Any way to get around passport renewal fees?

alanrowell

Nigbob wrote: »

Of course most European citizens don't have to have a passport for travel within Europe as the majority of Europe are signatories to the Schengen agreement, allowing (more or less) free movement between most European Countries. I'm waiting for a political party to suggest that the UK signs up too, and for the ensuing reaction from the Daily Mail...

You can travel within the EU if you have a government issued ID card which is much cheaper than a passport. Perhaps some political party should suggest ID cards

Chester85

No, it's absolutely wrong that you have to pay £77 for a passport

£77.50, much more reasonable (and the actual price) :rotfl:

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Inactive wrote: »

....and straight back in to a huge recession.

Of course none of this will bother the likes of millionaire Osborne etc.

And your proof of us diving into another recession is?

I mean we must forget the non party political organisations that have said earlier this month that the proposed plans they have heard of are just what this country needs to pay back the enormous debt. i mean they dont know more then a few random people on MSE do they.. Of course not.

Equaliser123

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

And your proof of us diving into another recession is?

I mean we must forget the non party political organisations that have said earlier this month that the proposed plans they have heard of are just what this country needs to pay back the enormous debt. i mean they dont know more then a few random people on MSE do they.. Of course not.

Agreed. Wasn't it 35 of the largest businesses in the UK, the CBI, Bank of England, etc.

Just been having a grimace at the Labour muppets who seem, incredibly, to have forgotten how we got into this mess.

alanrowell

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Agreed. Wasn't it 35 of the largest businesses in the UK, the CBI, Bank of England, etc.

Which assumes that what is good for those businesses is good for the people of the UK.

They'd like nothing more than a privatised Britain as it means more offshored profits for them. The rest of us however would see it differently.

peachyprice

tiff wrote: »

Its a rip off because the increase in prices is out of proportion. Yes I can afford it, doesnt mean it right or fair. Dont be so patronising.

No, the extra charges are for the security measure put in place in biometric passports, or did you think all that came for free?

balletshoes

getmore4less wrote: »

AFAIK It is perfectly legal to be known by more than one name.


In fact when you die it is one of the questions asked by the registrar and probate service.

The only document you need for travel is the passport, so as long as you book travel in that name you should be fine to travel.

In your case you would have to get the travel insurer to agree the cover based on travel in your maiden name but that should not be a problem or may not even be needed since the insurance is personal cover and you are the same person.


Cannot think of anything else, got any reference to something that says it is illegal.

In many cases things are not illegal just some practical hurdles to overcome.

I think you may have waisted the fees.

I agree - nothing illegal about being known by your maiden name as well as your surname, and using your passport in your maiden name as long as you've booked your tickets in your maiden name.

I didn't change one of my credit cards over to my married name ever, because when I asked them to do so just after I got married, they insisted on me sending my original marriage document (an internationally recognised document) plus an official translation into English (when English was clearly one of the 3 languages used in each section of my marriage document). All my other finances had been changed perfectly without the need for this, including another 2 credit card companies, so I told them I wouldn't be doing that. That credit card is still in my maiden name, 10 years later.

Heliflyguy

dzug1 wrote: »

In fact NONE of it is 'profit'. The aim is to cover the costs and no more. No profit, no loss. The users pay the average costs for what they get.And the increased costs over recent years are technology and database driven.

No profit for the IPS but not all goes to them and their costs.
So it helps pay for those in trouble abroad, the unlucky ones and the muppets that break the countries laws, but how much is the consular premium part of the fee?
Still we would have to pay for that in some way or another.
I dont think its a ripoff either...

What the fee covers

IPS does not make a profit. Passport fees cover the costs of providing passport services in the UK. Part of the fee is called 'the consular premium'. This covers the costs or providing consular help to British nationals who find themselves in difficulty while overseas.

Inactive

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Agreed. Wasn't it 35 of the largest businesses in the UK, the CBI, Bank of England, etc.

Just been having a grimace at the Labour muppets who seem, incredibly, to have forgotten how we got into this mess.

But most of us on here are not running a big business, with our own vested interest at heart, are we?

I seem to recall that this all started in the US of A, by " Big Business ".. getting it all so dramatically wrong.

SwissLe

Heliflyguy wrote: »

No profit for the IPS but not all goes to them and their costs.
So it helps pay for those in trouble abroad, the unlucky ones and the muppets that break the countries laws, but how much is the consular premium part of the fee?
Still we would have to pay for that in some way or another.
I dont think its a ripoff either...

What the fee covers

IPS does not make a profit. Passport fees cover the costs of providing passport services in the UK. Part of the fee is called 'the consular premium'. This covers the costs or providing consular help to British nationals who find themselves in difficulty while overseas.

If you lose or happen to have your passport stolen when aboard the service for 'muppets' will come in quite handy for you. Only part of their service is providing advice for tourists who find themselves in breach of laws - even then it's at arms length.

Your passport is the cost of one night in a pretty average Spanish hotel. I can't see how anyone can find issue with it? The development costs and production costs must be high on these items to prevent security breaches.