Passport costs to increase in October; renew now if you've less than a year remaining

georgies_mum

I have just noticed my son's passport is only valid for 5 years and I will need to fork out another load of money in 5 years time, they no longer just renew it, have I understood this correct we only got his passport this year? So a passport for him for 10 years is going to cost lots more that the £66 pounds mine has just cost me, even if the rate stayed the same it would still have cost me £90 for 10 years for him.

kitaj

"What does this government spend it's money on!!! £72 for a passport is an obscene amount of money."Well, we've established that most western countries pay a similar amount for a passport. With regard to what the Government spends its money on, well, off the top of my head: schools, hospitals, motoorways, bridges, small business support, jobcentres, tax collection, Income support, disability allowance, child maintenance, immigration services passport control, customs and excise (primarily to prevent drug movements) farm subsidies, Sure Start nurseries, aid to developing countries, 2012 Olympics, support for sport in general,legal aid, the courts system, health protection services, road safety services, subsidies for farmers, the prison system, the police force, the army, navy and air force funding for the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament, training, museums, farm subsidies, art galleries, oh yes and subsidising local government to provide, roads, the fire service, street cleaning, leisure centres, libraries, refuse collection, social housing, social services, child pprotection, planners, building control officers, tradsng standards, traffic wardens and environmental health officers... oh yes and farm subsidies

soco1

daveo138 wrote: »

Soco1, the reason that your scanners need the passport to be very close in order to read is that they may be very low-powered, to reduce the possibility of picking up a signal from other passports in close proximity.

My passport expired early last year and I heard that the price was rising on 1st February, from £43 (I think) to £52. I logged on to the Passport Agency website and requested the renewal pack, but they didn't send it out until AFTER the price increase! How annoyed was I?

As my parents were born in Ireland, I am entitled to hold an Irish passport, so guess what I did? The Irish passport cost me just over £50 and involved a bit more work, but I was so incensed at the delay in the Passport Agency sending the renewal pack, that I didn't care! It also means that I don't have to jump through hoops for the Identity checks etc.

Maybe they are low powered but I saw ina newspaper article some time ago that the manunfacturers stated the chips would only be readable at distances of less than 50cm so probably no more vulnerable than all the otherchipped things we carry day to day.

As to the passport agency I agree they are crap. Thankfully the immigration service is nothing to do with them.

soco1

henridog wrote: »

you can get a free passport if you are over 75 yrs of age

Not quite. In 2004 it was agreed that people could have a free passport if they fulfilled the following:-
applicants who were 16 years old or older at the end of World War 2 (that is, applicants born on or before 2 September 1929) are eligible for free standard 32-page ten year passports.

This date has never been updated.

It is your date of birth that is important not being over 75yrs old. Someone 75 this yr would not qualify from what the Daily Mail article said on Weds 20th June.

CFC

kitaj wrote: »

"What does this government spend it's money on!!! £72 for a passport is an obscene amount of money."Well, we've established that most western countries pay a similar amount for a passport. With regard to what the Government spends its money on, well, off the top of my head: schools, hospitals, motoorways, bridges, small business support, jobcentres, tax collection, Income support, disability allowance, child maintenance, immigration services passport control, customs and excise (primarily to prevent drug movements) farm subsidies, Sure Start nurseries, aid to developing countries, 2012 Olympics, support for sport in general,legal aid, the courts system, health protection services, road safety services, subsidies for farmers, the prison system, the police force, the army, navy and air force funding for the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament, training, museums, farm subsidies, art galleries, oh yes and subsidising local government to provide, roads, the fire service, street cleaning, leisure centres, libraries, refuse collection, social housing, social services, child pprotection, planners, building control officers, tradsng standards, traffic wardens and environmental health officers... oh yes and farm subsidies

Very true. However the increased passport fee does not go towards any of that, it goes towards funding the 'ID card' and National Identity Register which will cost an ENORMOUS amount of money. So nothing in your list of activities is actually relevant to this price increase.

kitaj

Oh yes CFC - as I mentioned earlier, I am TOTALLy against the nationa iD card scheme and any sort of register. However, that wasn't the question. The question was "What does this Government spend its money on?" to which I responded.

There are a lot of things that I disagree with that go on in this country but I get sick to dealth of people moaning about taxes. I don't enjoy paying tax, but I thank God I was born in a country where everyone pays towards some kind of infrastructure that supports education, health and a variety of other things that mean that even the poorest and least able can get a level of basic suport. No, taxes are not always spent in a way that I am happy with - the war in Iraq being a case in point. However, the greater part of our taxes are used in a consesual way and don't (whatever the Daily Mail implies) generally go to line the pockets of a very few people.

I was astounded (and very heartened) to find out that there is a not insubstantial caucus of people who actually voluntarily pay more tax than is required and anyone who can afford to travel abroad can afford to pay a bit more for their passport. Sorry, but they can. Now, if that 'tax' is used for something I disagree with - well that's a separate issue.......
Sorry this is off thread a little...

ca21981

kitaj wrote: »

Oh yes CFC - as I mentioned earlier, I am TOTALLy against the nationa iD card scheme and any sort of register. However, that wasn't the question. The question was "What does this Government spend its money on?" to which I responded.

I wasn't talking about "TAX", I was talking about a "FEE". More precisely, the passport FEE. I am not complaining about living in a free world that helps every person get a chance in life, I just feel that the government should justify what they spend the £72 per passport on. I feel that a passport is a necessity in this day and age and not just for people who travel.

kitaj

OK CFC (thanks for the NO2ID link - now joined) and CA21981 (perhaps you should have said 'fees' not 'money', most Government 'money' comes from tax whereas fees are paid for a service e.g solicitors fees, etc. or in this case, passport fees - for passport services.....:rolleyes: )

I have checked on the easy-to-find Passport Office website. The increase in the Passport fee is a "Consular Premium"

According to the Passport Office:
"The consular premium is added by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and covers the costs of providing consular assistance and help to British nationals who find themselves in difficulty while overseas."

Hope that clarifies where the increase in passport fees is going (and no doubt everyone wants consular assistance when they're in difficulty abroad). That is, unless of course they're lying about the consular premium......

BTW, CA21981 could you clarify why "a passport is a necessity in this day and age and not just for people who travel". As far as I know, its only real purpose is for people who travel, and, speaking as someone who has just moved house, taken out a mortgage and opened a new bank account without either a passport or a driving licence, I don't accept the ID requirement argument (although I admit it would have been a tad easier with a passport, even a fake one ).

crayon_2

Consular premium? What a joke! Anybody who has been in trouble abroad would tell you they were of very little assistance whatsoever.....

kitaj

I believe they can get you a replacement passport if you lose yours...:rotfl: