Passports Going UP!

[AFT_LOVER]

$110 for renewal and $150 for new ones in Spring 2010.

[chrysalis]

What country? Canada, US? Britain?

[paul929207]

U.s.

[chrysalis]

U.s.

 

OK...thanks, and I see the US is going to start charging a $10 "visitor fee".

[spongerob]

There is also talk of instituting a departure tax for US residents traveling outside the country.

 

:mad:

[themerle]

My DH just got his new passport. His didn't expire until June but he went ahead and got his new one since he'll be going out of the country before then. Glad he went ahead before the price increase.

 

He got the new passport card too. Pretty neat!

[Cubuff1]

What is the exact date of the increase?

[Shelbyjane56]

Looks as if the new fees start on March 9th, just sent mine in for renewal. Love how fast it can be done on the net...fill it out, have pics taken and send it all in!

[London, Canada]

is the US passport good for...the Canadian passport expires after 5 years and we pay $80 for standard service and $110 for expediated service.

[Colo Cruiser]

10 years.

[Pam in CA]

$110 for renewal and $150 for new ones in Spring 2010.

I bet the people who waited to get one are thrilled with this news. Not. Oh well. Their choice.

[PescadoAmarillo]

There is also talk of instituting a departure tax for US residents traveling outside the country.

 

:mad:

Well, that's not nice. I wonder what the travel industry and Caribbean and Mexican tourism will have to say about that?

 

Maybe if the US State Department had actually implemented all the proposed changes that would have required everyone to get passports to take international cruises from US ports beginning several years ago, it would have generated enough revenue to eliminate the need for the departure tax. Maybe.

[Woobstr112G]

Wonder what the renewal fee will be in 8 years when mine expires.....:):):)

 

Bob

[kruisey]

The Canadian passport costs more because it has to be renewed every five years:eek:. Gosh it would save lots of time and taxpayes money if it would be for 10 years like in UK and USA.

So neighbours across the border you are still better off pricewise lucky you:D

[knittinggirl]

$110 for renewal and $150 for new ones in Spring 2010.

 

Ouch! I thought I paid $65 for my renewal! That's quite a price bump! If it expires, keep the passport, we didn't travel for about 10 years and we sent in our expired passports and got the renewal price.

[AFT_LOVER]

as I just saw a site (A Briggs) with passport renewals for $65. So we may do it after we return from 4/24/cruise since I do not want to chance it doing it tomorrow.

 

Ouch! I thought I paid $65 for my renewal! That's quite a price bump! If it expires, keep the passport, we didn't travel for about 10 years and we sent in our expired passports and got the renewal price.

[Northender]

I thought I read somewhere that Canada was going to start doing 10 year passports.:)

 

As far as US passports, $110 divided by 10 is not too shabby IMHO:D

[compozer]

2010 Proposed Passport Fees - 30 Day Public Comment Period

 

 

Proposed New Passport Fees

 

The proposed rule for the new passport fees was published in the Federal Register on February 9, 2010 (Public Notice 6887, Federal Register, February 9, 2010, Volume 75, No. 26, beginning at page 6321). Publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register will be followed by a public comment period of at least 30 days. The public will be notified of the date the new fees will go into effect.

 

View the proposed rule and submit your comment

 

The proposed schedule of fees for passport application services is as follows:

 

Total Cost: $135 for a first-time U.S. Passport Book for adults (age 16 and over)

Total Cost: $110 for U.S. Passport Book renewal (age 16 and over only)

Total Cost: $105 for a U.S. Passport Book for minors (under age 16)

Total Cost: $55 for a first-time U.S. Passport Card for adults (age 16 and over)

Total Cost: $30 for a U.S. Passport Card for adults (age 16 and over) who currently hold a fully valid U.S. Passport

Total Cost: $40 for a U.S. Passport Card for minors (under age 16)

Total Cost: $82 for additional visa pages

The fee for expedited service will remain $60.

 

The proposed passport “Schedule of Fees” is based on a Cost of Service Study conducted in June 2009. It’s the most detailed study the Department of State has ever conducted of its for-fee services, and represents a cost correction from the last update of the Schedule of Fees four years ago.

 

Use of Passport Fees

 

Passport application fees are not only used to cover the costs of producing a U.S. Passport Book or Passport Card. Passport fees also cover the costs of providing emergency services for American citizens overseas in crisis situations, such as the current earthquake disaster in Haiti, helping Americans who have been the victims of crime while traveling or living abroad, and providing support to the families of American citizens who have died overseas.

