Uk passport cost query
#1
BE Enthusiast
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Joined: Dec 2010
Location: Whitby, Ontario
Posts: 729
Uk passport cost query
I’m in Canada and over the weekend spoke to two friends here who have very similar family setups. Both are British women, have lived in Canada for 30+ years, are married and have dual British/ Canadian Citizenship, although neither has a valid current UK passport. Each has two children born in the 1990s.
They are both aware that their children are British by descent but have been put off pursuing it because of the cost - around $1000 was mentioned.
I put in a dummy passport application earlier for a typical child in this family and a cost/fee of £86 came up.
I also did a search of this forum re costs and found one reference to the downside of applying being the cost, but it didn’t state what that cost was.
Are there other costs associated with such an application that become apparent in the process? Or is the total cost the £86 I saw?
A timescale of 6 weeks was also stated along with the possible need for an interview.
TIA for any information.
They are both aware that their children are British by descent but have been put off pursuing it because of the cost - around $1000 was mentioned.
I put in a dummy passport application earlier for a typical child in this family and a cost/fee of £86 came up.
I also did a search of this forum re costs and found one reference to the downside of applying being the cost, but it didn’t state what that cost was.
Are there other costs associated with such an application that become apparent in the process? Or is the total cost the £86 I saw?
A timescale of 6 weeks was also stated along with the possible need for an interview.
TIA for any information.
#2
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 85
Re: Uk passport cost query
I’m in Canada and over the weekend spoke to two friends here who have very similar family setups. Both are British women, have lived in Canada for 30+ years, are married and have dual British/ Canadian Citizenship, although neither has a valid current UK passport. Each has two children born in the 1990s.
They are both aware that their children are British by descent but have been put off pursuing it because of the cost - around $1000 was mentioned.
I put in a dummy passport application earlier for a typical child in this family and a cost/fee of £86 came up.
I also did a search of this forum re costs and found one reference to the downside of applying being the cost, but it didn’t state what that cost was.
Are there other costs associated with such an application that become apparent in the process? Or is the total cost the £86 I saw?
A timescale of 6 weeks was also stated along with the possible need for an interview.
TIA for any information.
They are both aware that their children are British by descent but have been put off pursuing it because of the cost - around $1000 was mentioned.
I put in a dummy passport application earlier for a typical child in this family and a cost/fee of £86 came up.
I also did a search of this forum re costs and found one reference to the downside of applying being the cost, but it didn’t state what that cost was.
Are there other costs associated with such an application that become apparent in the process? Or is the total cost the £86 I saw?
A timescale of 6 weeks was also stated along with the possible need for an interview.
TIA for any information.
I think.with postage and courier return total was maybe $600 for all 3
#3
Re: Uk passport cost query
An adult passport is £86. You’ll also need to pay for the return courier fee of ~£20 per application and the cost of getting the application to Durham by your preferred method, be it courier or registered post. The turnaround time is usually less than two weeks and it’s very unlikely you’ll need to be interviewed.
#4
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Joined: Dec 2010
Location: Whitby, Ontario
Posts: 729
Re: Uk passport cost query
Thanks to you both for the feedback. I’ll pass the information on 😁
#6
Re: Uk passport cost query
I think the women who are talking about it costing a lot are thinking about how it was about 10 years ago. My daughter wanted a British passport, but was born before 1983, when women could not pass on their citizenship. Men could. The law was changed (but few people knew about it). My daughter got her first passport about 9 years ago. She had to apply for registration as a British citizen, and go to a British consulate for a swearing in ceremony, and then could apply for a British passport. The fee was around $850 USD, plus about $80 for the citizenship ceremony, plus the cost of the passport. (She was born in Germany - even though I am British - I was working there). Father American. Not long after she paid the $850 USD, the government finally said it was discriminatory, and dropped it. So now women do not have to pay that. They still have to apply for British citizenship before getting the passport.
This does not apply to MEN, who want their children to get UK passports, and never did. My brother had two children born while working in S Africa, same time as mine, and they both went straight to British passports, as he was male. Of course children of British men don't have to apply for British citizenship, as they are already British.
I am only talking about children born to British women, where the child was born before 1983. Not recent births. (As the OP was talking about women who had been in Canada for 30 years). Children born after 1983 are treated the same now.
BIP can correct any mistakes I have made, because I have not kept up with the laws of this.
This does not apply to MEN, who want their children to get UK passports, and never did. My brother had two children born while working in S Africa, same time as mine, and they both went straight to British passports, as he was male. Of course children of British men don't have to apply for British citizenship, as they are already British.
I am only talking about children born to British women, where the child was born before 1983. Not recent births. (As the OP was talking about women who had been in Canada for 30 years). Children born after 1983 are treated the same now.
BIP can correct any mistakes I have made, because I have not kept up with the laws of this.
#7
Re: Uk passport cost query
Important to note that Mallory’s advice only applied to married fathers. Unmarried fathers were prevented from passing on their British citizenship until relatively recently - unmarried or married British mothers have been able to pass on their British citizenship since 1983.
#8
Re: Uk passport cost query
It sounds to me like the $1,000 is an aggregate of consular registration of birth plus the passport application. You can get a passport without registering the birth, but the registration of birth is "permanent", whereas if a passport is allowed to lapse, the holder may have to re-prove eligibility for a British passport, which later in life, perhaps when their parents have died, may be more challenging.
#9
Re: Uk passport cost query
It sounds to me like the $1,000 is an aggregate of consular registration of birth plus the passport application. You can get a passport without registering the birth, but the registration of birth is "permanent", whereas if a passport is allowed to lapse, the holder may have to re-prove eligibility for a British passport, which later in life, perhaps when their parents have died, may be more challenging.
#10
Re: Uk passport cost query
Thanks BIP. Children born to British mothers, born outside the UK before 1983, are not British citizens by descent. You have to register as a British citizen with the correct paperwork, and attend a ceremony. After you become a British citizen, then you can apply for a passport. Not talking about registering a birth abroad at a British consulate, as can be done today. The HUGE FEE has been dropped.
#11
Re: Uk passport cost query
Thanks BIP. Children born to British mothers, born outside the UK before 1983, are not British citizens by descent. You have to register as a British citizen with the correct paperwork, and attend a ceremony. After you become a British citizen, then you can apply for a passport. Not talking about registering a birth abroad at a British consulate, as can be done today. The HUGE FEE has been dropped.
Last edited by BritInParis; Apr 29th 2019 at 7:12 pm.