[Discussion] what do you think of the government’s proposed passport cost increase?

35 comments
  1. 93 quid I can’t decide if it’s a piss take or really good value cos it lasts like ten years. But it’s also 93 quid for something that’s used once a year if you are lucky. So 9.30 a use.

  2. My passport has expired but I also have no plans to leave the country particularly soon. I wonder what the point is at which I am cost neutral delaying getting this but having it last for a full 10 years from when I need it vs rushing to renew before the deadline….

  3. Not bothered, personally. Considering that a passport lasts for ten years the annual cost is really quite trivial.

  4. Strange that this is being proposed just as they’re looking at having to bring photo ID to vote 🤔

    I mean, I suppose once you have one it lasts a while at least, but still.

  5. Depends on if the workers are getting a raise in line with the cost increase. Otherwise I’d want to know who’s pocketing the money.

  6. Best part of £100 in order to vote and the lost of 30 odd countries we can live and work in.

    According to HM Passport office they issue 5 million passports a year so the government is turning us over to the tune of £500,000,000 a year on this.

    It’s a scam.

  7. It’s already a lot to pay for the pretty basic freedom of leaving the country. Like, if you stop and think about it, it’s a bit mad on a certain level that you’re legally confined to this island unless you pay the Government money. On principal, I think they should be free.

  8. Why is it so bloody expensive in first place? Renewal of my Polish passport in a Polish consul in Belfast costs £88, and that’s extremely expensive because it’s being done abroad from Poland. If I was living in Poland I could have it for 140pln (£25). I have to maintain both and this definitely doesn’t help.

  9. Just to add some perspective, renewing your passport in Spain costs 25 euros, and takes about 30 minutes after you walk in to an office without an appointment.

    Unbelievable how much they charge in the UK with how long it takes.

  10. Blue must be more expensive than purple I guess. Smell that quality blue faux leather of Patriotism!

  11. The new passports are really plastic-y and cheap feeling. But more relevantly I think they should be provided as cheaply as possible to give as low a barrier to entry to holidays/travel as possible.

  12. basically finding any ways of extra income to their wallets, just like how they made netflix account sharing illegal.

  13. I think the tories won’t be happy until the working classes know their place. Why should we travel when we could be working 12 hour shifts seven days a week and love the opportunity because it might give us the chance to go to the GP if we save up the pennies. Hell, if we’re real lucky, we can afford a weekend at Skegness once we retire.

  14. That’s just shy of an 11% increase, which is fine as that’s right in line with the pay rise they’re giving to all public service workers and it will all balance out neatly.

  15. Don’t really care but I just applied for one and was told 10 weeks turnaround but it arrived in 7 days.

  16. Regardless the money comes from somewhere, if they didn’t increase the upfront cost, manufacturing and staff costs would be higher and more funds would be allocated from the taxpayer.

  17. I used to answer phones for the passport service and I’ve always thought they should be near-free for British citizens.

    There’s lots of benefits [more people open to travel, ID, etc] and no discernible downside.

    By all means charge to replace lost/damaged.

  18. It’s only a 10% increase, so don’t see may issues there given how high inflation is right now. Plus the total cost is £8 a year for the ability to travel pretty much anywhere in the world, so still seems pretty good value to me.

  19. Apparently they no longer add on the remaining time of you renew early, and you need a few months on it to be allowed into most countries. So there’s another ~5% sneaky rise there (by making you renew more often).

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