The cost of online applications made within the UK for people aged 16 and above will increase from £82.50 to £88.50 under the proposals, the Home Office has announced
Passport fees are set to rise by more than 7% in a blow for those who need to renew their travel document.
The Home Office has announced that passport fees are set to go up next month, with online applications for people aged 16 and above increasing from £82.50 to £88.50. Passports for children under 16 will now cost £57.50, a rise from the current £53.50.
Fees for postal applications and those made from overseas will also see similar increases. These changes, which need to be approved by parliament, are expected to start from April 11. Last year in February, passport fees increased by around 9%.
In a statement, the Home Office said: “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.”
They added: “The Government does not make any profit from the cost of passport applications. 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. The increase will also help enable the Government to continue improving its services.”
In the months after the coronavirus pandemic huge backlogs built up at the UK Passport Office as many people realised they needed to renew their travel documents for their first trip abroad in years. The good news is that the previously lengthy queues which stretched to ten weeks, and even longer in extreme situations, are now much smaller following a successful recovery of the service.
The fastest your passport can be renewed with an urgent passport renewal is two days from the date of your application. If you are planning to get away anytime soon, finding out that your passport is out of date could send you into a frenzy.
Luckily, there are different services available that could see you issued your important travel document within days or even hours, taking the pain out of last-minute panics
By paying extra for a premium or fast-track service, your passport could be with you very quickly. Frantic flyers can choose from the Online Premium service or the one-Week Fast Track service to ensure an expedient return on your application. Check out our rundown of the different services available and how to access them.
Following the death of the late Queen and the coronation of King Charles, British passports underwent their biggest in 70 years. The travel documents are now in Charles’ names rather than his mother’s. The famous message on the first page used to read: “Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely…”
The changeover from Her to His Majesty took several months however, with some royalists unhappy to receive their new passport – which lasts for ten years – in the name of the late Queen.
Check out more of Daily Mirror’s latest travel stories by signing up to our free weekly newsletter.
