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British passport prices
€200 for an adult + €13 in photo costs
Just had to apply for two new passports for the children. People there are new prices. €123 for a child and €200 for a ten-page adult one. On top of that €13 for the digital photos what are now needed. Daylight bloody robbery if you ask me.
That's what British Passports cost.
They are SLIGHTLY cheaper in the UK itself becasue of the extra services (sic) provided to you as an ex-pat by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The price is being pushed higher and higher becasue of the costs of biometric etc passport and to soften up british Citizens for "oh but they are so cheap" ID Cards at 80 quid a pop.
They are SLIGHTLY cheaper in the UK itself becasue of the extra services (sic) provided to you as an ex-pat by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The price is being pushed higher and higher becasue of the costs of biometric etc passport and to soften up british Citizens for "oh but they are so cheap" ID Cards at 80 quid a pop.
I luckily got mine before the price increase.
What is worse is the design with pathetic I-Spy bird (feathered type) pictures on each page.
And to add insult to injury in making the document even more fluffy and PC they've now included gaelic (two versions I guess one is paddy and the other taffy) language translations on the first page.
Why didn't they go the whole hog, make the cover pink and included an apology for our colonial past after the request from her Britannic Majesty's Government plea to let and bear us in our hind quarters?
What is worse is the design with pathetic I-Spy bird (feathered type) pictures on each page.
And to add insult to injury in making the document even more fluffy and PC they've now included gaelic (two versions I guess one is paddy and the other taffy) language translations on the first page.
Why didn't they go the whole hog, make the cover pink and included an apology for our colonial past after the request from her Britannic Majesty's Government plea to let and bear us in our hind quarters?
I got a new one recently. Luckily before the price increase but still too expensive considering they couldn't even manage to print the cover straight.
QUOTE (gideon @ Apr 16 2007, 4:48 pm) 
I guess one is paddy
More likely to be Scots Gaelic. But since my passport is good for another 3 years I guess I'll just have to wait to pay the €300 that it will probably cost by then and find out.
QUOTE (gideon @ Apr 16 2007, 4:48 pm)
and the other taffy
And we dont speak gaelic in Wales
according to the brit passport office the passport includes the languages of the british isles on the inside cover including "English, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic" - see biometric passport design features
No mention of irish gaelic there at all.
It makes sense as your average gaelic speaker on the Falls Road in Belfast probably wouldnt be into getting a british passport anyhow, especially now that the british passport is 130 euro more than an irish one!!!
Which incidentally is also Biometric, with a chip and all that, which makes you wonder why the Brits cant do their passport for 75 euro too! (ahem yes id card introduction...)
No mention of irish gaelic there at all.
It makes sense as your average gaelic speaker on the Falls Road in Belfast probably wouldnt be into getting a british passport anyhow, especially now that the british passport is 130 euro more than an irish one!!!
Which incidentally is also Biometric, with a chip and all that, which makes you wonder why the Brits cant do their passport for 75 euro too! (ahem yes id card introduction...)
QUOTE (Mik Dickinson @ Apr 16 2007, 4:24 pm)
€123 for a child and €200 for a ten-page adult one.
Is a 10-page passport the standard now? Mine, issued in 2003, has 30 pages which I assume was the standard back then, as I didn't ask for anything fancy. Anyway, those prices are horrendous. I hope for that price it at least comes in the deluxe version, bound with crocodile leather and studded with rhinestones.
I wonder what effect it will have on the package tours industry, when your passport costs you more than your week on the Costa del Cheapo.
QUOTE (GreenTea @ Apr 18 2007, 12:48 pm)
Anyway, those prices are horrendous.
Too right...and the extra admin. charge is a rip off too. Absolutely no justification for it in my opinion. I once asked them if they did anything different in the procedure here as opposed to the UK and was told "no, exactly the same". So my question is, what exactly are they charging for? I mean just because they sit in an office in Düsseldorf instead of one in Liverpool doesn't make any difference to the procedure. Of course no real reason could be given for the extra charge
Thank goodness I've got until 2011 to renew mine again.
The extra price is to reflect the extra services that a British Citizen living abroad enjoys from the consular service.
What extra service? I've never "enjoyed" any extra services from the British Consulate in all my 15yrs in Germany.
QUOTE (gideon @ Apr 16 2007, 3:48 pm)
Why didn't they go the whole hog, make the cover pink and included an apology for our colonial past after the request from her Britannic Majesty's Government plea to let and bear us in our hind quarters?
I'd pay 200 quid to see that, wouldn't you?
The extra services we enjoy from the consular service? What sort of pathetic excuse is that?!! 200 squid for a passport is ridiculous.
I've checked the official Website for all this and don't see where you got your new prices from:
passport fees
It looks like as non-UK residents, we have to book an appointment at the passport office, and if you go for the one-week option for the renewal of an adult passport, it'll cost you 91 squid.
I've checked the official Website for all this and don't see where you got your new prices from:
passport fees
It looks like as non-UK residents, we have to book an appointment at the passport office, and if you go for the one-week option for the renewal of an adult passport, it'll cost you 91 squid.
QUOTE (madgibson @ Apr 18 2007, 12:35 pm)
Too right...and the extra admin. charge is a rip off too. Absolutely no justification for it in my opinion. I once asked them if they did anything different in the procedure here as opposed to the UK and was told "no, exactly the same". So my question is, what exactly are they charging for? I mean just because they sit in an office in Düsseldorf instead of one in Liverpool doesn't make any difference to the procedure. Of course no real reason could be given for the extra charge
Thank goodness I've got until 2011 to renew mine again.
Thank goodness I've got until 2011 to renew mine again.
When countries are run like corporations, as is the case in too many western or wanna-be western countries these days, the question is not whether they can give a real reason for the extra charge, but rather what is the optimal price point at which they can sell their merchandise and maximize profits. All other considerations are irrelevant.
I don't think it is fully privatised but the issuance of passports domesticly is done by the Passport Agency which has to operate to business rules and turn a profit.
Likewise, the UK is NOTORIOUS for overspends on IT projects in government business so I guess that is where some of the oney goes too.
Likewise, the UK is NOTORIOUS for overspends on IT projects in government business so I guess that is where some of the oney goes too.
Well, they've got you over a barrell whichever way you look at it...if you want a new passport, you have to pay the fees or else not travel. However, it still galls me to have to cough up money where no visible service has been rendered.
American machine-readable passport from the Munich consulate: $80.- + 5.- for the photo.
Maybe the UK government is trying to discourage travel? Perhaps they've been embarrassed too many times by football hooligans or Don Rina's rudeness?
Maybe the UK government is trying to discourage travel? Perhaps they've been embarrassed too many times by football hooligans or Don Rina's rudeness?
@DJJG, those are for UK-issued passports. If you live in Germany, you will be applying to the FCO and will be paying these fees.
Nice to see they give you a free passport if you were born before 1929.
Edit: Oh, and we don't get ID cards for that price. Not that I really want one, but now we know the going rate for being a 2nd class citizen.
Nice to see they give you a free passport if you were born before 1929.
Edit: Oh, and we don't get ID cards for that price. Not that I really want one, but now we know the going rate for being a 2nd class citizen.
QUOTE (Guy @ Apr 18 2007, 2:02 pm)
Oh, and we don't get ID cards for that price.
It's sleight of hand.
If all you want to do is go for a package holiday in Spain, the UK government might say in the future
Ah but you can do that with an ID card that "only" costs 100 Euros instead of 185.
@Guy - I figured that might be the case. Surely though, if you've got ANY family or friends in London or you just fancy visiting the place, the cost of your flight is more than covered! €100 flights to London are pretty standard these days. That gives you about 40 extra squid to blow...which should cover your train fair into town, a sandwich and a coke upon arrival, and maybe your first two pints!!
The trouble is, you are not supposed to get a passport in the UK unless you live there.
They probably wouldn't catch you out BUT: UK passports are issued by post and can take up to 6 weeks or more to get processed.
You can go to one of the regional centres and get it in person (Newport, Peterborough, London, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow) but that costs extra.
They probably wouldn't catch you out BUT: UK passports are issued by post and can take up to 6 weeks or more to get processed.
You can go to one of the regional centres and get it in person (Newport, Peterborough, London, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow) but that costs extra.
QUOTE (MonksTown @ Apr 18 2007, 2:08 pm)
It's sleight of hand.
For UK residents, yes, and a typically sleazy one. But for us non-UK residents, there will be no ID card, whether we want it or not. But maybe that's another sleight of hand
QUOTE (Guy @ Apr 18 2007, 2:36 pm)
For UK residents, yes, and a typically sleazy one. But for us non-UK residents, there will be no ID card
I still hope UK ID cards get stopped.
