Māori Status in New Zealand Law · Consent Ledger · Part 56 · Passport

Does holding a New Zealand passport amount to consenting to Crown sovereignty?

A passport is a statutory travel document issued to a qualifying New Zealand citizen. The document itself is government property, but the Act does not say the Government owns the person or that applying for a passport cedes constitutional rights.

The Passports Act 1992 gives a New Zealand citizen a statutory right to a passport subject to the Act's conditions.

Section 33 states that passports and certain other travel documents are property of the New Zealand Government. That provision concerns the document, not ownership of the human being to whom it is issued.

Document ownership is not person ownership.A person may hold and use a government-owned passport without becoming government property. The Act regulates issuance, cancellation, surrender and travel-document use.

Act performedApplying for and using a passport.

Immediate legal effectUse of a statutory travel document evidencing entitlement to travel as a New Zealand citizen, subject to the Act.

Consent actually evidencedParticipation in the passport regime and compliance with its lawful conditions.

Not establishedCession of rangatiratanga, Crown ownership of the person, or a blanket contract accepting all state jurisdiction.

The passport is an administrative/nationality document. It is not a constitutional deed of surrender.

Primary statutePassports Act 1992, including ss 3 and 33.

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