There is such a huge difference in Passport renewal fees around the world. It’s something that wouldn’t normally spring to mind for most people, but as a dual citizen, I notice the disparity in price.
Australian Passports are particularly expensive compared to others for what is essentially the same document. How much is the difference? Well, let’s have a look and compare.
Passport Renewal Fees
In Ireland, a Passport renewal costs €75 (A$119, US$92, £68) for a standard 10 year document. It is slightly more if you submit via the Post Office or in person, but that is the online price.
By comparison, the same 10 year renewal of an Australian Passport is A$301 (€191, US$232, £172). Submitting an application overseas (as I will be doing) attracts a surcharge of A$135, bringing the total to A$436 (€276, US$337, £249).
For the United States, a new Passport is US$145 (AU$188, €120, £108) and a renewal is US$110 (AU$143, €91, £82). Heading over to the United Kingdom, it is £75.50 (A$132, US$102, €84).
This makes the Australian Passport over two and a half times more expensive than the Irish Passport. It’s almost the same amount more than a British Passport and is 60% more than a US Passport.
Why Is Australia’s Passport So Expensive?
The Henley Passport Index shows that Ireland’s Passport allows entry to 186 countries without a Visa, the UK and USA allow one less at 185 and the Australian Passport allows 184. Therefore, it is not like the Australia’s passport is ahead in this area.
Perhaps it’s average wages? In Ireland, the average wage is €49,000 (AU$77,412), while in Australia the average wage is A$89,122 (€56,410). It is not that great a difference between the two. For what it’s worth, the USA has a slightly lower average wage than Ireland, and the UK slightly lower again. No correlation really.
Overall Thoughts
I imagine an Australian Passport renewal is so expensive simply because the Australian Government can charge that much. When they have a revenue spinner such as that, why not milk as much cash as possible out of a population that likes to travel?
Before becoming a dual citizen, I would not have blinked twice at the cost, as I would have had no reason to compare it. However, since I now pay for both, the glaring difference really stands out. I don’t like it, but it’s not like I have any choice in the matter.
What do you think of these Passport renewal fees? Know any others that are more expensive or perhaps even cheaper? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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I completely agree with the article. The only reason they charge so much is because they can. More people should say something but we know that doesn’t happen because Australian’s are a lazy bunch who do nothing if it takes any effort, hence why the government runs all over us.
Agreed, the price really is extortionate for something that everyone is eligible to have… but as you said, they charge so much because they can.
Exactly. This is public service. This is why we pay high tax for this country. If they charge higher and higher every year might as well just privatise the Australian Passport Office.
Haha! I can’t see that happening.
409$ CAD to renew my Australian passport here in Canada this month with a waiting period of up to 6 weeks after an in-person interview in Ottawa where I have to travel to complete the application. I am also a NZ citizen and last week I paid 180$ CAD online and I literally received my passport this week. As a comparison, it costs 160$CAD for a Canadian passport. All of them are 10 year passports. I don’t understand why an Australian passport is more expensive, takes longer and requires face-to-face interviews.
The price is outrageous! In Ireland, the 10 year Passport is €75 or CAD 103$. I really don’t understand the Australian pricing at all. It never used to be face to face either, my last renewal was “send in old Passport along with form and new photos and we’ll send the new Passport”. I guess some new security measure must have come in. Either way, the price is really on the nose.
Not only expensive, more difficult to get one. Passport renewal for my 3 kids for their UK passports I could do everything online, including the submission of photos, pay online, the renewed passport came 2 weeks later in the post. The Australian one has all the inconvenience of doing it with hard copy documents, followed by a mandatory trip to the Embassy with an ‘interview’ required that has to be pre-booked, and in these current Covid times they are basically refusing to do it anyway unless it is an ‘Emergency’. [Brilliant, unless you’re an international sports star, foreign student or… Read more »
Well, I’m in Dublin and that is how I got my Passport renewed in January. The appointment at the Embassy on St. Stephen’s Green lasts about five minutes. She chopped the barcode line off my Passport, took payment by card and that was that. The new Passport arrived in the mail within three weeks, which was the amount of time that it’s supposed to take. Registered Post, so an easy collection at An Post locally for me. Of course, I understand it’s more of a schlep from Cork. It’s not like anyone is travelling right now, so if you don’t… Read more »
What’s the maximum time for renewal of an expired Australian passport before a new application process is required? Thanks for the info above, btw.
No worries! The web page states that you qualify for a streamlined renewal (ie – the one without the references, birth certificate and all that) as long as the Passport – “is still current, or expired less than three years ago”. The full list is here – https://www.passports.gov.au/getting-passport-how-it-works/passport-renewal – but I’d say the most relevant one is that one.
If you are a duel citizen then don’t bother with the Australian passport. I have UK and Australian and live in Australia. I just travel on my cheaper UK passport. Don’t need to pay for both.
It makes entering Australia much simpler to have the Australian Passport. I travel on my EU Passport, but use the Australian one to enter Australia. It is what it is!
Today I want to renew my Australian passport. The government website says for a 10 years passport it costs $308. OK I can get over it. Even though Japanese passport renewal costs $168 (¥16000), USA passport renewal costs $202 ($130 USD), and Swiss passport renewal costs $224. An Australian passport is way more expensive than all of them. And then I checked the cost of renewing my Australian passport in Japan. It says the cost is $446! Now because I am living overseas I need to pay nearly 50% more to renew my passport. I cannot keep calm any more.… Read more »
Yes, the fee is ridiculous. I just paid $116 (€75) to renew my Irish Passport and it really hammers home just how much I paid for my Australian one. It’s borderline extortion! I really feel your pain there.
hey i appreciate randomly seeing this article and all the comments. I have been stuck overseas coz of covid. my flight back on april 10th got cancelled and i have been stuck in this 3rd world country ever since. its been difficult coz i cant work. well no one will hire me coz theres not much work and i dont speak the language at all. im a full on foreigner. haha. so anyways my passport is expired. i want to get a new one did all the right things, borrowed money got the 5000 pesos together. 1 lady said hey… Read more »
Wow, it must be so annoying to get so many different answers. As far as I can tell from the Australian Government website, the overseas fee is payable at all times. That is the fee imposed for having it renewed from abroad. I had to pay it living in Ireland and I believe it just is the fee. I have no idea about the 1 year Passport and to be perfectly honest, if you’re paying for it, it makes no sense to just do a 1 year as you’ll have to pay again in such a short time, and it… Read more »
The fact that Australia has one of the highest rates of passport holders shows that the cost does not deter us from travelling overseas.
Completely agree with you there!
That isn’t really the point though is it, it isn’t like you can choose to travel overseas without a passport, and you can’t argue about the price either so it’s pay up or stay at home.
Very true indeed!