish.
They said the water was “too deep for me to retrieve it”.
Away from the water, the most unusual reason given is probably still the person who said last year: “The goat we were fostering ate the front cover.”
Keep it safe
Jarvis offered some recommendations to travellers to keep their passports safe both at home and abroad.
“We recommend that people treat their passports like any other electronic device,” Jarvis said. “Keep it away from heat and water and store securely.”
The DIA website tells travellers that if their passport is stolen, it should be declared to avoid identity theft and illegal use. If a passport is stolen, it must be reported to police and DIA.
Almost 100,000 passport photos rejected
Applying for a passport also comes with its own challenges. In the 12 months to the end of April, a total of 93,365 passport photos were rejected.
Jarvis said the most common reasons for this were the camera being too close to the applicant’s face, applicants using selfies, shadows being behind the head or on the face, the applicant’s head being “too small”, or the background not being plain.
Passport photos are required to be meet specific criteria, listed on the DIA website. To take the best photo, Jarvis recommended using passport photo services at Warehouse Stationery and selected pharmacies, or a professional photographer.
People could also get a friend or family member to take the photo, which could be checked by the DIA’s online photo checker.
A decade of 10-year passports
This year marked the 10th anniversary of passports being valid for 10 years after the term of a New Zealand passport was increased from five years to 10 in 2015.
Jarvis said that because of the extended validity, fewer passports were in circulation, leaving “less passports to recover costs across”.
On May 1, passport costs increased, with the price of an adult passport up from $215 to $247, and the price of a child’s passport up from $125 to $144.
But if you need a new passport in a hurry, charges can balloon. The urgent service fee has increased from $215 to $247, bringing the total cost for an urgent passport to $494 for adults and $391 for children. Throw in the after-hours call-out fee and the total charge increased from $656 to $754 – bringing the cost to $1,001 for adults and $898 for children.
“The fee change was made with care to balance affordability and the need to maintain the quality and security of the passport service, which allows New Zealanders to travel to over 185 countries, visa-free or visa on arrival,” Jarvis said.
According to the Henley Passport Index, the New Zealand passport was ranked fifth most powerful in the world, alongside Greece and Switzerland.
Those holding New Zealand passports can get visa-free access to 190 out of 227 destinations worldwide, according to the index.
