After months of backlogs and delays, the Department of Internal Affairs can now process more passport applications than it receives and expects wait times to reduce in coming weeks.
“Last week we received 13 per cent more applications than the previous week but were still able to issue nine per cent more passports than applications we received,” says Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs general manager services and access Julia Wootton.
“In June, around a quarter of all passports, including those that were issued urgently, were issued within 10 working days.
“Around half of all passports are being issued in under a month, but some are taking longer. With couriers also experiencing high demand, it can take up to six weeks for some customers to receive their passport.”
Julia says demand for passports remains high, and DIA staff continue to be affected by COVID-19 and other winter illnesses.
“We have been recruiting additional staff, with more than 100 extra full and part-time staff expected to become available in the next few weeks.
“In addition to this recruiting, our people are working additional hours and we have brought in people from across the Department to assist us in this work.”
Julia says it’s important for travellers to know that not all applications take the same time to process.
“The time it takes for someone to get their passport depends on factors such as how many checks can be made automatically, if the person has applied for the standard or the urgent service, and on how long the courier takes.
“We continue to be able to process passports in three working days when a person opts for the urgent service.”
To avoid missing out on their trip, the DIA website advises travellers to still allow six weeks for their passport to arrive.
Air New Zealand has no specific policy to cover delayed passport arrivals.
“While we don’t have a specific policy for this, we do offer customers the option to purchase travel insurance to cover their entire trip including flights, accommodation, rental cars and other prepaid travel costs,” says an Air New Zealand spokesperson.
“Provided a customer has allowed sufficient time for their application to be processed and passport delivered to them, then the insurance would consider cover in the event that it does not arrive on time.”
