Child Passport Renewal!!!

jammin_2

lil.smartie wrote: »

My daughter has 2 passports, both cost around this amount & both need renewing every 5 years, she's 2 1/2 now so in another 2 years I'll be renewing them, hopefully it will be easy & we can time it so they are each renewed whilst we are in the right country which will save on any additional costs.
I lost several years when I got married as I had to buy a new 10yr passport not just change my name, not much I could do though as we'd booked flights in my married name!

Kate

Is it imperative that both passports are renewed, for a child of 5 years old?

zagfles

rainbow_carnage wrote: »

Are you paying for a new passport every time you travel? Whether you go on holiday five times a year or once every five years, you still need a passport. The passport still lasts 10 years. But you're more likely to need consular assistance if you're overseas a lot.

The country is in a lot of debt. The government needs to find money to pay for all the service we've come to expect. I'd rather they charged someone like me a bit extra (after all, I can afford to go overseas) than raised the VAT, which has the biggest effect on the poorest people.

Having said this, I still don't believe that the passport service is a money-spinner.

BTW, I also pay my council tax over 10 months. I don't get a discount. It's just that the amount is divided by 10, not 12. The total remains the same. I've never heard of a council giving a discount, even if you pay it all in a lump sum.

Errr, yes. That was my point. It's not a discount any more than your phone is "free"

zagfles

badskindollheart wrote: »

"What's the difference? It's got a chip on it - big deal - so do all my bank cards.."

The chip you're referring to stores your biometric data and picture for use with automated passport gates.

My camera's SD card stores hundreds of pictures and only cost a few pounds.

The cost of passports goes towards the facial recognition technology that the automated gates use. This is something that we all benefit from in stopping those who wish to travel on false passports, who almost exclusively wish to do harm or commit crime.

Stopping undesireables getting into the country is a benefit to everyone, not just travellers. So why just tax travellers to pay for it?

The British passport is actually relatively cheap compared to some other countrys (Turkey's is around £150). British passports are also seen to be very highly valued.

And Spain's is EUR 20.20. Less than £20.

If you consider all of the security features, both visible and invisible, it is impossible to compare a passport to any old book. The world has changed and these security features are necessary and expensive.

Same applies to bank cards.

No one likes paying for passports/driving licences but they are necessary and cost money. However, Executive Agencies like IPS, DVLA & CRB have to be self funding and not subsidised by other taxpayers who may never need their services.

As above. Who benefits from undesireables being prevented from entering the country? Just people who travel?

You might also like to consider how expensive your passport would be if the service was fully privatised. At present IPS, like CRB, is a public-private partnership and therefore any profit made can be capped, with only a small amount going back into the Treasury. If these depts were put up for sale, costs would be uncapped and service would deteriorate.

Oh really? Compare inflation in public services with inflation in private company services. Passports, council taxes, compared with flights, hotels, bank charges etc.

sunshinetours

The civil service doubled in size under the last government and more top public officials are earning 6 figure salaries than ever before - that has to be funded somehow....

Increased security and associated costs of producing more secure passpsorts including additional checks before issuing also adds to the cost

Combine those effects its a wonder the passport doesn't cost more to be honest

Saying all that, wthe freedom and priveliges of freedom to travel where and when we want are taken far too much for granted. More than half the worlds population would love the same ability and freedom to moan about cost of having to buy a passport so we can jump on a plane

seven-day-weekend

You have ten years to save up £ 130 for a passport (or five years to save up £46 in the case of a child).

Hardly going to break the bank, is it?

Somebody mentioned Spanish passports costong £20. This is true, but have you looked at Spain's economy recently? Having lived in both the UK and Spain, I have no hesitation in saying which country is the most 'rip-off'. And it isn't the UK.

jammin_2

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

And it isn't the UK.

Which one is it?

seven-day-weekend

jammin wrote: »

Which one is it?

The other country I mentioned.

jammin_2

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

The other country I mentioned.

Are you sure because the weather in Spain is much better than the UK.

seven-day-weekend

jammin wrote: »

Are you sure because the weather in Spain is much better than the UK.

What has the weather got to do with the price of passports, the economy, or whether the country is a rip-off?

jammin_2

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

What has the weather got to do with the price of passports, the economy, or whether the country is a rip-off?

Because you can't say that Spain is that much of a rip off, when they have such great weather, beaches, climate, cheese and €20 passports. Britain is much more of a rip-off compared to all that.