Passport price rise: Could you save by renewing before midnight?

From midnight on Thursday 11 April, the price of an adult passport will rise by £6 to £88.50 for applications made online.

The government said: “The new fees will help ensure that income from these applications better meets the cost of delivering passport and associated operations, 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. The increase will also help enable the government to continue improving its services.”

Because the cost of passport ownership is around 2.3p per day, travellers whose passports are due to expire by Christmas 2024 – and who do not need the documents for imminent travel – will save if they renew online before midnight.

For under-16s, the rise is £4 . However, because their passports last only for five years, the cost of ownership is higher – just over 3p per day – and the calculation is different.

Those with children’s passports due to expire before 13 August 2024 could do so now, again so long as no imminent travel is planned.

However, if a teenager is soon going to turn 16, it will be better to wait in order to benefit from the 10-year validity of an adult passport.

HM Passport Office says: “You’ll usually get your passport within three weeks. It may take longer than three weeks if we need more information, or we need to interview you. We’ll tell you this within three weeks. There are different turnaround times if you’re applying from another country.”

According to the private website PassportWaitingTime.co.uk, standard online renewals are currently taking nine days from application.

Last year the world’s most expensive passports were revealed, with the UK coming 12th in the world.

Australia topped the list of countries charging the most, with an adult passport costing citizens £192.