Research by Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) follows a new initiative launched by the government in March 2017 allowing holidaymakers to renew their passport online in just 10 minutes.
APH has put together a guide comparing the cost of applying and renewing UK passports.
With regards to the price of standard applications and renewals, the cost was found to vary from GBP46 for a child’s first or renewed document, to GBP95.25 for an adult applying for their first-ever passport in a Jumbo 48-page format via the Passport Check and Send service at a UK Post Office.
However, passengers needing to urgently replace theirs can expect to pay significantly more, with the renewal of a Jumbo 48-page passport through the one-day Premium service costing the most at GBP137.
The express application services are available at Passport Customer Service Centres and allow a UK resident to renew a passport in as little as four hours.
Travellers should note that the one-day Premium service is not available when applying for an adult or child first passport and that the one-week Fast Track service is not currently available when applying for an adult first passport.
Concerning the wait period, this varies from approximately three weeks for a renewed document to a minimum of six weeks for an adult first passport.
To avoid last-minute panics, travellers should keep in mind that processing times may vary and that HM Passport Office strongly advises that travellers do not book travel arrangements prior to owning a valid document.
When it comes to expiration dates, an adult passport is valid for 10 years, while a child passport is valid for five years.
They can be renewed at any time, but only up to nine months of the time remaining on the previous passport will be added to the new document. Likewise, a child’s passport is valid until it expires, even if the holder is over the age of 18 years old.
For those who have changed their name, gender, or appearance significantly, travellers must renew it and include additional documents to support the application, such as a marriage certificate or gender recognition certification.
Brides- and grooms-to-be may apply for a passport in their new name up to three months prior to a marriage or civil partnership ceremony, but this prohibits travel until their name has been legally changed, since the name on a passport must be the same one used to book travel.
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