Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

The cost of a passport is just stupid

282 replies

SoloTripSoloVibes · 27/11/2025 09:14

That’s it really.

£94.50 for the actual passport, which is alright, I suppose.

£10 for the pictures because you need the fancy digital codes now and can’t just have a picture

£10 for guaranteed postage of the old one back to them, because of course they can’t just have a database that they update to say that one has expired or been replaced.

£115 in total! Bring on the days that it becomes totally digital.

OP posts:
Original poster
SoloTripSoloVibes · 27/11/2025 10:58

RayonSunrise · 27/11/2025 10:57

I agree with 90% of this, but one of the problems we have in the U.K. is that the only proof of right to work here people can get is a passport. Driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and so on are not records of citizen entitlements.

This is why governments keep bringing up ID cards every few years, so passports can be for traveling abroad and Britons can prove their rights and entitlements without having to get passports. But a lot of people would rather prove their identified with a passport + drivers’ license/recent utility bills.

Edited
Show quote history

Yup. You have to have a passport, but you have to pay through the nose for it

OP posts:
godmum56 · 27/11/2025 10:58

SoloTripSoloVibes · 27/11/2025 09:26

It’s just ludicrously overpriced. For such a small document. It’s a book.

Show quote history

its not just the document, its the production of the specialist pages and the management of the use of the document. If you don't want to pay for it, don't have one.

HPFA · 27/11/2025 10:58

A US Passport costs the equivalent of £98. French passport costs 86 euros.

My Irish one would have been reasonably cheap if I lived in Ireland but the adds on of postage made it more expensive.

UK is not out of line with other countries.

JassyRadlett · 27/11/2025 10:58

CryMyEyesViolet · 27/11/2025 10:34

It’s a book with an insane amount of presumably expensive anti-forgery and security technology.

Show quote history

And quite a lot of systems that sit behind it to make sure they're issuing the books to the right people with the right information.

mimbleandlittlemy · 27/11/2025 10:57

Katiesaidthat · 27/11/2025 10:30

Gosh, my Spanish passport costs 30€! It also lasts 10 years and also has a chip and anti forgery technology. So the OP does have a point about price, many do it for less, except in the anglosphere where everything has to cost hundreds...
She doesn´t have a point when she says it is just a book, it isn´t.

Show quote history

Gosh, take a second to look up the cost of, off the top of my head, French, German, Greek, Italian and Turkish passports, and you will see it isn't limited to the 'anglosphere'.

RayonSunrise · 27/11/2025 10:57

Marmalade71 · 27/11/2025 10:41

There’s lots about living in the UK that is ludicrously overpriced (energy, for one) but I really don’t think a passport is one of them. The Passport Office is also one of the few government services which seems reasonably competent. Bluntly, if money is so tight that £100ish is causing this much angst, maybe don’t go abroad.

I agree with 90% of this, but one of the problems we have in the U.K. is that the only proof of right to work here people can get is a passport. Driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and so on are not records of citizen entitlements.

This is why governments keep bringing up ID cards every few years, so passports can be for traveling abroad and Britons can prove their rights and entitlements without having to get passports. But a lot of people would rather prove their identified with a passport + drivers’ license/recent utility bills.

GreyCloudsLooming · 27/11/2025 10:56

The only thing you have to pay for is the passport. It’s not particularly cheap as an upfront cost but it’s still a reasonable price. You don’t need to have a digital code for photos, whatever that is, you just take your own photos and upload them. You don’t need to pay a huge amount for postage. And your old passport is sent back to you. I don’t see why general taxpayers should have to pay for your passport. Travelling abroad is a privilege and not a basic human right.

JassyRadlett · 27/11/2025 10:55

The system is so much smoother and better than a lot of other countries.

To get my Australian one I have to basically take a goat to the wise woman who lives on a hill in exchange for the perfect photo, pay over £200 plus another £100 overseas processing fee. It's an incredibly messy system. The UK one is so simple and such good value in comparison.

user1492757084 · 27/11/2025 10:55

Australian passports cost over 420 dollars to renew for ten years.

