Passport price to rise
The cost of a British passport is to rise by 21 per cent, the Home Office announced today.
It says the increase reflects the cost of new security measures such as the controversial use of biometric data and enhanced background checks.
The current price of a ten-year adult passport stands at £42, but this will increase to £51 from the beginning of December.
Home Office minister Andy Burnham insisted today it was “a price worth paying” to improve security and added the cost of the passport was still “excellent value for money”.
“We are determined to ensure the British passport remains one of the most secure in the world, and we are one of over 40 countries preparing to issue new biometric ePassports,” he said.
The last price hike was in 2003, when the price increased by 27 per cent to fund a database on lost and stolen passports.
