Tom PowellTHE cost for expats applying for a UK passport will fall by 35% from next month.
The substantial decrease is due to the savings made since the processing and issuing of passports for expats was moved back to the UK three years ago.
From April the fee for Brits applying for passports overseas will fall by £45 for adults and £28.50 for children.
Will Middleton, Consular Director for Spain, said: “The repatriation of overseas passport centres means overseas applications can now be handled more efficiently and at significantly lower cost.”
There are more than 800,000 Brits living in Spain who will benefit from this decrease, a large percentage of the four million who live abroad.
Passport applications and payments are made online and then documents must be sent directly to the UK. The turnaround time is four to six weeks, and applications are accepted up to nine months before the expiry of a current passport.
Interesting. In January I had my passport stolen (in Spain of course) and had to pay £137 for a new one. Bad enough but they have not credited me with unused 9 months of the previous passport nor have they responded to my telephoned and emailed enquiries as to why not.