British passports to get more expensive from Thursday

Applying for a British passport will cost £6 more from Thursday, bringing the total cost from £88.50 to £94.50 for adults and £57.50 to £61.50 for children.

The 7% rise for adults follows two years of price hikes now totaling more than 25%.

Why is the price rising?

The government insists the rises 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.”

They also say the money will go toward 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.

How to avoid being caught out

Although your passport may still be within its expiry date, post Brexit rules mean British passport holders must have a passport that is valid for at least three months after you intend to leave the EU.

The passport must also have been issued within the previous ten years.

This means you should be looking at the date of issue when checking if you need to renew, as well as the expiry date.

Even if your passport is in date, if it hasn’t been issued in the past ten years you could be stopped from boarding your plane or ferry.

When should I renew my passport?

The advice is to apply to renew your passport before it is nine years and nine months old and allow up to ten weeks for it to arrive.

Although the Passport Office say people usually get their passports within three weeks.

How can I avoid the price rises?

If you get your application in by the end of today, you could save yourself the £6.

Alternatively, if you qualify for an Irish passport – if you were born in Ireland or have a parent or grandparent who was born in Ireland – you can apply for the much cheaper passport at around £62.