By 1News Reporters
1:23pm

From tomorrow it will cost more to get a New Zealand passport.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) announced today it would increase
the price of an adult passport from $215 to $247, and the price of a child's passport from $125 to $144.

DIA said the increase was a result of the rising costs of passport production.

"These costs are linked to increasing costs of wages, systems and technology, insurance and the materials that go into making a passport," it said.

Briget Ridden, acting deputy secretary of regulatory and identity services, said: "New Zealand operates a user-pays system, as the cost of delivering
this service has increased, we need to adjust the application fee.

"We are conscious of putting up fees only where necessary and are already taking steps to increase efficiency and minimise costs. This includes better use of technology and scaling back on non-essential system upgrades."

The revenue collected from passports goes directly to the delivery of
passport services and "maintaining the passport's reputation globally, which allows New Zealanders to travel to over 185 countries visa-free or visa on arrival".

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