Renewing my passport was so much easier by picking a different option
Summer is almost here, with many Brits counting down to their holidays. However, before boarding planes, hopping on ferries or getting on the Eurostar, it is vital to do a passport check.
I recently planned my summer holiday, but realised my passport needed renewing before the trip. Since the UK left the European Union, entry rules to countries across Europe have changed.
Many holidaymakers get caught out by the rules, and if you are heading to Europe and Schengen countries, the passport must be issued less than 10 years before your departure date and be valid for at least three months after your planned return date.
Due to these rules, my passport was classed as out of date, and so I set out to get a new one. In previous years, I chose to renew my passport through a paper form at the Post Office.
However, this time I decided to do it all online, which turned out to be cheaper and easier. It currently costs £102 to renew or replace your passport if you submit the forms online.
Otherwise, it costs £115.50 if you do it by paper. Another change that has made the process easier and faster is that passport photo booths now provide digital copies of your photo as well as a physical printout.
It means you get a digital code that links to your photo, so you simply enter it to upload it to the gov.uk website.
Once you have filled in your details and uploaded your photo on the UK Government website, you must return your old passport. I simply posted it to the address provided and waited for my new one to arrive.
The Passport Office says it typically takes three weeks to get your new passport.
They start working on your new one as soon as they receive your documents, so it is important to get your old passport sent off as soon as you can.
To my surprise, my new passport arrived in just one week after posting out my old one. The process was much easier and faster than I had expected.
Typically, the Passport Office warns that it could take longer to receive your passport in peak seasons.
It added: “It may take longer than three weeks if we need more information, or we need to interview you. We’ll tell you this within 3 weeks.”
However, from my own experience, I had no issues and would certainly choose to get my passport online in the future to save time and money.
