Passport Fees Around The World 2021

Passport Fees World 2021
Passports are a necessity in today’s global world, and so are the fees someone has to pay for a travel document. In the best case, you pay this fee only every ten years, as this is the maximum validity of a modern standard passport today. However, there are still countries issuing these booklets for only five years.

Passport fees should be related to the average income of its citizens, and usually, passport offices charge between 2% to 4% for a passport compared to the average income. A few countries only charge 1%. But others also go up to 7% to 8%.

In Africa, there is an extreme case where the figure goes up to 40%! I’m German, and our average income is €3230. Imagine if we had to pay €1290 for a passport! But that’s the case in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where a passport costs you the equivalent of $185 at an average income of $460. Two readers of my website even commented that a DRC passport is now at $250, which would make the Congolese passport one of the most expensive in the world. Passport Fees Around The World 2020

Rather expensive passports are those from Lebanon ($330), Australia ($205), Venezuela ($200), and Turkey ($180). Argentina ($12), Belarus ($12), China ($18), India ($23), Hong Kong ($32), and Thailand ($33) charge citizens the lowest fees. Bulgaria has the cheapest fees within the European Union at only $22.

Passports are big business. The global e-passport market is valued at $23.93 billion by the end of 2023, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20.14% during 2019-2023. The International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Doc 9303 also recommends a new passport design every few years to maintain document security and integrity. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says passenger numbers will reach 4.72 billion (up 4.0% from 4.54 billion in 2019). Passport Fees World 2021

People need passports, but at what costs? Should a passport office make a profit, and should your embassy charge you a higher fee when you are not in your home country?

If the fees of a passport are within the earlier mentioned range of 1% to 4%, then it’s fine with me. How does a passport office justify higher costs than these? Did they negotiate just a bad purchasing contract? Governments like to brag about having the “most advanced” and “most secure” travel document every time a passport is updated (which is always good timing to increase the fees). Passport Fees World 2021

For example, several countries (Germany, for example) managed to keep the same costs for a new passport even though the newer version was significantly updated with state-of-the-art technology and security. I guess passport pricing is also a political issue. Passport Fees World 2021

Why countries charge significantly more for a passport at their embassies or consulates is a riddle for me. While German embassies charge up to €141 compared to €60 at home, the United States’ passports cost the same worldwide as at home – $110. Obtaining a Cuban passport abroad, e.g., in the USA, is extremely expensive. A reader wrote to me…

“The Cuban passport is valid for 6 years, now it’s the price is over $450, and every two years we have to pay an extra entry extension of over $200. Which adds up to around $900 in 6 years.” This makes the Cuban passport most likely the most expensive consular passport!

In my humble opinion, citizen services should not make a profit, but they should cover their costs, of course. Citizen service is a state obligation without extorting its citizens.

By the way, China lowered its passport fees significantly in mid-2019, and the Chinese passport is now one the cheapest travel document in the world at only $18!

Some readers might still remember the British Visitor Passport (BVP), a travel document used to travel within Europe. One could get it at the post office.
The fees? £6! Passport Fees World 2021

Here are the passport fees around the world originally based on an older British Passport Office list. The old (2010) original PDF can be downloaded here. It is interesting to see how passport prices have increased over ten years. Updated data are coming from readers and web sources (passport office, if possible). However, the list and its data are incomplete, but I will update it whenever I can.  Passport Fees World 2021

More than 150 out of 196 countries using ePassports*
All data are for a standard adult passport. Fees in USD!

assport Fees Around The World 2020
In Cambodia, the passport fees are three times higher at $100 than in the neighboring country, Thailand, with only $33. The Thai passport was improved already twice but remained at the same fees at least since 2010. The third generation of Thai eMRTD is expected for the end of 2020 (then with ten years validity). The New Zealand passport was in 2010 at $100 and in 2019 at $128. Australia $145/$205. Germany $66/$67 (Same fees since 2010, even after a complete redesign in 2017). Austria was until the end of 1999 at $38 and increased in Jan 2000 to $76  (Twice as high as a year before). Today the Austrian passport costs $84. Passports are always getting more expensive as the security printing industry/government argues they always need safer documents to fight the forgers.

Some countries like Denmark, Malaysia would charge you an extra fee for your new passport if you lost your old one. I think that is justified.

All data are for a standard adult passport. Fees in USD! passport fee

Passport Fees Around The World 2020

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