The cost of applying to become a New Zealand citizen is about to increase by nearly $100 for adults. 

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) today announced that from tomorrow all New Zealand citizenship application and product fees will increase, the first rise in 22 years. 

The price of applying for New Zealand citizenship by grant for an adult will rise from $470.20 to $560, while the price for a child (under 16 years old) will increase from $235.10 to $280. The fee for registering New Zealand citizenship by descent will rise from $204.40 to $243. 

The DIA said citizenship fees hadn’t changed for 22 years and the 19% increase would ensure the fees covered the full cost of delivering the citizenship services in a “sustainable way”. 

Citizenship services are funded by the fees, not taxpayers, so the DIA said the increase will not affect the general coffers. 

“Updating fees is essential to maintain high-quality services and meet rising costs,” said Adrian Jarvis, general manager services and access at DIA. 

“New Zealand citizenship fees continue to be among the lowest fees internationally following this change.” 

In May, the price of an adult passport jumped from $215 to $247, while a child passport went from $125 to $144. 

Last year, the Government hiked the international visitor levy (IVL), which is charged to most visitors to New Zealand, from $35 to $100. 

“A $100 IVL would generally make up less than 3% of the total spending for an international visitor while in New Zealand, meaning it is unlikely to have a significant impact on visitor numbers,” then-Tourism Minister Matt Doocey said. 

“Increasing the IVL means we can continue to grow international tourism to support economic growth while ensuring international visitors contribute to high-value conservation areas and projects, such as supporting biodiversity in national parks and other highly visited areas and improving visitor experiences on public conservation land.” 

Jamie Ensor is a senior political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist this year for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.