Passport fees for Brits overseas reduced by 35%

The change to reduce the fee will be taking place in April.

Expatriates looking to renew their British passports should hold on until April when it will become 35% cheaper.

 

James Brokenshire, Immigration and Security Minister, has announced that from April 7, the passport fee for customers applying for a UK passport from overseas will be reduced by £45 for adults and £28.50 for children.

The new fees are:

  • Adult 32 page passport £83.00
  • Child 32 page passport £53.00
  • Jumbo 48 page passport £91.00 (Adult/Child/Veteran)

The 35% decrease in passport fees is the result of efficiency savings made over the last three years by bringing back the processing and issuing of overseas passports to the UK, including from the former passport processing centre at the British Embassy in Madrid.

Will Middleton, Consular Director for Spain, said:  “This is good news for British citizens applying for a UK passport from Spain.

The repatriation of overseas passport centres means overseas applications can now be handled more efficiently and at significantly lower cost.

“The new fees will benefit some four million Britons living overseas, including many of the estimated 800,000 who live in Spain for all or part of the year.”

If you need a new or replacement passport, go to the Overseas British passport applications page on www.GOV.UK where you can make an overseas application. You need to apply and pay online and send your supporting documents direct to the UK (no longer to the nearest consulate or embassy). The turnaround time is four to six weeks, and applications are accepted up to nine months before the expiry of your current passport.  

The new fees for overseas applications remain marginally higher than the equivalent fees for UK-based applicants because on average overseas applications take longer – and therefore cost slightly more – to process. This is because it is often less straightforward to establish whether or not an overseas applicant is entitled to a UK passport. Overseas customers will also continue to pay a courier charge in addition to the passport fee.

British nationals can get more information and advice on living in Spain by ‘liking/following’ the British Embassy’s new social media channels on:

Author badge placeholder
Written by

Euro Weekly News Media

Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

Comments


    • Mrs Jennifer Wiersma

      17 March 2014 • 18:32

      My passport expires 14 May 14 – will I have enough time to apply for renewal if I wait until 7April to apply to catch the new price?

    Comments are closed.