What does your Passport cost?
Feb 20th, 2023, 06:09 PM
#1
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What does your Passport cost?
I’m in the process of renewing my Australian passport & was curious to see what it costs around our Fodors world.
Mine was $325, plus $25 for photos from a photographer.
I stupidly let it lapse by 4 days in 2021, but luckily we now have 3 years from expiry to renew without the requirement for all the original documentation.
My faffing about between then and now may have worked in my favour. The very helpful woman at the Post Office said there is not much of a delay now & I’ll probably have it back within 1-4 weeks, despite the “6-8 weeks” official guideline. Seems the post-Covid stampede and delay has abated at least somewhat.
So - what does your “ OK to Go” cost where you live?
Mine was $325, plus $25 for photos from a photographer.
I stupidly let it lapse by 4 days in 2021, but luckily we now have 3 years from expiry to renew without the requirement for all the original documentation.
My faffing about between then and now may have worked in my favour. The very helpful woman at the Post Office said there is not much of a delay now & I’ll probably have it back within 1-4 weeks, despite the “6-8 weeks” official guideline. Seems the post-Covid stampede and delay has abated at least somewhat.
So - what does your “ OK to Go” cost where you live?
Feb 20th, 2023, 06:42 PM
#2
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I’m in the process of renewing my Australian passport & was curious to see what it costs around our Fodors world.
Mine was $325, plus $25 for photos from a photographer.
I stupidly let it lapse by 4 days in 2021, but luckily we now have 3 years from expiry to renew without the requirement for all the original documentation.
My faffing about between then and now may have worked in my favour. The very helpful woman at the Post Office said there is not much of a delay now & I’ll probably have it back within 1-4 weeks, despite the “6-8 weeks” official guideline. Seems the post-Covid stampede and delay has abated at least somewhat.
So - what does your “ OK to Go” cost where you live?
Mine was $325, plus $25 for photos from a photographer.
I stupidly let it lapse by 4 days in 2021, but luckily we now have 3 years from expiry to renew without the requirement for all the original documentation.
My faffing about between then and now may have worked in my favour. The very helpful woman at the Post Office said there is not much of a delay now & I’ll probably have it back within 1-4 weeks, despite the “6-8 weeks” official guideline. Seems the post-Covid stampede and delay has abated at least somewhat.
So - what does your “ OK to Go” cost where you live?
Feb 21st, 2023, 02:32 AM
#5
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In Canada, we pay $120 for a five-year passport and $160 for ten-year validity. There are extra fees for expedited service and to replace a lost passport.
I can't remember how much we paid for photos, but I do recollect that the cheapest fees are at Costco.
I can't remember how much we paid for photos, but I do recollect that the cheapest fees are at Costco.
Feb 21st, 2023, 04:48 AM
#7
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Last time I did a US renewal I took the photos myself with my phone, cropped & resized the image to a 2"x 2" format, arranged 6 of them on a single page and printed it out at CVS or Walmart for about 10 or 20 cents.
Feb 21st, 2023, 05:18 AM
#8
Last time I did a US renewal I took the photos myself with my phone, cropped & resized the image to a 2"x 2" format, arranged 6 of them on a single page and printed it out at CVS or Walmart for about 10 or 20 cents.
That's what we did too, but I used my 35 mm digital camera. And due to our poor cropping, my spouse looks like he doesn't have ears
That's what we did too, but I used my 35 mm digital camera. And due to our poor cropping, my spouse looks like he doesn't have ears
Feb 21st, 2023, 09:58 AM
#9
Please allow me to clarify this as a AAA member, I had to pay $10 for my picture. It depends on your level of membership. I once was under the same impression that it was free when it isn’t for all members. It didn’t matter to me as they handed it to me right there.
I also had to pay a bit more at my post office as it had to have tracking on it. It still wasn’t as much as the OP but these little things do start to add up. I didn’t expedite but that also adds to the cost. I got mine back in 3-4 weeks but now from what friends are going through, its 2 months or longer. So in total maybe I spent around $150 last year.
I also had to pay a bit more at my post office as it had to have tracking on it. It still wasn’t as much as the OP but these little things do start to add up. I didn’t expedite but that also adds to the cost. I got mine back in 3-4 weeks but now from what friends are going through, its 2 months or longer. So in total maybe I spent around $150 last year.
