New passports for Kiwis

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 4

New passports for Kiwis

By

OLIVER RIDDELL,

in Wellington

A new style of New Zealand passport, to be available in 1989, has been given the go-ahead by the Government.

It would reflect New Zealand’s culture better and would help speed up arrivals and departures at international airports, said the Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr Bassett. The passports would conform to international standards and would include more security features and personal data than the present passports. He said a special team in the Department of Internal Affairs was working on a computerised processing system for is-

suing the passports. This would greatly reduce processing time and so increase efficiency. His department was also working with the Customs Department to provide basic information that would tie .in with the Customs’ automated passenger processing system. This would speed it up. New immigration laws had come into effect on November 1 last year that meant everyone entering or leaving New Zealand now had to have a passport, including New Zealanders • returning from trips to neighbouring countries or islands.

A passport cost $49.50 but would be valid for 10 years, he said, which made it good value for money.