Home Office issues warning to ALL Brits to renew old passports by next week ahead of Easter getaway
SAVVY travellers should not put off renewing their passports in the coming weeks, especially if they're close to expiring.
Money saving experts have long advised the best time to renew passports, but now they are issuing a more urgent warning.
Passport fees are set to rise on April 10, meaning those you need to renew their passports should do it before that date to avoid the price hike.
The government confirmed earlier this month that the cost of passports will rise seven percent in a matter of days, with the application fee of a standard passport rising from £88.50 to £94.50.
Kids passports are also going up from £57.50 to £61.50.
But any applications received before April 10 will still pay the old prices.
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The Home Office told Martin Lewis' that "all applications received before this date will pay the current fee".
Experts advise to do plenty of checks around your passport before travelling, including if yours is more than 10 years old, or it has less than six months before it expires.
"Don’t assume everything is fine just because your passport is valid for the duration of your stay," reads the MSE website.
"Countries have a variety of rules about how long you need left, and how old the passport can be. Since Brexit, this includes most EU countries too."
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Even deciding how you apply for can affect your hip pocket with MSE advising the cheapest way is to lodge the application online.
"The only site you'll ever need to go to is the Gov.uk website. It has options for getting your first passport, renewing an old one or getting one for your child," it wrote.
"You can apply online, which is the cheapest option, or by paper at the Post Office."
Many people still apply for passports by postal application, which costs more.
With the new fees, postal applications are going up to £107 for adults - nearly £15 more than online.
This it the same for kids, with a postal application costing £74 from April 10, nearly £12 extra.
Checking that your passport meets travel requirements for all of your destinations before booking tickets is another way to save money.
Before booking your next holiday, make sure to check the start date of your passport first.
Thousands of people have been caught out by new rules that mean their passports have 'expired' despite still technically being in date.
Not only that, but some countries require as many as six blank pages to be allowed to enter.
If you find out too late that your passport isn't valid for either of these reasons, you will have to pay for a Fast Track service, which is extremely expensive.
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The new fee from next month for a one day application will cost £222 - more than double the standard fee.
The one day Premium Service for kids will cost £189, which is £115 extra.
Passport Rules
Everything you need to know about passports
- Whether you need a passport to fly within the UK
- This is who can countersign a passport application
- How long a child's first passport can last and cost
- A biometric passport explained
- How to renew a passport
- How to get fast-track passport renewal
- The new blue British passports explained
- Why passports come in four colours