 

Passport application fees enable us to keep up with technology and implement fraud prevention initiatives to protect the United States passport. The security features of the U.S. passport book have received high praise from document security specialists the world over. Investing in new technology to prevent passport fraud is one of our key priorities, and an ongoing initiative.

 

Passport fees fund the expansion of passport infrastructure and service, allowing us to offer more timely service to the traveling public, maintain high standards for adjudication in accordance with US citizenship laws, and provide appropriate attention to fraud vulnerabilities.

 

Over the last five years, the demand for passports has increased to an average of 15 million per year. In FY 2005, we issued 10.1 million passports; peaked at 18.4 million in FY 2007; and expect to issue over 15 million in FY 2010.

 

To increase our presence in underserved areas, the Department has undertaken a systematic expansion of the passport network, particularly in communities affected by the land border-crossing requirements associated with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

 

By the end of FY 2010, we will have 23 agencies providing emergency passport services to the general public, three high-volume application processing centers, and two large-scale document print centers.

 

Passport operations staff has doubled, growing to 3,000 positions since 2005. We added, on average, 30 new jobs at each of our public agencies in Dallas, Aurora (Denver), Detroit, and Minneapolis.

 

Value of the Passport

 

The U.S. Passport Book and U.S. Passport Card for adults are valid for ten years. Passports for minors under age 16 are valid for five years.

 

The U.S. Passport is not just used for travel anymore. It serves as proof of U.S. citizenship and identity for important purposes such as work authorization and eligibility for many Federal benefits.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Wonder what the renewal fee will be in 8 years when mine expires.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

An arm and a leg. :cool:

[msmoger]

He got the new passport card too. Pretty neat!

 

Can someone please explain what the passport card is? I have not previously heard if this. I see it's quite a bit cheaper than a regular passport. I assume it does not confer all the benefits of a regular passport.

 

Thanks,

[paul929207]

Thanks for the info. We will need more visa pages next year. I am mailing the request tomorrow while it is free rather than the proposed $82 per passport fee.

[rdsqrl]

Can someone please explain what the passport card is? I have not previously heard if this. I see it's quite a bit cheaper than a regular passport. I assume it does not confer all the benefits of a regular passport.

 

Thanks,

In my opinion, it's an absolutely worthless waste of money. It can only be used for land/sea crossings between Canada, Mexico, and most of the Caribbean; it confers no real benefits since it isn't accepted for any actual travel (i.e. you can't use it to board an international flight so heaven help you if you have to fly home from one of those places). As far as I can tell, it exists soley to placate those too stubborn to get a real passport.

[abqmommyof4]

re:passport card

 

I can see the value in it,( at least a little)

 

if you live in one of the border states and make driving trips into either mexico or canada a short distance across the border ( say under 100 miles) on a regular basis the passport card makes sense. if thats all you ever do, other wise get the full blown passport

[msmoger]

In my opinion, it's an absolutely worthless waste of money. It can only be used for land/sea crossings between Canada, Mexico, and most of the Caribbean; it confers no real benefits since it isn't accepted for any actual travel (i.e. you can't use it to board an international flight so heaven help you if you have to fly home from one of those places). As far as I can tell, it exists soley to placate those too stubborn to get a real passport.

 

re:passport card

 

I can see the value in it,( at least a little)

 

if you live in one of the border states and make driving trips into either mexico or canada a short distance across the border ( say under 100 miles) on a regular basis the passport card makes sense. if thats all you ever do, other wise get the full blown passport

 

Thanks for the info. Actually, I agree that this is probably a good more affordable alternative to a regular passport for someone making frequent border crossings by car. If you do this often and know you're not likely to be doing international travel by air why not save the money?

[rdsqrl]

Thanks for the info. Actually, I agree that this is probably a good more affordable alternative to a regular passport for someone making frequent border crossings by car. If you do this often and know you're not likely to be doing international travel by air why not save the money?

You have a point. I just can't imagine never traveling by air internationally -- I've been doing it for 30 years and I sometimes forget that there are lots of people who are perfectly content never to leave their own hemisphere. To each their own, I guess . . . I just think about cruising, which is our context here on these board, and how it's dangerous not to have a passport since in most cases, you're not a car ride away from the U.S. border.