This is the best time to renew your passport to save money
With the online passport application fee increasing to £88.50 from 11 April, those with upcoming travel plans may be wondering if it’s worth renewing their passport early.
Travel Supermarket has analysed whether renewing both adult and child passports ahead of the price increases is worth it, mainly taking into account the remaining validity left on the document.
For adults, anyone who was planning on renewing their passport before 17 December 2024 will save money if they renew before the April 11 deadline. For children’s documents, the important date is 14 August 2024.
If you renew your passport early, any time on your current passport’s validity will not be added to the 10-year validity of your new passport, so those who currently have more time on their validity (beyond December 2024 for adults and August 2024 for children) need not renew early.
The prices hikes are applicable for both online and postal applications for adult and children passports, with fees for adult applications rising from £82.50 to £88.50 for online applications and £93 to £100 for postal applications. For children, the rises are £53.50 to £57.50 and £64 to £69 respectively.
The increase is the second price rise in as many years. The Home Office states that fee increases are necessary in order to ensure that passport services are self-funded. Fees have to cover the costs of processing applications, supporting citizens with lost or stolen passports, and processing people at UK borders. The government does not make any profit on the fees.
The price hike comes among confusion on passport validity dates for those entering and exiting Europe and the Schengen Zone, with HM Passport Office still giving incorrect advice as recently as August 2023.
The BBC has estimated that 32 million British passport holders could potentially fall foul of post-Brexit rules on validity for travel to the European Union. Travellers are not allowed to enter EU nations on a passport issued more than 10 years ago.
The Schengen Area also requires UK travellers to have at least three months remaining before the expiry date on their passport on the day of departure from the European zone.