(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 10, 2009 ) As increasing numbers of Brits opt to stay closer to home as the credit crunch continues to batter wallets and a byproduct of this is a drop in the level of applications for UK passports – pushing up prices for a new 10-year passport by seven per cent…

The last time the cost of a passport was increased was in 2007, but, come September 3rd this year, applicants for a new UK passport or a renewal of their old one will have to dig deeper to fund it.

The cost of a 10-year adult passport will rise by seven per cent from £72 to £77.50, while a child’s passport will rise by £3 to £49.

Renewing an existing passport in the UK under the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) will also cost more – an adult passport will rise in price by £15.50 to £112.50 whilst a child’s passport will rise to £96.50.

The only group of people who will be exempt from these new price increases are those born before 2nd September 1929 – so are aged over 80. They will continue to be eligible for a free passport should they require one.

This bid by the Government to save money may actually backfire and result in even fewer applications being made by people reluctant to pay the new increased prices.
Ministers have said that the extra money generated will go towards paying for enhanced passport security measures.

The recession has meant that applications for passports were 400,000 below the expected level this year.

In 1997 a passport cost £18. In 2007 it cost £51 and by last year it was £72.
The cost increases are in part blamed on the increased security measures that new passports include - since 2007, when the price of a new passport last increased, the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has issued almost eight million passports that contain a secure chip which holds facial biometric information on the passport holder.

Speaking about the increases, Phil Woolas, Home Office Minister, said, “It will ensure that the Identity and Passport Service is able to maintain the high standards in customer service and document security that British citizens have come to expect.”
But Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling, said, “This looks like a blatant attempt to bury part of the cost of the ID scheme in the price of a passport.

“The Government admits that it has no idea how many people will have to volunteer for ID cards before they cover their costs, so it looks like the cost is being lumped on to our passports,” he added.

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