Passport application fees are set to rise by around 7% from 11th April 2024, from £82.50 to £88.50 for a standard application. There is still time to beat the hike if you apply now, which many people may need to do to avoid falling foul of a little-known passport quirk.
This will be the second consecutive annual rise, subject to parliamentary scrutiny, following a 9% hike in February 2023. You can see how the changes might affect you in the table below:
| Application type | Current cost | New fee |
| Adult standard (online) | £82.50 | £88.50 |
| Adult standard (paper) | £93 | £100 |
| Adult fast track | £155 | £166.50 |
| Adult premium | £193.50 | £207.50 |
| Child standard (online) | £53.50 | £57.50 |
| Child standard (paper) | £64 | £69 |
| Child fast track | £126 | £135.50 |
Do I need to renew my passport?
You'll need to renew your passport if the date on your passport is due to expire before you travel. The date of expiry should be on the bottom line of the photo page of your passport, below the date of issue.
You may also need to renew your passport even if it isn't due to expire before you leave, due to a little-known quirk in the passport system, because some countries have restrictions on how old a valid passport can be before they will allow entry. For example, your passport cannot be more than 10 years old on the date of entry if you are travelling to any country in the EU (plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, and Monaco) other than Ireland. It must also be valid for at least three months from your planned return date. These rules apply because the UK is no longer in the EU.
Your passport could be more than ten years old if you last renewed it before 2018, as the Passport Office previously added any remaining months of validity to the new passport. This is no longer the case, meaning those who now apply to renew their passport will simply lose any of the remaining time left on the old passport when the new one is issued. You can check the requirements of the country you are travelling to by selecting your destination from the government’s foreign travel advice page.
If you need a new passport urgently, you can choose to pay extra for the ‘fast track’ service that takes one week, or for the ‘premium’ service that is completed on the same day you apply. The Passport Office claims that the standard service should take up to three weeks.
Will I save money if I renew my passport now?
It may be worth renewing now to avoid the application fee increase, but only if you have less than a few months of validity left. By renewing now you would save £6 versus renewing in a few months for a standard renewal, but any time left on your current passport will not roll over onto your new one. This means that renewing early will mean you have to get your next passport earlier too. A standard adult passport lasts for 10 years, so it is impossible to know how much more it will cost to renew when that time comes around again. You'll need to work out whether saving £6 now is worth losing a few months of a valid passport.
There is every chance that the cost of renewing your passport will increase further in the years to come. Recent research put the UK 12th on a list of the most expensive passports. The £82.50 fee was well below the most expensive country, Australia (£192), but significantly ahead of Spain (£28) in 36th place.
How to renew your passport
Your first port of call when it comes to renewing, updating or replacing your passport should always be the GOV.UK passports page. This will always be the cheapest way and likely the easiest option too.
If you would rather apply using a paper form, you will have to pay more and it will likely take longer. You can find the relevant forms at any branch of the Post Office that offers a 'Paper Check & Send' service. Alternatively, the government will send you the forms if you request them online. If you are concerned about filling out any forms incorrectly, use the Post Office Check & Send service, which costs an extra £16 and ensures your paperwork is correct and dispatched by special delivery.
Once a standard application is submitted, the Passport Office says you will usually get your new passport within three weeks. However, this does not account for any logistical or technical issues that can crop up, so make sure to apply in plenty of time before you go away. Alternatively, the ‘fast track’ service takes one week, and the ‘premium’ service is completed on the same day you apply.
Steer clear of any other websites or services offering to renew your passport. These can often be a much more expensive way to fill in a form and could even be a scam.
Why is the cost of a passport application going up?
The Home Office, which runs the Passport Office, claims the increase is to "ensure that income from these applications better meets the cost of delivering passport and associated operations, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation."
The higher fees will be put towards "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."
