New birth certificate or new passport: which is cheaper?

[madamez]

If I'm going to get any kind of actual job as opposed to being a freelance, it seems I am going to have to produce either a full passport or a birth certificate. WHile I possess both I have no idea where they are and am unlikely to find them. So which is going to cost less: ordering a copy of my birth certificate or getting a new passport?

birth certificate , definitely!

The birth certificate should be much much cheaper than the passport! You can do it all online here for less than ten pounds IIRC.

Ta, Lulumama. Will go and do this (gulps - had better be v.careful when requesting it so I don't get the, um, other one and start a family upheavel)

Oh and much much faster too!

A new passport is just under £80. Though how you're going to get it replaced without either the old passport or a birth certificate i don't know. They'll want to see one or the other for proof of identity.

if you have lost your passport would you not need a birth certificate to get a new one anyway?

It is true indith.

So it is, but you got there before me so my one moment of genius was not necessary. Best get back to uni work then.

BLimey. Better get the birth cert then. It does slightly annoy me that all the other documentation I possess (tax credits letter, medical card, national insurance number, valid - though with out of date address - driving license and any amount of council tax bills and threats) isn't sufficient to prove that I'm entitled to live and work in the UK.

(How long do you suppose it will be before someone comes along and suggests brightly that in fact ID cards are really a good idea honest...)

It doesn't help you madamez, but when I renewed my passport I didn't have to send any other docs because I authorised them to contact the DVLA to check my id.

Birth certificate is very easy to replace. I've done it at least a half a dozen times.

If you no idea at all where your passport is it might be worth sorting it out sooner rather than later though - the price of a replacement goes up every year and what if you win that dream holiday of a lifetime ?