Passport Costs.

[p.risboy]

I just want to vent some venom, towards Her Majesties.Passport Office........Dublin.

Passport renewal.........€150. DHL courier delivery, €25. Total. €184.

This part of the office is in the hands of a private company, and any phone calls to it, are at premium rates. ie. €1.20+ a minute.(Landline)

An older friend of mine(81 years old) was on the phone(her mobile, €1.79 a minute), to the Passport office, to sort out delivery.

Due to the length of the call, she ran out of phone credit, and the call was over, before she could give her address......again.

How can these costs be justified, for a renewal, and not a first passport.

I have phoned them for her, and they will contact her in the next 2-3 working days. At premium rate, I would guess.

Obviously no pensioner rates apply.


Steve.

 

[gibbo]

I just did some converting from euro to Australian dollars and the fees are pretty similar for the passport itself, but Australia doesnt appear to have the delivery fee therefore it makes ours cheaper.

As for been a pensioner Australia has cheaper passports for them.

Ordinary A$238

Senior's passport
A senior's passport with five years' validity is available for Australian citizens aged 75 years or over. A$119
Senior's passport - Frequent traveller A$179

https://www.passports.gov.au/web/Queries/Fees.aspx

A shame that it seems not every country has cheaper passports for seniors.

edited.. I just checked the contact details for our passport office and it is the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia. [These local call numbers dont usually apply if ringing from a mobile]

 

[davelambert271]

I just checked the price in the UK. This is what I found

'You can renew or replace your passport at any time. It costs £72.50 by post or £81.25 through the Post Office’s Passport Check & Send service. Time left on an existing passport is added to your new one - up to a maximum of 9 months.'

 

[p.risboy]

This was precisely what she was told Dave. But....she had 1 year left on it.

She was then referred back to the Embassy in Dublin. Oh well, hopefully it will get sorted.


Steve.

 

[ianto73]

This problem, for me, raises the question of 'administration'. Based on a variety of government departments, I believe totally that a computer operator has no knowledge of administration, its processes or providing the public with a service. I will also add very many multi-national companies including utility companies as well. As some-one who was once described as "An old fashioned office manager, the wrong side of 40" by a guy in a recruiting company, I'm convinced that few could fault my theory. Of course, I may be wrong, but the above is typical of the stories I hear.