Is Your Passport Ready for Your Next Trip Abroad?

What’s changed with passport fees in 2026?

If you haven’t renewed your passport in a while, the price will come as a surprise. A standard adult passport applied for online now costs £102. Apply by paper form instead of online, and it’s £115.50 — so it genuinely pays to do it on the GOV.UK website if you’re able to. There’s no discount for renewing early, and HM Passport Office is clear that fees are non-refundable if you cancel or aren’t entitled to a passport, so it’s worth double-checking your details before you submit.

Why do people get turned away at the airport over their passport?

It’s rarely because the passport has actually expired. Far more often, it’s because a passport that still looks valid on paper doesn’t meet the entry rules of the country being visited — particularly EU and Schengen-area countries. Airlines are required to check this at check-in, so if your passport fails either of the two rules below, you can be refused boarding before you even reach passport control.

What is the 10-year rule?

Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the date you arrive in the EU or Schengen area. This catches people out because of how renewals used to work: before October 2018, if you renewed a passport before it expired, you could carry over up to nine months of unused validity from the old one. That meant some adult passports issued in that period show an expiry date almost 10 years and 9 months after the issue date — but Schengen border staff only count the first 10 years from issue, not the printed expiry date. If your current passport was first issued more than 10 years ago, it may be rejected even though it “isn’t expired yet”.

What is the 3-month rule?

Separately, your passport needs at least three months of validity remaining after the date you plan to leave the country you’re visiting — not just after the date you arrive. If your return flight is delayed, or you extend your stay, and that pushes you past the three-month margin, you could run into problems. Because there’s no allowance for a delay or a last-minute date change, it’s worth giving yourself a wider buffer than the bare minimum if your passport is getting close.

How do you check your own passport against these rules?

• Find the “date of issue” on the photo page, not just the expiry date
• Count forward 10 years from the date of issue — if your planned arrival date in the EU falls after that, you’ll need a new passport
• Check your planned departure date from the country you’re visiting, then count forward three months — your passport’s expiry date needs to fall after that point
• If either check fails, or you’re not sure, GOV.UK has a free online checker where you enter your travel dates and it tells you whether your passport is valid for that specific trip

How long does it actually take to renew a passport?

Most standard renewals are completed within about three to four weeks, but HM Passport Office’s own guidance is to allow up to 10 weeks, to account for busy periods or applications that need extra checks. If it’s your first ever adult passport, or you’re applying from overseas, it can take longer still. If you need it urgently, there are faster paid services, but the safest approach for a routine renewal is simply not to leave it until close to your travel date.

How do you renew online, and is it worth doing yourself?

The GOV.UK website (search “renew UK passport”) talks you through the online application step by step, including uploading a digital photo. It checks the photo meets the rules as you go, which avoids a common cause of delay — a photo being rejected after you’ve already submitted. If you’d rather not do it online, some Post Office branches offer a “Check & Send” service for a small extra fee, where a member of staff checks your form and photo before it’s sent off, reducing the chance of it being bounced back.

What should you do if you’re travelling soon and unsure?

Check your passport against the two rules above today, using your actual travel dates rather than guesswork. If there’s any doubt, use the free checker on GOV.UK before you book flights, insurance, or accommodation — it takes a couple of minutes and could save you a cancelled trip. If you do need to renew, applying in good time avoids paying for an expedited service you didn’t need to.