British travellers could face more expensive passports as just two months after the latest passport fee rise, the National Audit Office (NAO) has advised further increases are needed to address a growing departmental deficit.
According to NAO figures, HM Passport Office reported a £223m shortfall in 2023-24 and a total deficit for the last five years of £916m. Further increasing passport fees would help fill this black hole, it says.
The Passport Office currently employs more than 4,000 people across a range of processing, validating and issuing roles in offices around the country, issuing almost seven million passports last year.
On April 10, the cost of a standard online adult passport application rose from £88.50 to £94.50 – representing an increase of seven per cent – which the Passport Office said was to reduce reliance on taxpayer funding.
The previous price rise was in April 2024, when applications went up by seven per cent. The year before, they increased by nine per cent.
It is not known if the latest recommendations will be accepted, but if the cost of a passport application rises by the same amount next year, it would take it to £101 for an adult 10-year renewal (for standard online applications) and £65.80 for under-16s (valid for five years).
Paper applications are more expensive (currently £107 for adults and £74 for children), as are urgent renewals.
Swiss passports are the most expensive in Europe (Photo: Andreas Haas/Getty)So how does this compare with other countries – would a further, above-inflation price increase make British passports the most expensive in Europe?
The answer is, nearly. The only other countries with passports that cost more than £100 for adults are Switzerland and Denmark. However, a British child passport, for under-16s, is already the most expensive in Europe.
An adult passport in Switzerland currently costs Sfr145 (£132) including postage, and Sfr65 (£59) for children.
In Denmark, the fee is only marginally higher: Dkr893 (£102) for adults.
However, for children it is significantly cheaper than the UK – Dkr181 (£21) for those aged 12-17 and Dkr150 (£18) for under-12s.
It is also cheaper for citizens of state retirement age, costing Dkr381 (£44) for a 10-year document.
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The next most expensive fee is for an Italian passport, currently €116 (£99) for adults. The government has recently made it more difficult to apply for an Italian passport through descent.
Slightly cheaper than Britain’s, Icelandic passports cost £79 for adults and £34 for children and pensioners.
However, many European countries allow their citizens to cross Schengen borders using much cheaper ID cards. In Switzerland, these cost Sfr70 (£64) for an adult including postage, while in Denmark they cost Dkr150 (£18).
A popular Brexit backup for Britons with Irish ancestry has been to apply for an Irish passport via citizenship, regaining benefits of access to the European Union. Irish passports cost €75 (£64) for adults and €20 (£17) for under-18s.
According to 2021 census data, more than 84 per cent of the population in England and Wales held one passport. However, the rising costs – increasing by almost 25 per cent in the past two years – could price many people out of applying or renewing their documents.
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