The cost of a passport is just stupid

[SoloTripSoloVibes]

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.

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"

Thinking it's overpriced is what's ludicrous

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.