Key open to 10-year passports

Ten-year passports have come a step closer after a parliamentary committee called on the Government to review the current five-year validity period.

Prime Minister John Key and Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne have said they are open to a review that could include an increase to 10 years.

Dunne said yesterday he would seek advice from the Department of Internal Affairs on the practicalities of returning to a 10-year passport.

Key said he ‘‘wouldn’t rule that out’’ when asked if the Government would support a return to 10-year passports. ‘‘The general rule, when we went to five years, the belief was all countries would go there because of the security risks around 9/11,’’ Key said.

‘‘In reality . . . the technology has improved quite a lot in recent years, so, look, it’s possible we’d see a move back to 10 years,’’ he said, adding he could understand if the public was ‘‘frustrated’’ by five-year passports.

In a response to a petition, the government administration committee said on the evidence that it heard new biometric passports reduced the risk of counterfeiting and identity fraud. The protection was sufficient for the period to be safely extended. The committee said the international standard among countries that used biometric passports was 10 years.