By September, the Department of Internal Affairs aims to have over 90 percent of passports issued within two weeks. Photo: 123rf
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says the department is on track to meet its September target of having more than 90 percent of passports issued within two weeks.
An upgrade to the Department of Internal Affairs' (DIA) online system in March resulted in passports taking more than 10 weeks to be processed.
"This was of significant concern to me as I'm aware of the stress and uncertainty passport issuing delays causes to Kiwis intending to travel internationally for both personal and business reasons. I asked for ongoing updates on this issue until it is resolved," van Velden said.
The department was making considerable progress in reducing wait times, she said.
"Over the past month, the DIA has consistently issued more passports than applications received, which has seen the passport application queue reduce by more than 8100 applications [a 15 percent reduction] since the beginning of May."
The current median wait time was 29 days for standard passport applications and three days for urgent applications.
As of last week, the department was issuing 35 percent of passports within two weeks, and 73 percent within six weeks, she said.
On 29 May, the department updated its advice for customers, saying they should allow up to eight weeks for a standard passport to be issued.
By the end of July, the DIA expected 75 percent of passports to be issued within two weeks and 95 percent within six weeks. Targets for September were more than 90 percent of passports being issued within two weeks.