The famed dark blue passport “requesting and requiring” that the bearer is allowed to “pass freely without let or hindrance” no longer opens so many doors.
And at £88.50 (€104.51) for an online application following last April’s price rise, a UK passport isn’t exactly a bargain.
Tank, a digital marketing agency, recently ranked the 10-year UK passport against 131 others, combining data from the Henley Passport Index with price and years of validity.
They found that it will take a Briton to 192 visa-free countries but a 10-year Spanish passport costing £25.80 (€30) is better value as it gives access to two more.
Spain, along with France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, tops the Henley Passport Index list with 194 countries, although there is a considerable difference in cost.
Of the European countries, a German passport costs £60.21 (€69.50), although France charges more at £73.97 (€86) and Italians pay a whopping £98.21 (€116). Of this, €42.50 goes on the passport itself and €73.50 on an administrative stamp.
The best value of all comes from outside Europe, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) charging AED65 (€16.55) although this provides entry to no more than 184 visa-free countries.
Not mentioned in the Tank survey, but occupying 106th and last position on the Henley Passport Index comes Afghanistan, giving access to 28 countries for five years at a cost of $120 (€111.94).
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