The cost of a passport is just stupid

The website tells you whether the picture is acceptable or not.

And in the very unlikely scenario where the picture is unacceptable after website approval, they just ask you to send another picture, they don’t turn down application and you won’t lose your money.

The OP is probably quite happy to pay unreasonable extra costs levied by some airlines, the hidden costs of currency exchange and maybe call roaming abroad, and all the daily extra cost we face because of Brexit, yet moans about perhaps having to pay £30 to £50 more than some countries for a passport.

I have different perceptions of expensive and unjustifiable costs.

When I’m wrong, I say it. And I was wrong there. I didn’t realize the U.K. had fallen so far on the Henley Passport Index and is now tied with Estonia and a lot of other places, in 7th. Perhaps OP has a point, that is this: the passport USED to be “worth” a lot more for your money.

But yes, it’s not easy to become a citizen and get a passport in other countries, you’re right - for example, South Korea is at least five years’ residence and a working knowledge of the Korean language and customs (less if you are married to a citizen, but you still must speak and read Korean). Switzerland is ten years’ residence, and you have to have your French or German (or Romanesch) to a certain level.

I live in the Czech Republic. Adult 10-year passports here cost £22. My kids' passports (5 years) cost under £4 each.

My UK passport expires next year. It'll cost £108, plus a (non-optional) £19.86 courier fee to renew it. My kids don't currently have UK passports because they'll cost £70 each plus the courier fee.

And if OP can find ANOTHER country whose passport allows you to travel to 115 countries without a visa, 184 with a visa, and costs less than the UK’s, then I recommend that she move there and good luck.

The most powerful passport in the world (Singapore, visa-free or VOA to 193 countries) costs ~55 USD. The second most powerful (South Korea) is ~35 USD. The third most powerful (Japan) is ~100 USD.

Then we get into EU countries. Germany, Spain, Austria, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands all have passports that are both cheaper and more powerful than the UK (Spain's is far cheaper, at just €30, and offers visa-free access to 189 countries). That's not to say that other EU countries are more expensive, btw - just that I lost interest there.

Naturally, OP can't just declare citizenship of these countries, but let's not pretend that a British passport is particularly well-priced based on its relative power.

Thinking it's overpriced is what's ludicrous

It's not a visa it's an electronic authorisation form. It's €20 and lasts for 3 years.

It's barely anything. A flight costs more.

All this "Brexit has ruined holidays to Europe". No it hasn't. No need for Schengen visa. 90 days in. 180 day period. (More then enough for me to visit)

"Oh no I have to wait in a queue longer.
"Oh no I need to pay €20 every 3 years"

Don’t move to Australia. Just paid over £200 to renew mine… and I also have a British one. It’s expensive but I feel lucky to be able to travel

It's what the cost is? There's a cost to make it. That's it. What's the big deal to even make a MN post about.

The Passport Office has not had a surplus since 2014. And according to the National Audit Office report in June 2025 it had a shortfall of £223 million in 2023-24.

So at the moment we, the tax payers, are subsidising the price of your passport, OP, and everyone else's.

You should have put it on your Christmas list and asked your friends and family to all chip in for you.

Has anyone warned you about resort fees? Brace yourself 💸💸💸

Ridiculously expensive. I imagine the government is making a tidy profit. I think we should pay roughly cost price which I imagine is somewhere around half to two-thirds of what we pay.

As PPs have said - no need to pay for photos. I had mine done on my phone.

You obviously didn’t do much research before applying for your passport. There’s no separate fee for returning supporting documents or receiving your passport. It’s included in the fee. You can choose to pay an extra £5 to get them returned.

So what do you need it for?

🤡

Duplicate post

If you struggle to pay £100 for a passport then I'd think you'd struggle to find the money to use it. Foreign travel is a luxury, not a God given right.

Then don't get one.

Wait till after Christmas then to renew it. If it’s a renewal you must have had 10 years to know it needs to be renewed so why the fuss now when you could have saved up for it?

Unless you’re off skiing in January then you can just renew it at some point next year.

I can understand why you feel this way, but I must mention that a passport is a legal form of documentation that allows you to leave your country and enter a foreign country and this is a privilege, not a right. That in some exceptions this might be required for work but for most people a passport is a luxury that allows them to travel to places that they go to for fun, and this is part of your fun tax.

Some people are just determined to feel like a victim, and nothing will change their minds. Next week they'll be bewailing having to pay for something else that "should be free!!!", and how they're being scammed, and how their Christmas is ruined.

The whole process of uploading a digital photo is dead simple and it tells you whether or not the image is acceptable.

Honestly, mumsnet is just full of people moaning about the price of anything and everything. Life is expensive in almost any country. Fact. £94 doesn't sound that bad to me when you look at the technology in a passport etc.

If you don't want to pay for it, don't renew it and don't travel!!

one of the most valuable things you will ever own
OP doesn't own it though. Passports still belong to the Government. They can take it back if necessary.

I still think it's reasonable value given the amount of technology contained therein, and you can use it for ID and for travelling. Very handy.

OP can always decline to get one if she believes the cost is too steep even to save up for.

Factor it in as part of your holiday costs. £10 a year to be able to go abroad, less than £1 per month.

Well renew it at a different time then.

£1.75 for postage and free photos (with a really helpful online checking service which tells you if they'll be accepted). You are definitely making it more expensive for yourself.

And try saving £1.25 a week so you are prepped for the next one.