New fees for passport applications will be introduced on April 8 (Image: Getty)
Brits going on holiday abroad face a £102 charge from April as new passport application fees are introduced.
The UK Government is hiking the cost of applying for a new passport from April 8, 2026, with the standard online fee rising by £7.50. The new online application fees will go up from the current rate of £94.50 to £102 for adults, while for children, rates will rise from £611.50 to £66.50 – an increase of £5. Postal application fees are also going up next month, rising from £107 to £115.50 for adults (an £8.50 increase) and from £74 to £80 for children (a £6 increase).
The One Day Premium Service, which is available if you need to get your passport renewed quickly, is rising by a whopping £17.50, from £222 to £239.50.
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Additionally, overseas applications for a UK passport will go up from April 8, with standard online applications for adults rising from £108 to £116.50 (an £8.50 increase) and for children from £70 to £75.50 (a £5.50 increase).
Adults who apply from overseas via paper application will pay £130, up from £120.50, while children will pay £89, up from £82.50.
British nationals born on or before September 2, 1929, are entitled to get or renew a British passport for free and can also use the Post Office Check and Send service free of charge, which includes free secure delivery.
The new fees are subject to approval by Parliament and will be used to 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, according to the Home Office.
HM Passport Office said: “The new fees will help the Home Office to continue to move towards a system that meets its costs through those who use it, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation. The Government does not make any profit from the cost of passport applications.”
British holidaymakers are advised to apply for a new passport “in good time” for travelling, and generally will get their travel document within three weeks.
According to HM Passport Office, 99.7% of standard applications from the UK were processed within three weeks in 2025, where no further information was required.
Brits travelling to a country in the European Union, or Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, must have a passport that has a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the date of arrival, AND an ‘expiry date’ of at least three months after the day you plan to leave.
It means that if you renewed your passport before October 1, 2018, it may have a date of issue that is more than 10 years ago.
If your passport doesn’t meet both of these requirements, then you will be denied entry as you don’t have a valid travel document to enter these countries.
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