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SPAIN AND THE UK

How long does it take to get or renew a UK passport from Spain?

What happens when you need to renew your UK passport from Spain? How do you do it and how long does it take?

Published: 1 November 2022 13:29 CET
How long does it take to get or renew a UK passport from Spain?
How to renew your UK passport from Spain. Photo: Ethan Wilkinson / Pexels

It may seem like a daunting task to renew your UK passport from abroad, but actually, it’s a very simple process. If you’re an adult your UK passport will typically be valid for 10 years, after which time you’ll need to renew it. 

The best way to renew your UK passport from Spain is to do it online via the UK government website. Remember that some countries require you to have six months of validity left on your passport to be able to visit, so you’ll want to apply for your renewal at least six months or more before it expires.

You will need to click on this link and then make sure to follow the steps.

The first step will be to answer some simple questions, like where you’re applying from and fill out your date of birth.

READ ALSO: How to apply for or renew your US passport from Spain

Get a digital photograph

You’ll need to go to a photo shop or booth that provides photo codes that can be used in UK passport applications. This may be difficult in Spain so your best option is to take your own digital photo at home with your camera or phone.

If taking your own photo, you’ll be provided with several rules you’ll need to stick to, plus a short video that shows you how. Your photo will go through a basic technical check, so you’ll know right away if it’s accepted or not. You can always upload another one if it’s not.

Fill out your application 

Next, you will need to fill out all your application and personal details, such as the number and place of issue of your old passport and your address. If you’re applying for someone else, such as your child, you can also do it the same way, just fill it out using their details instead.

Gather your documents to send through the post

Thirdly, you’ll have to send some documents through the post. You’ll be told exactly what you need depending on your application, but it will typically be your old passport. Remember that you can’t travel anywhere while your passport is being renewed because you won’t have your old one. If it’s urgent, you will have to get an emergency passport document instead.

Pay your passport fees

A standard passport is £86 for an adult, and £56 for a child. Plus, a £19.86 courier fee. You should be able to pay for this online.

If necessary, get someone to confirm your identity

If some details have changed since your last renewal such as your name, you may have to get someone to confirm your identity, but you will be told online if this is the case for you. They can confirm your identity online without a printed photo.

What if I am applying for my passport for the first time?

If you’re applying for your UK passport from Spain for the first time and not just renewing it then the process is similar.

You’ll still go through the online processes mentioned above, however, you may need a passport interview. Don’t worry though, you don’t need to return to the UK for this, it will be an online video interview, where you’ll be asked questions to be able to confirm your identity.  

How long does it take?

According to the UK authorities, the current passport processing time to renew your passport is around four weeks, but this does change depending on the time of year. For example, if you’re applying before a busy travel period, such as just before the summer or just before the Christmas holidays, it’s likely that your application will take a bit longer because of the sheer number of other passport renewal applications.

If you are applying for the first time, it may also take slightly longer, depending on when you and the authorities have time for your passport interview. You will be told if you need an interview and will have to phone up to make an appointment, so the quicker you make the call, the quicker you will be assigned a day.

What if it’s taking too long, how can I track my application?

You will be able to track your application online with a code that you’ll be given when you apply. You will also get updates by email or text messages so you know where your passport is in the process and how much longer it’s likely to take.

You will also be able to check if something is holding your application up and if you need to send any more documents.

Member comments

  1. Are there any other USA citizens having trouble getting a long-stay visa to spend 4+ months in Spain? We have been calling, writing, everything trying to reach the Spanish consulate in our US city, with zero response. Help!

  2. You know that there are a lot of other nationalities that read the local.es as well right? 🙂 not only british people

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For members

TOURISM

How much more expensive will holidays in Spain be this summer?

Whether it be hotel prices rising or shortages in the aviation sector making flights more expensive, a summer vacation in Spain this year is likely to cost more than last year.

Published: 25 April 2024 09:13 CEST
How much more expensive will holidays in Spain be this summer?

With lingering inflation, drought conditions, rising rents and building social tension surrounding the impact of mass tourism on Spanish society, summer 2024 could be an eventful one in Spain for a number of reasons.

It will probably also be more expensive than it was in the past, especially if you’re staying in a hotel or tourist apartment.

