Time to Renew? Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) Compares the Cost of Applying for New UK Passports

The Government launched its new 'Creative United Kingdom' passport design in November 2015, with new designs celebrating some of the best achievements from Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the past 500 years. Airport Parking & Hotels (APH) has created a guide comparing UK passport renewal costs and processes for those who will receive these newly-designed passports. The research can be found in the Know Before You Go section of the APH website at www.aph.com/passportcosts.

The research compares factors such as the validity of new passports, costs incurred, recommended time given for the application process and any fast track options available when time is of the essence.

Depending on whether the applicant is applying for a child's passport, adult passport, standard 32-page or jumbo 48-page passport, different costs apply. The cost for a standard 32-page adult passport is £72.50 when the application is made online or by post. However if an applicant wishes to apply for the Check and Send service at a Post Office, the cost of the passport rises to £82.25. Meanwhile, for a child's first or renewal passport the cost of applying online or by post is £46 but applications made at a Post Office for their Check and Send service will see the passport cost rise to £55.75.

Adults should leave approximately six weeks for their passport to arrive and should also keep in mind that there are no one-day or one-week premium delivery services available for an adults' first passport. However for those adults looking to renew their passport, the application process length falls to approximately three weeks. For those in need of their passport renewal urgently, appointments can be made at local Passport Customer Service Centres whereby passports are usually available four hours after the appointment using the one-day premium service. However the cost for the standard 32-page passport rises to £128 when using the fast-track process.

For those adults who are looking to renew their passports due to a change of name through marriage or civil partnerships, they should decide whether to change their name before or after the ceremony as the name on the passport must be the same one used to book travel. They must also renew their passport and send additional documents with the application if they change their name by marriage or civil partnership. Applications then follow the same process as standard adult passport renewals and take approximately three weeks to process.

If travellers are renewing their passport, up to nine months of time left on the original passport will be added onto the new passport.

Adults should also note in mind that when it comes to applying for their first UK passport, applicants will also have to attend a 30-minute interview at a local passport office as part of the application process.

For further information on Airport Parking and Hotels (APH),
Visit www.aph.com or call 01342 859515.

ENDS