Anyone looking to apply for a new passport or renew the existing one has been issued a “five-day warning” as the new changes are set to be implemented from April 10. From next week, the passport fee will rise by seven percent, and holidaymakers who need the vital documents are being urged to submit their application ahead of that date.

The fee for a standard online application made from within the UK will rise from £88.50 to £94.50 for adults and £57.50 to £61.50 for children. Those whose passports are about to expire have been urged to get their application before next Thursday (April 10), as you will be charged the current fee.

The Home Office has told Money Saving Expert (MSE) website that "all applications received before this date will pay the current fee”, reports Birmingham Live.

"Don’t assume everything is fine just because your passport is valid for the duration of your stay," MSE - the site from BBC and ITV star Martin Lewis - added on its website. "Countries have a variety of rules about how long you need left, and how old the passport can be. Since Brexit, this includes most EU countries too."

"The only site you'll ever need to go to is the Gov.uk website. It has options for getting your first passport, renewing an old one or getting one for your child," it wrote.

Guy Hobbs, a travel expert at the group Which?, said: “While these latest price rises may well reflect rising production or processing costs, the UK passport is now amongst the priciest in Europe – and travellers due to renew will likely be shocked by how much these little blue books now cost.

“Travellers should also be aware that from mid-2025 they will need to pay for an Etias [The European Travel Information and Authorisation System] to enter Europe.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The British passport is an invaluable document that allows millions of citizens to travel around the world.

“We are increasing the cost of applying for a passport to enable us to keep investing in our efficient and secure passport services and keep improving the quality of service British travellers expect.”

The Passport Office says passports currently take 'around' three weeks to process but has warned to allow extra time on top of this timescale to provide more information or to be interviewed.