BRITS who need a new passport will be forced to pay more from tomorrow.
Passport applications will go up in price for the second year running.
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The Home Office announced the seven per cent price hike last month.
Passport application fees will rise from tomorrow, April 11, with standard online applications increasing from £82.50 to £88.50.
Meanwhile, new passports for children will rise by £4 from £53.50 to £57.50.
This means a family of four could be forced to pay an extra £20 if they need to update all of their passports at the same time – paying £292 rather than £272.
Postal applications, and applications made from overseas, which are more expensive than online, are also going to cost more.
Adult paper applications will go up from £93 to £100, while kids will go from £64 to £69.
A family of four will pay an additional £24, if they decide to make an application on paper.
Despite being more expensive, a recent investigation found that as many as 850,000 people applied for a passport via a paper application last year.
Helen Knapman, news and investigations editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “Our research shows nearly 850,000 people missed out on an estimated £9 million in savings last year because they used a paper form when applying for their passport.
“If you can do it online, or if you can get someone to help, the cheapest way to get a new passport is still to apply directly through Gov.uk.
“[This is] whether it’s your first one, you’re renewing an old one or changing your personal details.”
We’ve explained how to renew your passport here.
Last month, the Home Office 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.”
Passport fees rose by nine per cent last year, marking the first uptick in passport prices for five years.
Other passport rules
Even if your passport isn’t ready to be renewed, it could be worth applying for a new one before the price hike comes into force tomorrow.
This is because of a number of new rules in place for Brits travelling abroad.
For example, your passport cannot be more than 10 years old – any months previously rolled over are no longer accepted.
In recent years, several holidaymakers have been denied boarding because their passports were more than 10 years old.
Last year, Rosi Simpson, a teacher from Brighton, was prevented from boarding her flight to Paris to see her son because of the rule.
Brit holidaymakers also need to have at least three months left on their passport to travel to European destinations.
Another rule Brits aren’t aware of is needing to have blank pages left in a passport.
Countries like Turkey require at least one fully empty page, while South Africa requires two blank pages.
New passport fees from April 11
The cost of applying for a UK passport is set to rise tomorrow.
Online adult passport applications – £88.50 (was £82.50)
Online kids passport applications – £57.50 (was £53.30)
Postal adults passport applications – £100 (was £93)
Postal kids passport applications – £69 (£64)
Meanwhile, this lucky traveller managed to get a new passport within 12 hours after he was kicked off a flight.
Here is how to get a fast-track passport renewal.
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