Martin Lewis and his team at MoneySavingExpert (MSE) have issued a warning ahead of the upcoming passport renewal price hike. On April 11 - seven days away - passport fees are set to rise by 7%.

An adult passport will soon cost £88.50 and a child’s £57.50. Martin and his team say the cheapest way to apply for one remains to be online via Gov.uk.

Paper applications cost £10.50 more, or £11.50 more alongside the April increases. According to the government: "The new fees will help ensure that income from passport applications better meets the cost of delivering passport and associated operations, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation."

A statement on Gov.uk adds: "The government does not make any profit from the cost of passport applications." The proposed price hikes include the following:

  • A standard online application made from within the UK will rise to £88.50 for adults and £57.50 for children.
  • A standard postal application will increase to £100.00 for adults and £69.00 for children.
  • A standard online application when applying from overseas will rise to £101.00 for adults and £65.50 for children.
  • A standard paper application when applying from overseas will increase to £112.50 for adults and £77.00 for children.

MSE submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Passport Office, which revealed that in the months between January 1 to December 31, 2023, over seven million applications were made online. This meant applicants collectively saved over £73 million by doing so.

Helen Knapman, news and investigations editor at MoneySavingExpert, said: "Our research shows nearly 850,000 people missed out on an estimated £9 million in savings last year because they used a paper form when applying for their passport.

"If you can do it online, or if you can get someone to help, the cheapest way to get a new passport is still to apply directly through Gov.uk, whether it's your first one, you're renewing an old one or changing your personal details. And right now is a good time to do it as you can beat the fee rises coming in on Thursday 11 April.

"But be warned: since 2018, any time left on your existing passport is no longer added to your new one, so whether it's worth renewing early depends on how close you are to expiry. As a rough guide, it's only worth it right now if you've less than 10 months left on your current passport."

Passports are usually issued within three weeks if they are applying from within the UK but customers are advised that they should apply in good time before travelling. Apply online for a UK passport here.