New passport changes being rolled out tomorrow and it’s bad news if you need a new one

BRITISH passports are about to get more expensive, so it is bad news if you need a new one.

From tomorrow, British passport prices will rise by seven per cent, with an online application jumping up by £6 to £94.50.

Children’s passports will be rising too, with the standard application fee from within the UK rising from £57.50 to £61.50.

Frequent traveller passports with 54-pages will also increase in price.

Whilst not confirmed, the current price for one of these passports is £100.50 and could rise to a similar price as the postal application at £107.

For the meantime, individuals who traveller a lot may still want to consider getting a larger passport as EU countries will still ‘wet stamp’ a passport.

Whilst the EU’s new Entry/Exit System eventually involves the phasing out of ‘wet stamping’ and moving to digital recording processes, the EU recently announced the roll-out of the system will be staggered, from October 2025.

This means until October, Brits travelling to Europe will still receive physical stamps in their passports and past October, the staggered roll-out means that it will be a while before this process is completely stopped.

Postal passport applications also come with many cons and are one of the more expensive options, especially with the price rise.

A postal application is more expensive than applying online, and the whole process could face delays and extra fees, as paper applications take longer to process.

For example, applying through the Post Office ‘Check and Send’ service incurs an extra fee, and you will also need to pay for your own photos.

Paper applications are also more likely to experience errors, which can lead to further delays or even rejections.

For those needing a passport, if you put your application in to renew it by the end of today, you could save yourself the price rise.

However, for those needing to renew their passport after April 10, the fee increases will apply with all application types rising in cost.

Over the past two years, the cost of a UK passport application has risen by more than 25 per cent.

Prior to this new price rise, the UK passport was already among the most expensive in Europe.

A select few countries do cost more including Italy – £97, Denmark – £100 and Switzerland – £123.

On the other hand, some countries are far cheaper including Norway, where a new passport costs £55 and Lithuania, where it costs £43.

The Home Office and HM Passport Office said in a statement: “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.

“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.

“Customers are advised that they should apply in good time before travelling.”

Last year, 99.7 per cent of standard passport applications from the UK, where no further information was required, were processed within three weeks.

Recently, the Irish passport was named the most powerful in the world for perks and entry.

This is because Ireland is in the EU, which means travellers can skip long queues in EU countries.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs explains: “If you or your parent were born on the island of Ireland before 2005, you are an Irish citizen.”

This means that you can apply for an Irish passport without making an application for citizenship, although from 2005 onwards, the parameters change slightly.

If you were born in Ireland to British or Irish citizen parents, you are automatically an Irish citizen.

And if you were born in Northern Ireland in these circumstances, you can choose to be an Irish citizen.

However, if you were born in Ireland, in or after 2005 and your parents aren’t British or Irish citizens, your right to an Irish passport depends on how long your parents lived in Ireland and their residency rights.

Alternatively, if one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, you may be eligible to claim ‘Irish citizenship by decent’.

Irish passports are more than £30 cheaper than British passports too.

In addition, parents are being advised to check their children’s passports before heading away this Easter.

Plus, three ways to avoid paying more for your passport.