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The Home Office has declared that passport fees will increase once more in preparation for summer vacations.
The proposed changes will result in an increase in the cost of online applications for individuals aged 16 and above in the UK, from £82.50 to £88.50.
The overall percentage exceeds 7%.
The fee for passports for children under 16 will increase to £57.50, from the existing price of £53.50.
There are comparable increases in charges for applications submitted through the mail and those coming from abroad.
The modifications, which require approval from parliament, will go into effect on April 11.
The cost of passports increased by approximately 9% in February of the previous year.
“The Home Office announced that the revised fees will assist in ensuring that the revenue from these applications more accurately covers the expenses associated with issuing passports and related tasks. This will decrease the dependency on funding from regular taxes.”
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The government does not generate any income from the fees charged for passport applications.
“The fees help cover the expenses associated with processing passport applications, providing consular assistance abroad, such as in cases of lost or stolen passports, and handling British citizens at UK borders.”
This boost will also assist in allowing the Government to further enhance its services.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, observes the passport inspection area near a Border Force facility.
Last year, the rankings for the most expensive passports in the world were released, with the UK placing 12th.
Australia topped the list of countries charging the most, with an adult passport costing citizens £192.
The list was created using information from the 2023 Global Passport Fees list and ranks the 38 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
In terms of passport fees, Mexico ranked second in costliness, with its citizens paying £142.
Switzerland ranked third with adult passports priced at £117, followed by Italy at fourth place with a cost of £113.
The US came in fifth costing £109, closely followed by New Zealand (£107), a Chile (£106) and Canada (£104).
Japan falls just shy of the top 10, coming in at £96. Citizens of Turkey can obtain a passport for a slightly lower cost, priced at £92.
There was a tie for 12th place between the UK and Greece. Contrarily, a passport from Luxembourg was priced significantly lower at £50 and a Swedish passport even more so at £38.
Coming in at 36th on the list is Spain, where individuals are billed £28 for a passport.
The country with the lowest cost on the list of 38 is the Czech Republic, with a passport price of only £23.
Source: independent.co.uk