Feb 21st, 2023, 01:25 PM
#10
I recently renewed my U.S. passport with expedited service. Despite being an AAA member I opted to drive the much shorter distance to the nearest CVS pharmacy where I had my pictures taken in less than 10 minutes ,
I paid $148 for expedited service and my passport came back in about 5 weeks
I paid $148 for expedited service and my passport came back in about 5 weeks
Feb 22nd, 2023, 06:32 PM
#11
The photo they took of me at CVS was more like a booking photo than a passport photo, and I couldn't bear it being in some data base for all enternity, let alone in my passport for the next 10 years.
The AAA photo was great at half the price.... In focus, well lighted, although I still looked every day of my age, darnit.
The AAA photo was great at half the price.... In focus, well lighted, although I still looked every day of my age, darnit.
Feb 23rd, 2023, 10:58 PM
#12
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I should renew mine sometime this year. If I do it online, it costs £82.50 (plus photos - I might do my own again, but their processing last time makes it look as though I've hardly got a face at all, not that I've had a problem over the years).
If I do it the old-fashioned way, it costs £93.
If I do it the old-fashioned way, it costs £93.
Feb 24th, 2023, 02:33 PM
#13
Original Poster
Thanks all, it's interesting to see the different regulations and how much we pay for our Passports.
Photos are a bit of a pest here. Some Post Offices take them, some don't and you don't know until you front up. Some have reasonable lighting - others don't and you end up looking like Methuselah the Maniacal Murderer. Then there's the restrictions - no glasses, no smiling,no hair obscuring eyebrows, no scowling - "neutral expression". If the bod assessing your photo thinks your expression is "too friendly" they might reject the photo. A few of those is likely to produce a "too negative expression" and yet another rejection! Oh, and did I mention the specific sizes - and not all Post Offices seem to have the same outline into which the photo has to fit. All that and we're slugged $$$.
I went to the Post Office the photographer recommended, armed with 2 sets of photos - and luckily met a very helpful and efficient woman who picked the "best of the bad bunch" of pictures, had me sign the back of another and the form - all done in less than 5 minutes. Phew! Now I just have to wait .... itchy feet tapping ...
Photos are a bit of a pest here. Some Post Offices take them, some don't and you don't know until you front up. Some have reasonable lighting - others don't and you end up looking like Methuselah the Maniacal Murderer. Then there's the restrictions - no glasses, no smiling,no hair obscuring eyebrows, no scowling - "neutral expression". If the bod assessing your photo thinks your expression is "too friendly" they might reject the photo. A few of those is likely to produce a "too negative expression" and yet another rejection! Oh, and did I mention the specific sizes - and not all Post Offices seem to have the same outline into which the photo has to fit. All that and we're slugged $$$.
I went to the Post Office the photographer recommended, armed with 2 sets of photos - and luckily met a very helpful and efficient woman who picked the "best of the bad bunch" of pictures, had me sign the back of another and the form - all done in less than 5 minutes. Phew! Now I just have to wait .... itchy feet tapping ...
Mar 2nd, 2023, 08:59 PM
#17
Original Poster
Wow! I'm very impressed with the Australian Passport Office's service. Applied 21st Feb - 11:45. No special expedited delivery etc. Arrived at my home this morning. 10 days! This one is gorgeous - watercolour like pictures of various landmarks on each double spread of pages, with a note on its name and a little map showing the location. Another 10 years 
Now I just need to get on a plane!
Now I just need to get on a plane!
Mar 3rd, 2023, 12:06 AM
#18
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My wife just renewed her UK passport as it was completely full, not a single blank page (so loved by immigration officers all over the world) left. The best £82.50 we have spent. Using the online service it was incredibly quick, less than 10 days from application to it dropping through the letterbox.
After 14 years of more or less full time travel and a lot of travel before that we have finally settled down to lead a "normal" life (more or less. We have accumulated a lot of stamped passport pages and rather than leave them in a drawer, my wife has decided to use to create a collage to hang on the wall of our new house as a reminder of our travels.
Anyone have any other uses for old passports?
After 14 years of more or less full time travel and a lot of travel before that we have finally settled down to lead a "normal" life (more or less. We have accumulated a lot of stamped passport pages and rather than leave them in a drawer, my wife has decided to use to create a collage to hang on the wall of our new house as a reminder of our travels.
Anyone have any other uses for old passports?
Mar 5th, 2023, 08:08 AM
#20
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If you have a simple UK passport application, it is a very easy process online to renew/apply for. If you are renewing a British passport but you are a dual/multi national with another passport/nationality, it might not be so smooth. You have to declare the other nationality(ies) to the British and send in the original of the foreign passport(s). And the names in both/all passports have to match exactly, which can be quite problematic in cases where a foreign passport is not Latin characters and the transliteration can be different.
