UK passport cost set to plunge 35%

THE cost of a new passport for British expats living in France is set to fall 35% from April.

Immigration and security minister James Brokenshire has announced that, from April 7, the fee for customers applying for a UK passport from overseas will fall £45 for adults and £28.50 for children.

The new fees will be:

Adult 32-page passport £83
Child 32-page passport £53
A 48-page passport, which is available to adults and children, will cost £91.

The fall in price has been made possible by efficiency savings made over the past three years after processing and issuing of overseas passports was brought back to the UK from individual processing centres at consulates across the world, including Paris.

The new fees for overseas applications are still marginally higher than the fees for UK-based applicants because overseas applications generally take longer - and therefore cost slightly more - to process.

This is because it is often less straightforward to establish whether an overseas applicant is entitled to a UK passport.

Expats in France will also still have to pay a courier charge in addition to the passport fee.

If you need a new or replacement passport, go to theOverseas British passport applications page on www.gov.uk where you can make an overseas application.

You need to apply and pay online and send your supporting documents direct to the UK (no longer to the nearest consulate or embassy).

The turnaround time is four to six weeks, and applications are accepted up to nine months before current passports are due to run out.