- You can now upload a digital photo from your tablet, smartphone or camera
- It’s free to use a digital photo for adults renewing their passports online
- The cost of an online application is £25 cheaper than the Post Office service
You know the story, trying to find the exact amount of change to pour into a cramped photo booth, then attempting to get the seat adjusted correctly and get a half decent photo for our passport.
Not only can this be a costly exercise – most machines will only accept certain coins and don’t give out refunds – but the photographs can sometimes be rejected when sent off to the Passport Office.
But now the Passport Office allows people to upload digital photos for adult passport applications and the process is relatively straightforward.
This service is available for adults renewing their passport, who don’t have dual nationality, but it wont work if you need a photo to be countersigned.
In order to use the digital photo option all you need to do is get a friend to take a photo, which can be done on a phone, tablet or digital camera.
You then upload this to the Passport Office website and you’ll be told straight away if it is eligible or not, before you start the passport application.
The quality of the photo must also adhere to certain conditions. It needs to be in focus and without any red eye, in colour with no effects or filters. It must be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall and be at least 50kb and no more than 10mb in file size. It needs to meet the same standard as a printed photo and must fit in your head, shoulders and upper body into the photo.
Full details on the photo can be found on the Gov.co.uk website.
Being able to use a digital photo can cut down the cost of a passport application as it won’t cost you anything extra to upload a photo.
The cost of applying for a passport increased in March, with those using the Post Office for their application being the hardest hit.
It increased from £72.50 to £85 for postal applications, while using the Post Office check and send service increased to £94.75, from £82.25.
Online passport applications saw the smallest price increase and the price only went up by £3 to £75.50.
