An IMGW News Report
Britons hoping to renew or obtain their passports now face a steeper fee. As of today, the cost of an online application has risen by 7% to £94.50—a cumulative increase of over 25% in the past two years.
The Home Office maintains that it does not profit from passport applications. Instead, the higher charges are said to fund border operations, overseas consular support (including aid for lost or stolen passports), and to lessen reliance on general taxation. Current waiting times, they insist, remain around three weeks.
Even before the latest hike, the UK passport ranked among the most expensive in Europe. Italians pay around £97, Danes £100, and the Swiss as much as £123. Yet, several EU nations remain markedly cheaper: Norway, at £55, and Lithuania, at a mere £43.
For those with Irish roots, there is a more economical—and arguably more powerful—alternative. The Irish passport, recently crowned the world’s most advantageous for travel, costs €75 (about £62). It grants access to EU fast-track lanes and, crucially, exempts holders from the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) requirement, a perk extended to no other nationality.
Eligibility extends beyond those born in Ireland. If you or your parents were born on the island before 2005, you are automatically an Irish citizen. Post-2005 births are subject to your parents’ residency status. Moreover, those with an Irish grandparent may claim citizenship by descent, while foreign-born children of Irish citizens can register under the Foreign Births Register.
As passport fees climb and travel freedoms shift, claiming an Irish passport could prove both a strategic and financial advantage.
