The simple passport mistake that more than a million Brits make – and it’s costing you money

PASSPORT applications are expected to rise sharply this year as many Britons look to holiday abroad.

However, a simple mistake in a passport application has already cost more than a million people money.

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Research by MoneySavingExpert found that more than a million people still applied for a passport in person, even though it was £9.50 more than a digital application.

According to the Money Experts, 1,054,943 Brits applied for their passports using the paper form.

These applications include people applying for their first passport, renewing an old passport, changing their name (or other personal information), or applying for a passport for a child.

Brits who wish to apply by post now pay an extra £10.50 after passport application fees went up yesterday.

Applying in person through the Post Office has gone from £85 to £93 for adults.

For children, the registration fee has increased from £58.50 to £64.

Meanwhile, standard online claims have skyrocketed from £75.50 to £82.50 – up £7.

New passes for children have also been increased from £49 to £53.50.

This means a family of four could be forced to pay an extra £23 if they have to update all their passports at once – paying £272 instead of £249.

Overseas standard paper claims increased from £95.50 to £104.50 for adults and £65.50 to £71.50 for children

The Home Office says the new fees will help “move towards a system that recovers its costs from those who use it”.

It is unlikely that people who have vacations planned for half of the semester in February will be able to get their passports back if they need a new one unless they pay extra for a quick passport renewal.

Home Secretary Matthew Rycroft spoke to MPs last month and said they need to be “ready for next year to be even busier” when it comes to passport renewals.

Rycroft added: “Now would be a very good time for anyone listening [to renew their passports]’ and warned that there could be ‘an extra million’ applications than normal in the first half of this year alone.

And while it may seem obvious to go to the government’s website when it comes to renewal, there are some fake websites that you can snag as well.

Bounce’s Cody warned: “These sites are trying to charge users £20 to £100 on top of the official passport fee by offering additional ‘validation’ services.”

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