American globetrotters will need to shell out 35 percent more for passport fees starting July 13, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs announced recently.
The cost of getting a new, adult passport will jump from $100 to $135. For minors under 16, the cost will increase by 25 percent, from $85 to $105.
Those with existing passports will also be affected by the rate hikes.
For adults, the cost of renewal has increased by almost 50 percent, with renewal rates jumping from $75 to $110.
And super travelers running out of passport pages for their visas and stamps are in for a brand-new fee of $82 for appending pages to their passports.
However, frequent travelers can potentially bypass the new fee by requesting an extra 28 pages (free of charge) when renewing their passport.
Travelers flying or sailing only to Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean can also save money by using a passport card.
Though fees have increased for passport cards as well, the increase is small in comparison to the hike in passport rates. An adult passport card now costs $55, up from $45, while cards for minors costs $40, up from $35.
In addition to passport fees, there are 24 other consular fees being increased, including the cost for reporting a birth abroad, up to $100 from $65.
Learn more about international travel with our Passports & Customs section.
The increase in fees comes after an extensive study by the State Department on the true cost of providing consular services, but the fee hikes also have a lot to do with new technology.
Since October 2006, all new passports and renewals have been embedded with an electronic chip in their cover. The chips included all the information in the passports as well as facial-recognition data.
This new e-passport has additional security features, but is also more expensive to produce than the old-style passport, which is why travelers are now paying the difference in fees.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs uses the money from these fees to cover the costs of services ranging from making and issuing passports, to helping bring home Americans who have died overseas. The bureau also is in charge of assisting U.S. citizens during emergencies.
Those services cost the Bureau of Consular Affairs an estimated $300 million last year.
By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com.
Related Links: Travel.State.Gov, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal
Related Links on PeterGreenberg.com:
