New Zealand to re-introduce 10-year passports

New Zealanders are expected to re-start travelling the world on 10-year passports from 2016, following public dissatisfaction with the current five-year passports.

The New Zealand government in 2005 switched from 10-year to five-year passports, Xinhua reported.

"The 10-year validity period gives greater convenience to most adult passport holders, as they will need to renew their passport less frequently," Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne said in a statement on Monday.

"Because a child's appearance can change significantly over time, the child passport will remain valid for five years as is international convention."

However, 10-year passports remain the international norm and critics argued the introduction of biometric passports lessened the risk of fraud and counterfeiting.

Travellers have also complained about the inconvenience of having to renew passports frequently and that the government used five-year passports to collect extra revenue.