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If you’re due for a new passport, your next one may be issued in the name of His Majesty King Charles III.
In the inside cover of the New Zealand passport, there is a message beneath the coat of arms that name-drops the sovereign.
Currently, it refers to the late Queen: “The Governor-General in the Realm of New Zealand requests in the Name of Her Majesty the Queen all whom it may concern to allow the holder to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful assistance and protection.”
The message is also printed in te reo Māori, with reference to “Kuini Erihapeti Tuarua” (Queen Elizabeth II).
When the Queen died in September, Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), which manages passports, said this detail would eventually be amended to reflect the new monarch.
Stuff
With King Charles’ name in your passport, you should be allowed to travel “without delay or hindrance”.
DIA deputy chief executive service delivery and operations Maria Robertson travelled to Canada shortly after the Queen’s death to sign off the new print plates with the reference to King Charles, or Kīngi Tiāre te Tuatoru.
New Zealand passport books are manufactured by the Canadian Bank Note Company, which also makes our currency.
“The print plates are all held in vaults underground at Canadian Bank Note, and as part of the process of changing any of those plates, there’s a formal sign-off,” Robertson said.
As she was signing off the change, she reflected on the historical significance of the moment.
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Maria Roberston signing off the new passport template with the reference to King Charles.
“We haven’t had to make that change for 70 years… the head of state changes, but the sentiment doesn’t, which is ‘please look after our people’.”
While they were still using up the last of the old passport stock, the expectation was the new stock would be phased in from the middle of the year.
During the phasing in period, it would be possible for two people applying for a passport at the same time to receive different passports, one with the current design with the Queen, and the other with the new design with the King.
Passports that referred to the Queen would still be valid until they expired.
King Charles will be officially crowned at his coronation this weekend, after waiting in line to the throne for seven decades.
Kiwis needing to renew their passports could also be in for a wait. The passports website says travellers should allow four weeks plus delivery for a standard passport, with those who require the document sooner advised to apply for an urgent passport.
Robertson put the delay down to “ongoing issues with courier delivery pressures” that were outside their control.
“This combined with being our usual busy period, workforce pressures and disruptions due to weather and transport network interruptions, means we are being conservative in our estimates of delivery timeframes, so our customers are well-informed and organised.”
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