With the US Passport service fee increases now in effect as of July 13th, I wondered how America’s passport fees measure up against the rest of the world. I had several questions: Were our passport fees the most expensive? Which country charges the most for a new passport? Which country charges the least?
What are the rates of passports around the globe?
I decided to do some research and I turned to google to search results for the cost of passports around the world.
My passport fee research looked promising as I was pleased to find a chart put together by the British government that listed passport fees from around the world as of May 2009. You can access the passport chart here. However my passport research hit a bump in the road when I noticed that the fees were listed in their original currencies as exchange rates vary more than passport fees. Also, I discovered that some countries offer passports that are only valid for 5 years while other countries offer passports that are valid for 10 years.
So in order to compare apples to apples, I had to put all passport fees on a level playing field. I utilized the Google Currency Converter and Yahoo Currency Converter with currency rates as of July 7, 2010 to make the process of deciphering passport fees from around the world a bit easier. Also, passport fees that were valid for 5 years were doubled so that all passports are on the 10 year scale.
Let’s start off with the highest passport fees in the world. So, which country has the highest passport fees in the world? That distinction belongs to Turkey. The cost of a Turkish passport valid for 10 years is a whopping $642.11 The least expensive passport is from Georgia (and I don’t mean the state in the US) which comes in at approximately $20.00 for a 10 year passport.
Interestingly enough, the United Kingdom passport runs at just under $110 USD. An Australian passport will cost you about $180 – that’s an awful lot of “shrimp on the barbie”. You would think that the Belgian passports come with diamonds, chocolates or even waffles – but for $180 you only get a passport. Canadians have to shell out a lot of bacon as their passports cost over $165. Japanese passports don’t leave much money over for sushi as they cost $182. New Zealand passports are even more expensive at just over $211. Portugal also makes the top ten coming in at a bit over $151 for a 10 year passport. Brazilian passports round out the list with passport fees of $140. Malaysian passports rake in $187 per person. Currently, with the passport price hike the US barely makes the top ten list at $135.
Here are the top 10 most expensive passports in the world:
| 1. Turkey | $642.11 |
| 2. New Zealand | $211.07 |
| 3. Malaysia | $187.56 |
| 4. Japan | $182.33 |
| 5. Australia | $180.00 |
| 6. Belgium | $179.36 |
| 7. Canada | $165.82 |
| 8. Portugal | $151.57 |
| 9. Brazil | $140.00 |
| 10. USA | $135.00 |
Here are all of the passport fees results listed alphabetically by country:
| Australia | $180.00 |
| Austria | $88.29 |
| Belgium | $179.36 |
| Brazil | $140.00 |
| Bulgaria | $106.60 |
| Canada | $165.82 |
| China | $47.50 |
| Croatia | $38.53 |
| Czech Republic | $29.77 |
| Denmark | $101.68 |
| Estonia | $36.27 |
| Finland | $116.21 |
| France | $112.42 |
| Georgia | $20.21 |
| Germany | $74.52 |
| Greece | $66.69 |
| Hungary | $88.35 |
| Iceland | $81.43 |
| India | $21.38 |
| Ireland | $101.05 |
| Israel | $56.68 |
| Italy | $107.30 |
| Japan | $182.33 |
| Latvia | $53.30 |
| Lithuania | $21.88 |
| Luxembourg | $75.79 |
| Malaysia | $187.56 |
| Malta | $88.42 |
| Netherlands | $125.30 |
| New Zealand | $211.07 |
| Norway | $70.39 |
| Poland | $43.28 |
| Portugal | $151.57 |
| Romania | $69.72 |
| Singapore | $115.67 |
| Slovakia | $46.35 |
| Slovenia | $45.47 |
| South Africa | $21.65 |
| Spain | $37.89 |
| Sweden | $105.56 |
| Switzerland | $132.31 |
| Taiwan | $36.00 |
| Thailand | $61.60 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | $78.74 |
| Turkey | $642.11 |
| United Kingdom | $109.26 |
| USA | $135.00 |
You can always contact Rush Passport™ for all of your passport needs. If you are interested in getting a US Passport or US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Agent. (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Agency.