Imagine the nightmare of being in the UK and obviously british and having to try to explain to some jobsworth numpty that no you don't actually have an ID card.
I get enough hassles now trying to pay with a non UK VISA card.
Yeah, precisely, but I'm pessimistic about the chances of ID cards being dropped.
We stopped the Poll Tax!
Maybe when thatcunt our beloved Prime Misister steps down in a couple of months his successor will not be as authoritarian and let the idea fall off the table as it were.
Maybe when that
QUOTE (Mik Dickinson @ Apr 16 2007, 4:24 pm)
Just had to apply for two new passports for the children. People there are new prices. €123 for a child and €200 for a ten-page adult one.
QUOTE (Guy @ Apr 18 2007, 2:02 pm)
@DJJG, those are for UK-issued passports. If you live in Germany, you will be applying to the FCO and will be paying these fees.
That site shows Eur 185 for 32 pages so where does STG 200 for 10 pages come from?
€151 for an amendment too, why the hell does it cost that much for them to make an amendment.
It seems that most folks are against ID cards, why is that?, I for one would like one, it would be much handier carrying a small ID card rather than a big passport when going home.
It seems that most folks are against ID cards, why is that?, I for one would like one, it would be much handier carrying a small ID card rather than a big passport when going home.
Becasue although it would be more "convenient" to have an ID card in your wallet when entering the UK, it is the thin end of the wedge.
The goal of that shower of fuckers in Westminster is:
A) For the various sections of government to get more information on you and share it "better"
B) Introduce a compulsory ID card.
C) Use this to control the population.
The goal of that shower of fuckers in Westminster is:
A) For the various sections of government to get more information on you and share it "better"
B) Introduce a compulsory ID card.
C) Use this to control the population.
QUOTE (MonksTown @ Apr 18 2007, 2:22 pm)
The trouble is, you are not supposed to get a passport in the UK unless you live there.
I renewed my passport in London at the end of last year, using the same-day premium service. I phoned up the Passport Office beforehand and explained that I was living in Munich, couldn't wait for my passport to be delivered by post, and didn't want to travel to Düsseldorf. The bloke said I had to give a UK address on the form, but that I could use my parents' address, so that's what I did. Didn't have any trouble.
Since I've just waded through all the info to renew my passport and had to decide which country to do it in, here are the essentials:
No, standard is 32. And some of the prices on this thread are inaccurate too. This is the current list from the consulate website:
Actually you can, but you're supposed to do it in person. AquaticMeringue's situation was obviously an exception. Home Office passport info for non-UK residents:
QUOTE (GreenTea @ Apr 18 2007, 12:48 pm)
Is a 10-page passport the standard now?
No, standard is 32. And some of the prices on this thread are inaccurate too. This is the current list from the consulate website:
QUOTE
Passport Fees
The following Consular Fees take effect immediate effect. Fees are only payable in local currency. If you are applying by post, we recommend payment by bank transfer (Please click here for further details). Please note that fee rates may change.
Adult 32 page 185 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Adult 48 page 223 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Child 118 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Emergency 86 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Amendments 151 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Due to fluctuations in the exchange rate, the above fees are subject to change at short notice.
The following Consular Fees take effect immediate effect. Fees are only payable in local currency. If you are applying by post, we recommend payment by bank transfer (Please click here for further details). Please note that fee rates may change.
Adult 32 page 185 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Adult 48 page 223 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Child 118 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Emergency 86 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Amendments 151 Euro *+ 5 Euro postage/admin
Due to fluctuations in the exchange rate, the above fees are subject to change at short notice.
QUOTE (MonksTown @ Apr 18 2007, 2:22 pm)
The trouble is, you are not supposed to get a passport in the UK unless you live there.
Actually you can, but you're supposed to do it in person. AquaticMeringue's situation was obviously an exception. Home Office passport info for non-UK residents:
QUOTE
If you do not live in the UK, you may apply in person to renew your passport whilst visiting the UK. In order to do this, you need to make an appointment at a passport office and you must provide an address in the UK to which the passport may be posted. You should call our 24-hour Passport Adviceline 0870 521 0410 (see terms and conditions) to make an appointment at one of our offices. We can offer a Fast Track one week service or a Premium same-day service. Please note the Premium same-day service is not available for first passports, extensions to a passport, or to replace a lost, stolen or damaged passport.
