The right to a passport is a major benefit of citizenship. In 1948 the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act created a separate New Zealand citizenship (though the words ‘British subject’ remained on New Zealand passports until 1973, along with ‘New Zealand citizen’). After the 1948 act had been passed, New Zealand passports were issued by the Department of Internal Affairs. In this 1949 photograph, a departmental officer is dealing with an applicant for one of the first New Zealand passports.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library, National Publicity Studios Collection
Reference: 1/2-027793; F
by W. Walker
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.