For those of you who wondered why I renewed my passport a little early, well, there were many reasons. But one that was at the back of my mind was the possibility of a price rise for passports being issued.
Well, guess what. The UK Home Office is planning to jack up the price of a passport. Again.
One of these is going to cost a bit more from April onward.
If all goes according to plan (and subject to approval by Parliament), the new fee for a UK Passport issued inside the United Kingdom will go up on the 8th April 2026.
The proposals, which are subject to approval by Parliament, will include the following:
- The fee for a standard online application made from within the UK will rise from £94.50 to £102 for adults and from £61.50 to £66.50 for children
- Postal applications will increase from £107 to £115.50 for adults and £74 to £80 for children
- The fee for a premium service (1-day) application made from within the UK will rise from £222 to £239.50
- The fee for a standard online application when applying from overseas for a UK passport will rise from £108 to £116.50 for adults and from £70 to £75.50 for children
- Overseas standard paper applications will increase from £120.50 to £130 for adults and £82.50 to £89 for children
Note that these are for the normal 34 Page Passport. The price scales upwards for the “jumbo” 54 Page Passport.
According to a release by the Home Office, the new fees will help the Home Office to continue to move towards a system that meets its costs through those who use it, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation.
As usual, the government is at pains to note that it does not make a profit from the cost of passport applications. Instead, they argue that the fees contribute to the cost of processing passport applications, consular support overseas, including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders.
Plan ahead
If your passport is coming up to 9 years old, it might be worth taking a look at your passport, and weighing up the costs of renewals versus the cost of anything else you need to renew (eg, visa exemptions, visas, ete).
As usual, you should apply in good time before travelling.
You can apply online for a UK passport at the UK Government’s site if you need to. According to the Home Office, during 2025, 99.7% of standard applications from the UK were processed within 3 weeks (where no additional queries or information were needed).
But as always, it’s just another cost when it comes to travel. You can try to make it cheaper in your mind, especially if you break it down by how much you’re spending on one. Just remember, you’ve got to find that cash up front.
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