QUOTE (MonksTown @ Apr 18 2007, 3:33 pm)
Becasue although it would be more "convenient" to have an ID card in your wallet when entering the UK, it is the thin end of the wedge.
The goal of that shower of fuckers in Westminster is:
A) For the various sections of government to get more information on you and share it "better"
Introduce a compulsory ID card.
C) Use this to control the population.
The goal of that shower of fuckers in Westminster is:
A) For the various sections of government to get more information on you and share it "better"
Introduce a compulsory ID card.
C) Use this to control the population.
You forgot D): To make you a criminal until you can prove otherwise.
I think that's reserved for people who don't possess an ID card
QUOTE (Allershausen @ Apr 18 2007, 10:18 pm)
You forgot D): To make you a criminal until you can prove otherwise.
Sadly this is becomming true in many countries.
QUOTE (Tiggi @ Apr 18 2007, 9:36 pm)
Since I've just waded through all the info to renew my passport and had to decide which country to do it in, here are the essentials:
No, standard is 32. And some of the prices on this thread are inaccurate too. This is the current list from the consulate website:
Actually you can, but you're supposed to do it in person. AquaticMeringue's situation was obviously an exception. Home Office passport info for non-UK residents:
No, standard is 32. And some of the prices on this thread are inaccurate too. This is the current list from the consulate website:
Actually you can, but you're supposed to do it in person. AquaticMeringue's situation was obviously an exception. Home Office passport info for non-UK residents:
What is to stop you renewing your passport by post in the UK using a relatives address as your own. Do they check where you live? It is ten weeks til my holiday so I have plenty time.
QUOTE (MonksTown @ Apr 18 2007, 3:33 pm)
Becasue although it would be more "convenient" to have an ID card in your wallet when entering the UK, it is the thin end of the wedge.
The goal of that shower of fuckers in Westminster is:
A) For the various sections of government to get more information on you and share it "better"
Introduce a compulsory ID card.
C) Use this to control the population.
The goal of that shower of fuckers in Westminster is:
A) For the various sections of government to get more information on you and share it "better"
Introduce a compulsory ID card.
C) Use this to control the population.
the way its going passports (and ID cards) are going to be obsolete within about 10 years anyway. We`ll all be fitted with a chip at birth which will contain all the biometric data - with a USB port to enable it to be checked and read when you go through immigration or when taken down to the nick. The rest of us will all have to queue up be retro-fitted. Dont laugh, they`re introducing chips for pets already. Only takes a small leap in "rational thinking" to do the same with humans as well.
QUOTE (rick_de @ May 27 2007, 8:09 pm)
the way its going passports (and ID cards) are going to be obsolete within about 10 years anyway. We`ll all be fitted with a chip at birth which will contain all the biometric data - with a USB port to enable it to be checked and read when you go through immigration or when taken down to the nick. The rest of us will all have to queue up be retro-fitted. Dont laugh, they`re introducing chips for pets already. Only takes a small leap in "rational thinking" to do the same with humans as well.
Don't you think bluetooth would be much better suited for this?
As I travel so much, I am sort of in two minds here. Sent my passport of to get my visa for India, then got told the following day I had to go for a meeting in London. Anyway, as my passport was away, I did not make it to the meeting. With an ID card, it might be a little easier. Although right now I am in two minds just to get a second passport (boy that's going to become expensive !)
I don't know if I'm missing something, but it seems to me fundamentally wrong that people should have to pay at all for something which is supposed to be theirs by birthright, namely the right to travel abroad and to re-enter the UK as a British Citizen. If the fee is to cover administrative costs - well, isn't that what people pay taxes for?
My thoughts exactly Ms Tea, and the same applies to the hypothetical ID cards we may or may not have to acquire.
They tell you you have to have something and then charge you for it. Simply not on, what.
They tell you you have to have something and then charge you for it. Simply not on, what.
My passport came in for close scrutiny getting back to Minga the other day.
Despite all the high falutin' security stuffand backhanders that make them so damned expensive,
British Passports are regarded by German plod as being dodgy, I've heard them talking about it.
It's something to do with the photos.
Despite all the high falutin' security stuff
British Passports are regarded by German plod as being dodgy, I've heard them talking about it.
It's something to do with the photos.
QUOTE (SillyOldSlapper @ May 27 2007, 3:09 pm)
What is to stop you renewing your passport by post in the UK using a relatives address as your own. Do they check where you live? It is ten weeks til my holiday so I have plenty time.
