The price of a British passport will increase by 7 per cent next month . The move, announced by the Home Office just three weeks ahead of the rise, will see the cost of a straightforward online application jump by £6 to £94.50 on 10 April 2025.
Why is this happening? Can you dodge the rise? And how does the cost compare with other European countries, in particular Ireland ? These are the key questions and answers. Yes. The rise on all passport fees is a uniform 7 per cent – more than twice the current rate of inflation.
There was a 9 per cent increase in February 2023, and a further 7 per cent rise in April last year. It takes the cumulative rise in barely two years to 25 per cent. The government says: “The new fees will help the Home Office to continue to move towards a system that meets its costs through those who use it, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation.
” Ministers insist the government does not make any profit from the cost of passport applications. In addition, the Home Office says most people get their passports swiftly. Of every 1,000 straightforward applications, all but three are processed in three weeks or less.
The website PassportWaitingTime.co.uk says the average renewal of an adult passport currently takes 10 days.
Good question. Straightforward renewals are done online, with costs kept down as a result. Yet the fee – now rapidly approaching £100 – is nearly seven times the cost of a driving licence renewal, which is also an online.
