LIFE

The one passport mistake made by millions of people - costing us more

Last modified on Monday 6 February 2023

Don't get caught out with this simple mistake ✈️

With families looking forward to a well earned holiday this year, many of us are already getting prepped for our summer getaways right now. But before making travel plans, families have been warned to avoid a costly passport mistake made by over a million Brits each year.

MoneySavingExpert discovered that over a million people were still doing their passport applications in person, which set them back £9.50 more than applying for it digitally.

In the 12 months between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022, 7,403,200 passport applications were made online, while 1,054,943 were made using a paper form, show figures released to MSE by the Passport Office under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

Applications include getting a first passport, renewing an old one, changing a name or personal details, or getting a passport for a child.

Passport prices have now risen

What's more, anyone applying through the post will need to pay an additional £10.50 since passport application fees increased last at the beginning of February, 2023.

Those applying in person via the Post Office will find fees have increased from £85 to £93 for adults. And for kids, the cost has risen from £58.50 to £64.

Standard online applications have risen from £75.50 to £82.50. Meanwhile, new passports for kids applied for digitally have also risen from £49 to £53.50.

Those looking for overseas standard paper applications will find prices have risen from £95.50 to £104.50 for adults and £65.50 to £71.50 for kids.

Families warned not to fall for scams

Meanwhile, families have been reminded to make sure they're using the government website when renewing their passports, as some fake sites could catch users out.

Cody, from luggage storage company Bounce, warned: 'These websites attempt to charge users £20 - £100 on top of the official passport fee, by offering additional ‘validation’ services.'

Dreading the plane journey with the kids? Here are 5 tips to make the process less painful.

Or, if you're putting off packing your bags, here are 23 packing hacks ALL parents needs to know about.

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