The price of a UK passport will rise on Thursday, for the second time in just over 14 months. The cost of applying online to get a new or renewed adult passport will go up from £82.50 to £88.50 from midnight.
This 7% rise follows a 9% rise in February 2023. Consumer group Which? said travellers due to renew would “likely be shocked” by the hike.
The Home Office said it did not make a profit from the applications and the fee rise would help improve services.
Which? Travel expert Guy Hobbs said: “If you’ve been meaning to renew your passport, today is your last opportunity to beat the price hikes.”
The cost of applying for a child’s passport online is also going up from £53.50 to £57.50. If you apply by post the price rises from £64 to £69. A postal application for an adult passport will rise from £93 to £100.
It costs more if you apply from abroad, or if you require a passport urgently. Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.
Prior to last year’s rise, passport fees had not gone up for five years and a standard adult online application cost £75.50.
Mr Hobbs at Which? said: “The cost of renewing a passport has jumped significantly in the last few years, with this latest price hike following hot on the heels of a hefty 9% rise just last year.” He added: “While these price rises may well reflect rising production or processing costs, the UK passport is now amongst the priciest in Europe.”
The online cost of an £88.50 UK passport is among the most expensive in Europe. The UK comes in behind countries like Switzerland (£122), Denmark (£103) and Italy (£99.50). The cost of a US passport, meanwhile, is £103.
Martyn James, a consumer rights campaigner, said: “Just because a business or organisation can raise prices doesn’t mean they should. The starting point with any price increase – and this is 16 percentage points over 14 months – should be what are you doing to make the service better.”
In the aftermath of the Covid pandemic hundreds of thousands of people were affected by passport processing delays, with many experiencing travel disruptions. Some 360,000 customers waited more than 10 weeks to receive their passports in the first nine months of 2022, the National Audit Office found.
James said: “The Passport Office has struggled with meeting its basic obligations, so many users will question what they are getting for their money.”
The Home Office said the higher fees would go towards the cost of delivering passports and reduce the reliance on funding from tax.
Separately, holidaymakers travelling to the EU are being warned not to get caught out by the “passport 10-year rule”. UK travellers used to be able to carry up to nine months from an old passport over on to a new one. But post-Brexit, EU countries will not accept passports issued more than 10 years ago. Up to 32 million people applied for passports before the new rules, but it is unknown how many have been affected.
Travel association ABTA on Wednesday reminded travellers to follow existing rules for airport security regarding liquids and hand luggage. It comes after the government extended the deadline for UK airports to install new security scanners, which would have brought an end to the 100ml liquid.