PASSPORT APPLICATIONS IN NEW ZEALAND

The following is the procedure to obtain a dash (-) in the gender field of your New Zealand passport. You will need to apply for a New Zealand passport by completing a passport application form. This can be obtained from the Passport Office, or downloaded from the links below.

A New Zealand passport may be issued with the sex omitted (shown in the passport as a dash) if:

The applicant has changed his/her name by Name Change Declaration to a name more suitable to a member of the opposite sex, or
The applicant has a unisex name

and...

The applicant lives as a member of the opposite sex but has not undergone full gender reassignment surgery, or
The applicant has undergone full gender reassignment surgery, but has not produced a new full birth certificate (issued under the Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995) showing their new sex.

If you wish to have a dash entered in biodata field of the passport you need to provide the following with your application:

A statutory declaration; and
A birth certificate showing your change of name, or a birth certificate in the former name and a registered Name Change Declaration (if a change of name is involved).

The statutory declaration must include the following information:

How long you have lived as a member of the opposite sex.
A statement as to whether any gender reassignment surgery has been performed.
An acknowledgment that if no surgery has been performed, or full reassignment surgery has not been performed, the passport may be issued with the sex omitted (shown in the passport as a dash)
An acknowledgement that if full gender reassignment is subsequently performed you will need to obtain a new full birth certificate (issued under the Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995) showing your new sex, before a passport showing the new sex may be obtained. The declaration should also acknowledge that in this case the full fee will be payable.