Becoming a New Zealand Citizen Now Costs $641 for Adults After Two Fee Rises in a Year

New Zealand citizenship fees rose 14.4% on 28 August 2026, following a 19% rise in November 2025, taking the adult citizenship by grant fee to NZ$641. Cabinet papers reported by the NZ Herald say applications are forecast to peak at more than 102,000 in 2027/28.

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Applying for New Zealand citizenship now costs more than ever. The higher fees apply to everyone applying for citizenship by grant, including Filipino residents of New Zealand who are planning to apply.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) raised citizenship application and product fees by 14.4 per cent from 12.01am on Friday 28 August 2026. That followed a 19 per cent increase on 21 November 2025, when the adult citizenship by grant fee rose from $470.20 to $560. DIA said at the time that fees had been unchanged for 22 years.

According to the government's citizenship fee schedule, citizenship by grant now costs NZ$641 for an adult aged 16 and over and NZ$320 for a child aged 15 and under. Registering citizenship by descent costs NZ$278.

DIA said the cost of delivering citizenship services had increased due to inflation, wage growth, rising operating costs and investment in replacing an ageing core technology system. "This fee adjustment reflects the actual cost of delivering citizenship services and helps ensure those costs are met by the people using the service, rather than by taxpayers," said Adrian Jarvis, DIA's General Manager Services and Access. DIA also said that even after the increase, New Zealand's fees remain comparatively low against countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Reporting for Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald on 18 October 2026, political reporter Azaria Howell said the Government's citizenship account is facing its highest deficit on record. The story's headline says the deficit had been forecast to reach $68.3 million by 2033 without the recent fee hike.

Cabinet material quoted in the report said a large increase in citizenship by grant applications is expected as holders of the 2021 resident visa, which granted residency to more than 212,000 people from the end of 2021 until 2024, become eligible. "Historically, around 65% of people with a residency visa go on to apply for citizenship," the material said, with applications forecast to peak at over 102,000 in 2027/28, compared with around 43,000 in 2025/26.

The report also said the cost of new tests for grant citizenship, being rolled out from late 2027, is yet to be confirmed, with further Cabinet decisions needed to set the final fee.