The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) advises that the only official website to apply for citizenship on is www.govt.nz after reports that unofficial websites are overcharging customers for citizenship services.

The Department has received several reports about rogue websites that charge an additional fee to apply, on top of the application fee.

“The only official website to apply for New Zealand citizenship by grant is www.govt.nz/apply-for-citizenship,” says Adrian Jarvis, General Manager of Services and Access at DIA.

“DIA’s citizenship by grant service is a secure online process, that makes it easy for potential New Zealanders to apply for citizenship online, while protecting their identity information.”

Some third-party sites are charging customers up to $195 on top of the DIA application fee.

On these sites, customers fill in all the same information required for a citizenship application but are charged by the third-party to submit it. This additional cost can be avoided by using the official website.

Using the official www.govt.nz website also ensures that customer information is protected.

“When dealing with identity information, protecting the privacy of customers is at the centre of what we do, every day.”

“It’s important to be diligent about who your share your identity information with. As a government agency, DIA has robust privacy and security processes in place to protect customer’s personal information and ensure that it is not compromised.”

Using a third-party also increases the risk of scams. Despite paying for the service, there is no guarantee if or when the citizenship application will be lodged with DIA. Applying directly on www.govt.nz will ensure that DIA receives the application and can follow up with customers directly if there is any missing information.

“All our services, including passports, citizenship, and births deaths and marriages should be applied for using a govt.nz website,” says Jarvis. “That way you can be confident you’re getting trusted services, at the right cost and that your information is being protected.”

“Don’t risk paying too much, waiting longer than you need to or even being scammed.”

For citizenship by grant visit: www.govt.nz/app;y-for-citizenship

For passport services visit: www.passports.govt.nz

For births, deaths and marriages, including certificate orders visit: http://www.govt.nz/organisations/births-deaths-and-marriages

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