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New Zealand passports (in Māori: ''Uruwhenua Aotearoa'') are issued to New Zealand citizens for the purpose of international travel by the Department of Internal Affairs. New Zealand has a passport possession rate of around 75% of the population〔(International passport comparison )〕 and there are around 1.5 million New Zealand biometric passports in circulation.〔(New Zealand Customs Service: About ePassports )〕 New Zealand participates in the Five Nations Passport Group, an international forum for cooperation between the passport issuing authorities in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States to "share best practices and discuss innovations related to the development of passport policies, products and practices".〔 ==History== Few countries required passports before the First World War, and they were not then usually required for overseas travel. By 1900 there were occasional requests for New Zealand passports, which were personally signed by the Governor. In 1905 MP George Fowlds decided to return to Scotland for his father’s 100th birthday. He decided he needed a passport when his ship was about to leave; an inconvenience both for the department and the Governor who had to sign it. A single passport covered a man and his wife and children, but did not include a photo or any personal details like age, height or eye colour. In the First World War the British Government required passports in 1915, and New Zealand followed from November 1915, with an increased workload for the department and for police. In 1909 1,108 passports had been issued, but in the nine months from 15 November 1915 to 21 August 1916 6,000 were issued. The number was kept high by civilian travel after the war, over 4,300 in 1921, and the number hovered at that level until the Depression. The number then fell from 4,722 in 1930 to 2,455 for the year ended 31 March 1934. After the creation of New Zealand citizenship with the passing of the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act, 1948 (which came into force on 1 January 1949), residence in New Zealand no longer qualified British or Commonwealth citizens for a New Zealand passport, and they had to apply for New Zealand citizenship then for a passport, with increased work for the Department of Internal Affairs. In 1950 the number of passports issued topped ten thousand, twice as many as were issued in 1939. . Between 1948 and 1977, New Zealand passports bore the words 'New Zealand citizen and British subject'.〔()〕 Starting on 1 July 1981, the Fraser Government announced that New Zealand citizens could no longer travel to Australia without passports, as it was felt that too many people who were not entitled to travel without passports to Australia were passing themselves off as New Zealanders.〔()〕〔()〕 In 1992, the Department of Internal Affairs started issuing machine-readable passports in New Zealand, whilst New Zealand overseas posts continued to issue manual passports. Since 24 February 1992, children's names have no longer been endorsed in the passports of their parents. In February 1997, the New Zealand High Commission in London began issuing machine readable passports.〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 1996-1997 )〕 In December 2000, French was removed from the biodata page of the New Zealand passport and replaced with Māori - this change was brought about by the Department of Internal Affairs to reflect the status of Te Reo Māori as an official language of New Zealand and to give "New Zealanders travelling abroad a passport that more accurately reflects their national identity".〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2000-2001 )〕 In 2001, the Department of Internal Affairs took over responsibility for the London Passport Office from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 1999-2000 )〕 By 2003, only around 4% of all New Zealand passport holders still held a non-machine readable version.〔()〕 All passports issued on or after 24 April 2005 - both adult and child - have a maximum passport validity of five years as a result of the Passports Amendment Act (2005). Passports that were issued prior to this date continue to remain valid until the date of expiry as stated on the biodata page. On the same day, New Zealand passports were no longer endorsed with name changes, which meant that, for example, changing to a married name required applying for a new passport. On 26 October 2004, New Zealand diplomatic posts stopped issuing manual passports and, on the same day, began issuing short-term machine-readable emergency travel documents for New Zealand citizens who need to travel urgently.〔()〕〔()〕 One of the reasons for reducing the number of non-machine readable passports in circulation was to increase the security of New Zealand passports; another was that, starting on this day, New Zealanders travelling to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program were required to enter on a machine readable passport.〔()〕 From this date onwards, all New Zealand citizens applying for a passport overseas have had to send their application to the Passport Office in New Zealand, Sydney or London. It has also meant that all New Zealand passports issued on or after 26 October 2004 are machine-readable. Remaining non-machine readable New Zealand passports (M series) are still valid and will expire by 25 October 2014 at the latest (only around 2% of New Zealand passport holders still have a non-machine readable version).〔()〕 On 4 November 2005, the Department of Internal Affairs began issuing New Zealand biometric passports (EA series).〔(TVNZ: Government introduces e-passport )〕 In order to cover the higher costs associated with the production of biometric passports (compared with the previous machine readable passports), the application cost increased from NZ$71 to NZ$150 for adults and from NZ$36 to NZ$80 for children.〔(NZ Herald: Microchips in passports double price )〕 On 23 November 2009, the Department of Internal Affairs launched a new (and the current) version of the biometric passport (LA series), supplied under a contract with the Canadian Bank Note Company at a cost of just under $100 million over five years. One of the motivations for a new passport design was to ensure that it would remain difficult to produce counterfeit New Zealand passports.〔()〕 Unlike the previous biometric passport, photographs on the biodata page are now laser engraved in black and white for extra security.〔()〕 On 29 May 2014, after considering the Petition of Kyle Lockwood, the Government Administration Committee recommended to the New Zealand government that ten-year passports be reinstated. The committee concluded "On the evidence received, we are not convinced that the reduction in detected fraudulent passports is a result of the shorter validity period. It seems more likely to us that the introduction of biometric passports has lessened fraud and counterfeiting. The international standard among countries such as Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, who use similar biometric passports, is ten years. The biometric security features have led countries such as China, Canada and the Netherlands to reintroduce ten-year passports. We support the intent of the petition." 〔()〕 The number of New Zealand passports and travel documents issued by year is as follows: 〔 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2012-2013 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2011-2012 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2010-2011 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2009-2010 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2008-2009 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2006-2007 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2004-2005 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2003-2004 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 2002-2003 )〕 〔(Department of Internal Affairs Annual Report 1998-1999 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New Zealand passport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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