So does anyone know the answer to this...
You are not supposed to but you can probably get away with it.
The point is that for most TTers I know, it is pretty hard to go for X weeks without a passport.
And of course, you need to get the UK issued forms (which I suspect may be different) over to you here and back to the UK to post the application.
Plus it might raise eyebrows if your witness has a German adress down where they sign so you need to find a NON relative
in the UK who knows you well enough and is "responsible" to witness your application. Might as we ll send it to DÜS to be honest.
The point is that for most TTers I know, it is pretty hard to go for X weeks without a passport.
And of course, you need to get the UK issued forms (which I suspect may be different) over to you here and back to the UK to post the application.
Plus it might raise eyebrows if your witness has a German adress down where they sign so you need to find a NON relative
in the UK who knows you well enough and is "responsible" to witness your application. Might as we ll send it to DÜS to be honest.
QUOTE (SillyOldSlapper @ May 29 2007, 9:21 am)
So does anyone know the answer to this...
There is nothing to stop you doing this but I found the passport issuing office here in Düsseldorf to work really well – I remember that they sent it back within their designated time frame (straightforward renewal).
The price of these passports is ridiculous – all part of rip-off Britain – where everything is 1.5 to 3 times the price of anywhere else. I often wonder the final price tag for the London Olympics. Britain is so busy trying to police the world but it can’t even police its own country. Still, Tony Blair believes it is the greatest country in the world.
QUOTE (BattalionBoy @ May 29 2007, 9:50 am)
The price of these passports is ridiculous – all part of rip-off Britain – where everything is 1.5 to 3 times the price of anywhere else.
I often wonder the final price tag for the London Olympics.
I often wonder the final price tag for the London Olympics.
The price of the Olympics in London is going to make the price of a British Passport look like a positive bargain!
QUOTE (MonksTown @ May 29 2007, 9:40 am)
You are not supposed to but you can probably get away with it.
The point is that for most TTers I know, it is pretty hard to go for X weeks without a passport.
And of course, you need to get the UK issued forms (which I suspect may be different) over to you here and back to the UK to post the application.
Plus it might raise eyebrows if your witness has a German adress down where they sign so you need to find a NON relative
in the UK who knows you well enough and is "responsible" to witness your application. Might as we ll send it to DÜS to be honest.
The point is that for most TTers I know, it is pretty hard to go for X weeks without a passport.
And of course, you need to get the UK issued forms (which I suspect may be different) over to you here and back to the UK to post the application.
Plus it might raise eyebrows if your witness has a German adress down where they sign so you need to find a NON relative
in the UK who knows you well enough and is "responsible" to witness your application. Might as we ll send it to DÜS to be honest.
Relatives are arriving this week. So if they bring the form with them I think I will give it a go. I am lucky enough to be a dual national and have another passport for emergency travel (although the likelihood of me going anywhere is slim ). Thanks for your help.
Let us know how it goes SOS, I'm curious.
QUOTE (MonksTown @ May 29 2007, 9:40 am)
Plus it might raise eyebrows if your witness has a German adress down where they sign so you need to find a NON relative
in the UK who knows you well enough and is "responsible" to witness your application. Might as we ll send it to DÜS to be honest.
in the UK who knows you well enough and is "responsible" to witness your application. Might as we ll send it to DÜS to be honest.
You don't need a witness for a renewal. Only for a new application. At least that was the case when I renewed mine.
Not a live witness but the signitory who signs the back of one of the photos and swears it is you and your likeness and they know you personally
and provide details of where they can be contacted. That is certainly still the case for renewls.
Now that I seem to be regarded as a bone fide "responsible" witness for the ones I have witnessed I have put down a German address.
and provide details of where they can be contacted. That is certainly still the case for renewls.
Now that I seem to be regarded as a bone fide "responsible" witness for the ones I have witnessed I have put down a German address.
QUOTE (MonksTown @ May 29 2007, 10:20 am)
Not a live witness but the signitory who signs the back of one of the photos and swears it is you and your likeness and they know you personally
and provide details of where they can be contacted. That is certainly still the case for renewls.
and provide details of where they can be contacted. That is certainly still the case for renewls.
I needed this (with contact phone number) when I applied for my renewal last year at Düsseldorf.
Yeah, sorry, you're right. I remember now that I did get my photos countersigned (Editor Bob did them). There was something else that I didn't need to do though, and I've forgotten what it was.
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