Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has welcomed improvements to New Zealand’s passport service which will allow parents to renew their children’s passports online, and also allow adults who have never had a passport to apply online using their RealMe verified identity.

The uptake of RealMe, the secure consent based identity verification service that allows people to prove who they are online, continues to rise. More than 160,000 verified identities have now been issued since RealMe went live in July 2013.

“The easiest way to renew a New Zealand passport is online. It's swift, safe and secure, with no need to print or post forms or even visit a Passport office.

“Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive about the online passport service. More than half of all applications for a 10-year adult passport renewal have been made online since the popular change from 5-year passports in late 2015.

“The Service aims to make the customer experience so easy, straightforward and reassuring that most people will choose to apply digitally”, says Mr Dunne.

The online passport service will expand further later this year to include applications by family groups, urgent lost, stolen or damaged applications, and renewals for people who have changed their names in New Zealand.

The online passport service contributes towards the Government's target of New Zealanders completing an average of 70 per cent of their most common transactions with government digitally by the end of 2017.

For more information about applying online for a passport – including guidance on passport photos, see www.passports.govt.nz.