Your first passport

It is not essential for all first time applicants to have an interview in New Zealand but the circumstances of your application may require one.

If you are in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tokelau, Niue, Pitcairn Island, Tonga or Vanuatu, you can apply for a passport from the Regional Passport Production Centre at the British High Commission in Wellington. The British Consulate-General in Auckland does not issue passports.

Applicants from mainland NZ can either include a NZ$7 courier fee and handling charge or include their own return courier pack. Applicants from elsewhere will need to enclose a return international courier pack.

For information on

• British Citizenship
• Nationality
• Eligibility to British Passport

you need to use the above links. The call centre is not able to provide information on these subjects.

For information on

• How to obtain or renew a British passport
• To enquire about an existing passport application please call either: (Please Note this telephone service shown below is only available from within New Zealand)

Credit card line: 0044 208 082 4727 between 8am Monday to 6pm Friday (24 hour service) in New Zealand.
Calls will cost 69 pence + VAT per minute charged to a credit/debit card, plus your international call rate charged to your phone account. Please have your credit/debit card ready before calling.

Premium rate line: 0900 990 202 between 8am Monday to 6pm Friday (24 hour service) in New Zealand.
Calls will cost NZ $4.50 per minute. (Charged to your phone account) Calls made on a mobile phone may be subject to additional charges, please check with your mobile phone provider.

Applying for a passport:

1. Print out application form and guidance notes as these will help you to complete your application
2. Initial each page of your application form in the box provided. Your application won’t be accepted if you don’t
3. Sign the application form within the signature box - we cannot scan your signature on to your passport if it appears outside the box 
4. Enclose two identical passport photographs, taken within the last month (Photos must meet specific standards. See our Passport documents page for more information)
5. Courier the form along with the required documentation and fee to the:
   Regional Passport Production Centre
   British High Commission
   44 Hill Street
   Wellington 6011. 

Complete the checklist before sending in the application.

For applications sent from countries other than New Zealand, payment must be made by either a bankers draft (made payable in NZD$ to the British High Commission) or by credit card by completing the payment slip. You  will also need to enclose a return international courier pack.  Passport applications from Fiji, Kiribati, Tuvalu or Nauru should be sent to the British High Commission in Fiji .

Renewing your passport

1. Print out the application form and guidance notes to help you to complete your application
2. Initial each page of the application form in the box provided. We cannot accept your application if this is not done
3. Sign the application form within the signature box - we cannot scan your signature on to your passport if it appears outside the box
4. Enclose two identical passport photgraphs, taken within the last month. (Photos must meet specific standards. See our Passport documents page for more information)
5. Courier your completed application form, current passport and fee to the:
   Regional Passport Production Centre
   British High Commission
   44 Hill Street
   Wellington 6011