madliena

I think it is bad that a person with a UK passport as to send it all the way to Paris for them just to sent it onto the UK to be pocessed. Why can't we send it striaght to the place where they send it to and cut the middle man out not just that it cost you 160 euro's and 25 euro's for courier service when we could send them direct to the UK ourselves and pay 77.50. nearly three times as much.

Mitzyboy

Yep, well in Spain we have to send it to Madrid and they send it on to the UK. the costs are horrendous.

madliena

I found out that the cost went up because they are doing a different way now and the cost is being passed onto the people applying for these passports.

Mitzyboy

The costs have always been high, and thats partly due to the fact it seems that there is a repatriation levy built into it, supposedly to help return stranded brits. Never heard of it being used though

madliena

The old system which ended just over a year ago was better and cheaper for us here, when my husband got his passport through the old system it was only the same price as what it was for some getting their passport in the UK. But never mind what can you do you can beat the system I did look into it and there was no way around it.

maltaman

Thanks for the pre warning Madliena, my wife renewed hers while on a holiday in the U/K a few years ago so i hadn't realised passport renewal had got so tricky and expensive, mine is due shortly so i will be prepared for the wait, nice part of the island by the way, must be freezing up there at the moment.

Mitzyboy

Apparently you are not allowed to apply for a UK passport in the UK if you are a non UK resident.

maltaman

Quite right too, i should have added to avoid confusion that i'm fairly sure she must have applied before she declared residency here, i was under the wrong impression in thinking it was a fairly quick and simple procedure, turns out quite an expense, unfortunately a necessary one.

BritInParis

It's a common misconception that Paris simply forward the applications to the UK. The applications are fully processed by staff at the embassy in Paris, but printed and sent out from the printing plant in the UK. This is because it was considered too expensive and risky for the latest style of passports to be printed overseas. The extra cost you pay now is for economies of scale as the number of passports processed in Paris is relatively small compared to the UK. Eventually the entire process will be repatriated back to the UK at which point you will post your application to the UK directly wherever you are in the world. The cost is then supposed to come down. This is now due to happen by April 2014.

copperiw

Not true re the comment by Mitzyboy dated 4th february 2012, I am a resident of Australia and returned for a holiday last year to the U.K. so long as you have an address in the U.K. they can forward your new passport to, you can apply for one, it was certainly cheaper for me that way. In Australia to apply for a U.K. passport, you apply at the post office, they charge an exorbitant fee and then the fee for the passport which is about double the cost in the U.K.

madliena

I was told if you were staying in the UK they could send your passport to you while you were staying there. Even if you lived in another country.

copperiw

That is correct Madliena, if you have an address in the U.K. to which the passport can be sent, you can apply for one there, in my case, whilst touring around, we visited Liverpool for the day, attended at the passport office there, made the application and lodged the forms etc, they even had a photo booth for your picture, newly issued passport was later forwarded to a friends house in York.

madliena

I have to say on their part the service which I received from the them was very good it only took 3 weeks from the day I sent my application off to the day I got my passport back. I needed to renew it or else I cannot move back to the UK when my property sells. LOL

maltaman

Thanks for that, i have a U.K. address so i will book a months holiday when the time comes and chance my arm, good luck with your home sale Madliena, nice place, not so sure about the moving back bit though.