Britons have been left furious as the cost of British passports rises by seven per cent following a nine per cent rise just last year.
Adults will now have to pay £88.50 to renew their ID and children under 16 will see theirs rise to £57.50.
The new price marks a spike of £6 and £4 respectively – with the price of a standard adult online application rising by almost 15 per cent in two years.
If you apply by post the cost of an adult passport will hit £100 from £93 – with children’s prices increasing from £64 to £69.
Before the previous hike in February 2023, adult IDs cost £75.50 to renew.
Which? Travel expert Guy Hobbs said customers looking to get new passports would ‘likely be shocked’ by the change.
Adults will now have to pay £88.50 to renew their ID and children under 16 will see theirs rise to £57.50
He added: ‘While these latest price rises may well reflect rising production or processing costs, the UK passport is now amongst the priciest in Europe – and travellers due to renew will likely be shocked by how much these little blue books now cost.’
Brits have already hit out at the spike – as they complain that despite the cost of passports rising the quality seems to be getting worse.
‘The quality of these new passports is shocking. Although I use mine very often the gold embossing on the front is completely worn off,’ one, called Ian, told the BBC.
And consumer rights campaigner Martyn James added: ‘Just because a business or organisation can raise prices doesn’t mean they should.
‘The starting point with any price increase – and this is 16 percentage points over 14 months – should be what are you doing to make the service better.’
Before 2023, passport fees had stayed the same for five years.
It costs more to apply for a new ID if you request one from abroad, but people born on or before September 2 1929 – who are now over the age of 94 -will be able to get one for free.
The Home Office said in a statement: ‘The new fees will help ensure that income from these applications better meets the cost of delivering passport and associated operations, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation.
The new price marks a spike of £6 and £4 respectively – with the price of a standard adult online application rising by almost 15 per cent in two years
Passport fees will rise by more than 7% from Thursday April 11, following an announcement by the Home Office in March
‘The fees contribute to the cost of processing passport applications, consular support overseas including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders.’
So, how much does it cost to renew a UK passport? When should you renew one and how long could it take to arrive? Here is everything you need to know about UK passport renewals ahead of the upcoming price hikes.
How much does it cost to get or renew a UK passport?
The cost of online applications made within the UK for people aged 16 and above will increase from £82.50 to £88.50, with passports for children now costing £57.50, up from £53.50.
There are similar rises in fees for postal applications and those made from overseas and these price hikes follow a 9% increase in February last year.
When should you renew a UK passport?
You must make sure to renew your passport if it has either expired, the date of issue was more than 10 years ago – if travelling to countries with the 10-year rule – or your passport does not have enough time left on it before it expires.
How much time you need on your passport depends on where you are going.
You can check entry requirements for individual countries on the UK government website.
How do you renew a UK passport?
You can renew a UK passport online at HM Passport Office or by filling in a paper application from some Post Offices.
For the renewal process, you will need your old passport and any valid passports you hold from a different country.
How long does it take to renew a UK passport?
It should take up to three weeks to renew a passport in the UK, but it can take longer during periods of high demand, such as before school holidays.
If you need a UK passport to be issued urgently, you can book an appointment at your nearest passport office, subject to availability, after which your new passport may take up to a week to be issued.
When travelling to the EU, British holidaymakers should be aware of the ’10-year rule’, and pay close attention to their passport’s issue date and expiry date
Can you travel in the EU on a UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
Since the UK left the EU, travellers going to all countries within the bloc, as well as Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland, but not Ireland, must have a passport which was issued less than 10 years before their departure date.
When travelling to the EU, a 10-year British passport is only valid for entry for exactly 10 years after the date of issue, regardless of the date of expiry.
Before September 2018, passport holders could have up to nine months added to their passport expiry date if they renewed their 10-year passport early.
Post-Brexit, however, although the official validity of your passport may be beyond 10 years, the EU does not recognise these extra months if your passport is older than 10 years on the date that you enter the EU. On top of this, you must also have at least three months’ validity on your passport beyond the date you intend to leave the EU’s free-movement Schengen territory.
This means visitors must pay careful attention to the issue date and the expiry date.
For example, if you enter the EU from the UK on April 1, 2024, and return on April 5, 2024, you must have a passport issued less than 10 years before April 1, and that’s valid for at least three months after April 5.