Britons in France impacted by new rise in UK passport fees
The new fees will apply to all passport applications
New fee increases have been announced for overseas applications and renewals
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It is about to cost more to apply for or renew a British passport, including from overseas, with prices set to rise by some 7-8% from April 8.
The prices are still subject to final approval by MPs, but are expected to go ahead.
From April 8, the cost for applying for a British passport from France will be:
Standard (online, 34-page standard) application from overseas: From £108 to £116.50 (around €125 to €134 respectively) for adults, and £70 to £75.50 (€81-87) for under-18s.
Postal application from overseas: From £120.50 to £130 (€139-€150) for adults, and from £82.50 to £89 (€95-€103) for under-18s.
This does not include courier charges for safe sending of your documents, which typically cost around £20 (€23).
This compares to €86 (£75) to renew a French passport from within France, and €96 (£83) from outside of France.
British passports with more pages, e.g. the ‘frequent traveller’ editions, which have more than the standard 34 pages, cost more. New passports last 10 years for adults and five years for under-18s.
You can apply for or renew a British passport online at gov.uk/overseas-passports. If you need to travel urgently and do not have a valid passport, you may be able to get an emergency travel document to use for a specific journey. It can be ready in two days, but you must collect it from a British consulate.
Meeting costs
The fee increase will enable the passport office to “move towards a system that meets its costs through those who use it”, with less money coming from general taxation, the Home Office and HM Passport Office said via the government Gov.uk website.
The fee increases will “contribute to the cost of processing passport applications, consular support overseas, including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders”, the Home Office said.
The cost to apply for a passport from within the UK – both online and by post, for the standard 34-page and the ‘frequent traveller’ edition, which has more pages – will also rise.
For some passports, there may be the option to apply for the ‘fast track’ one-day or seven-day service. However, these nearly always require an in-person appointment at one of the UK Passport Offices.
New style
British passports issued from this year will be in the new style, and bear His Majesty King Charles III’s Coat of Arms (passports with HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Coat of Arms are still valid until their expiry date).
Similarly, the new passports show “the four nations of the UK…represented through images of four UNESCO-protected natural landscapes – Ben Nevis, the Lake District, Three Cliffs Bay, and the Giant’s Causeway,” added the Home Office, when announcing the new design in October 2025.
Since Brexit, British passports no longer read ‘European Union’ nor have any reference to the EU inside.
All British passports now have a microchip embedded, which enable the holder to pass through e-Gates on arrival at certain airports, and particularly when entering the UK. These use your digital photo, and sometimes fingerprints, to enable access.
Application time
Most passports are processed within three weeks of application (when there is no need to submit more documentation or information).
“The vast majority (99.7%) of applications, where no further information was required, were processed within three weeks in the first six months of 2025,” the Home Office states, with more than 3.8 million passports issued.
However, it recommends that applications from overseas may take longer, and people should “apply in good time ahead of any planned travel”.
Dual nationals
From this year, British people who have dual citizenship (holders of a British passport and one from another citizenship) need to use their UK passport to travel into the UK. Non-nationals require an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation), but British nationals are not permitted to get one.
As a result, they risk being denied boarding a flight or entry if they travel to the UK on their non-British passport, or if their British passport is not valid.
If you are a British national but only have a foreign passport (with the exception of Ireland), you must now have proof of citizenship and right to abode in order to enter the UK. If this is not a passport, it must be a ‘certificate of entitlement’, which costs £589. It is much cheaper to get a British passport, although it can take longer.