This follows a bumper Easter period that saw high occupancy and price rises across the country, and if forecasts and industry experts are anything to go by, it’s a trend that will continue into the summer season.

READ ALSO: ‘The island can’t take it anymore’: Why Tenerife is rejecting mass tourism

Hotel prices March increased by 10 percent compared to the same period in 2023, and have now experienced 34 consecutive months of price increases.

The average hotel room in Spain during March cost €109.2 per night, according to Hotel Tourism Situation data published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

How much more expensive will flights to Spain be this summer?

Firstly, flights. Aviation industry experts suggest that a perfect storm of conditions could cause the price of flights to increase for summer 2024. A shortage of commercial planes, caused mainly by a combination of problems on Boeing’s production line and Airbus having difficulties with engine manufacturers, will likely drive up prices around the world.

These “are factors that don’t make it easy for prices to fall,” according to Pere Suau, professor of Economics and Business Studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, who admitted that “it is difficult to measure the extent to which” they will go up. The key, in Suau’s opinion, is to see how demand will be affected by price rises. “As of today prices are rising, but demand is tolerating it, demand continues to grow,” he adds.

Reports in the Spanish media suggest that prices on budget airlines like Ryanair could rise by around 10 percent.

READ ALSO: EasyJet opens Spanish base in Alicante with ten new routes

How much more expensive will hotels in Spain be this summer?

So, flights will likely be more expensive this year. But what about hotels?

It’s difficult to say exactly by how much hotel prices will have risen by summer, but most estimates put it at somewhere in the 8-12 percent range, depending on factors such as location, occupancy, type of accommodation (ie. is it luxury or budget) and length of stay.

However, despite that, most experts seem to think the price rises will be slightly less than the 2023-23 year-on-year increases, when average hotel room costs shot up by 16.5 percent, according to statistics from SRT and Cushman & Wakefield.

Albert Grau, partner at Cushman & Wakefield’s Hospitality department in Spain, told El Periódico de España that: ‘We expect there to continue to be growth in prices… although it will be more moderate, in single digits, compared to the large increase in the last year.”

Spanish news outlet La Sexta reports that hotel rooms in the summer will be on average 11 percent more than last year, according to figures from INE and Travelgate.

Forecasts by American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) put Barcelona, long a popular tourist destination, among European cities where a significant increase in hotel prices is expected, with a projected rise of 9 percent. Other Spanish cities, such as Bilbao and Valencia, are forecast to see price jumps of around 8.5 percent.

In Andalusia, hotel sector insiders in Andalusia are expecting a 7 percent increase overall this summer, according to Trinitario Bertore, director of Hotel Plaza Nueva in Granada, who spoke to La Sexta. Bertore said a night’s stay in a hotel in Andalusia can now cost up to €210, a 7 percent rise compared to last summer.

José Luis Contreras, managing director of Apartamentos Valencia Costera, said prices in tourist flats in Valencia will also rise by around 7 percent and even reach an eye-watering €350 per night in the high season.

Both Bertore and Contreras said that there’s no need to lower prices because demand is increasing, despite the per night rate increases.

It seems clear that accommodation will likely be a more expensive for summer 2024 in Spain than it was last year, though the year-on-year rise will slow slightly. Most forecasts put the average expected hotel price rises at roughly 10-11 percent overall.

By exactly how much will depend on several factors: where you’re staying, and whether it’s a traditional tourist spot such as parts of Andalusia, Alicante, Valencia or the Canary and Balearic Islands; whether it’s a hotel or apartment; the quality of the accommodation; how long you’re staying; how far in advance you book; when exactly in the summer season you’ll visit Spain.

Aviation industry uncertainty also means that flights will become more expensive, so both travel and accommodation are likely to be more expensive in Spain this summer.

Tourism makes up a significant portion of Spain’s GDP. Predicted tourism earnings for 2024 are expected to bring in €202.65 billion, an 8.6 percent increase on 2023, a record year.

However, growing anti-mass tourism sentiment has been bubbling in Spanish society for some time now, with protests in various cities around the country decrying the impact, among other things, of Spain’s tourism model on the local housing market.

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