Chilliandbanana · 27/11/2025 10:53

Katiesaidthat · 27/11/2025 10:30

Gosh, my Spanish passport costs 30€! It also lasts 10 years and also has a chip and anti forgery technology. So the OP does have a point about price, many do it for less, except in the anglosphere where everything has to cost hundreds...
She doesn´t have a point when she says it is just a book, it isn´t.

Show quote history

That is cheap! I still don’t think the British passport is overpriced though just that the Spanish one is a great deal.

Isobel201 · 27/11/2025 10:52

Phones will do pretty good selfies now as long as you're against a white or beige background. I managed to do my last passport that way.

GAJLY · 27/11/2025 10:47

I took the photos for all 4 of us against a white background. I just opted for normal post. I got the old ones back just fine.

cardibach · 27/11/2025 10:47

SoloTripSoloVibes · 27/11/2025 09:31

And the risk of it being turned down is a lot higher

Show quote history

The only difficulty I had was that it kept saying there wasn’t enough definition between my hair and the wall. They specify a white wall. My hair is white. Quite a conundrum, but playing around with lighting solved it. And they tell you immediately so you can retake before sending.

Marmalade71 · 27/11/2025 10:41

There’s lots about living in the UK that is ludicrously overpriced (energy, for one) but I really don’t think a passport is one of them. The Passport Office is also one of the few government services which seems reasonably competent. Bluntly, if money is so tight that £100ish is causing this much angst, maybe don’t go abroad.

InlandTaipan · 27/11/2025 10:40

SoloTripSoloVibes · 27/11/2025 09:26

It’s just ludicrously overpriced. For such a small document. It’s a book.

Show quote history

Sorry but is that a serious comment? Its not like anyone w a photocopier can churn them out (in fact that's kind of the point).

mamagogo1 · 27/11/2025 10:40

@Thechaseison71

i think they mean statutory declaration (stat dec)

it’s a mechanism for those who cannot prove eligibility through standard procedure’s usually due to lack of documentation.

Katiesaidthat · 27/11/2025 10:38

Chersfrozenface · 27/11/2025 10:37

And an Italian passport costs a smidgin over £100. Same question.

How unfortunate for you all. I will be paying 30 next December.

Chersfrozenface · 27/11/2025 10:37

And an Italian passport costs a smidgin over £100. Same question.

LupinLou · 27/11/2025 10:35

Katiesaidthat · 27/11/2025 10:30

Gosh, my Spanish passport costs 30€! It also lasts 10 years and also has a chip and anti forgery technology. So the OP does have a point about price, many do it for less, except in the anglosphere where everything has to cost hundreds...
She doesn´t have a point when she says it is just a book, it isn´t.

Show quote history

A Danish passport costs over £100 - is Denmark part of the anglosphere these days?

Spiderx · 27/11/2025 10:35

Thanks...its been ages since I had one( passport) but hated that part of it...asking a doctor , magistrate etc to countersign . Rules have obviously changed ?!

CryMyEyesViolet · 27/11/2025 10:34

SoloTripSoloVibes · 27/11/2025 09:26

It’s just ludicrously overpriced. For such a small document. It’s a book.

Show quote history

It’s a book with an insane amount of presumably expensive anti-forgery and security technology.

BarbieShrimp · 27/11/2025 10:32

Do you work, OP? What would you think if you saw a customer/client/employer complaining that the product or service you provide "should be cheaper or free" just because they reckoned they didn't fancy paying so much for it?

mamagogo1 · 27/11/2025 10:32

You don’t have to pay for pictures you can use your phone and I use normal postage. Passport fees by law have to cover the cost of processing so that fee is to cover the checks done, processing, appointments if needed, postage and queries.

loveawineloveacrisp · 27/11/2025 10:31

You can do it all online including taking your own pic. The cost works out at less than a tenner a year. I don't really think that's ridiculous.

Franpie · 27/11/2025 10:31

I’ve never heard someone complain about the cost of a passport before. Surely it’s the most reasonably priced aspect of travelling overseas?

Also, if it’s “just a book” why not try knocking one up yourself and see how far that gets you??

Swipe left for the next trending thread