Expat Kiwi

There's definitely a difference to the price charged over here.

If the High Commission sets the fee it should be about the same in Australia as it is in New Zealand to renew a British passport.

The fee here is $267.66, that's $344.36 New Zealand. Over there it's $390
even allowing for a difference in GST (if it's charged?) it's still markedly cheaper here.

Must be something to do with the cost of living? or perhaps you do pay a premium for being in NZ?

simonsi

The Oz vs NZ price difference might just be down to the courier mechanism, as it is such a fast turnaround I bet they go to the UK in some form of daily shipment, and on average there are more from Oz than NZ so the per-passport courier cost is more in NZ....

thedtb

Are passports actually sent back to the UK?

We applied for our baby's first UK Passport last year, we posted the forms to Wellington and I'm sure we received the passport back just 2-3 days later (I did post up here about it at the time so that previous post of mine will reveal the exact timescale).

It is not in anyway possible that there was anything sent by courier to/from the UK in our case.

EDIT

I dug out the previous post... Passport received 4 working days after applying: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=722125 - can't possibly have been back and to from the UK.

simonsi

Why not? Using the ANZ flight it would have 2 days and a night in the UK - either way the cost of doing it yourself is clearly part of the pricing.

thedtb

Don't wish to split hairs but...

If what the lady in my local post office told me (that it wouldn't have left them until the Monday) was correct, it would have arrived with the Wellington office on Tuesday June 21st, this happens to be the exact same date shown as the date of issue on the passport and also the date that was shown on the envelope (sent from Wellington) as the date of posting the passport back to us...

They received our application and posted the passport back to us on the same day.

simonsi

Cool, wonder what the price of same-day processing would be in the uk? Price that plus courier and the NZ price doesnt sound bad at all. As I said, the courier charge to the uk is certainly a pricing input, whether or not it is used...

chippy64

From this website
http://ukinaustralia.fco.gov.uk/en/h...als/passports/

We no longer issue standard (5 and 10 year) British passports at this High Commission. You now need to apply for your passport at our Regional Passport Processing Centre in Wellington.

So, if in OZ, your passport goes to Wellington and then onto UK

thedtb

I agree.

Assuming I've read the page below correctly, it's £129.50 for an adult's passport (but you have to be there in person) and they don't do a same-day service for a child's passport:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...ions/DG_174109

Given how fast we got our child's first passport, we can't complain at all over hoe much we paid here in NZ.