The price of Australian passports was raised by 15 per cent in July 2024, making it the second most expensive in the world after Liechtenstein, where citizens spend approximately $450.
Australians can currently go to 189 countries without having to pay for a visa, putting us in fifth place on the list of the most powerful passports (a ranking of around 200 countries). Singaporean passports top the rankings, with a score of 195, followed by French, Japanese and Italian among those tied in second place, and South Korean and Finnish in third.
The power of the blue book sets back Australian citizens $398 for a 10-year passport, which is anticipated to rise with inflation in January.
Singaporeans pay a mere $80 for their all-powerful booklet, while the cheapest passports are for the United Arab Emirates and India (just over $27).
Of course, there are no promises the passport’s $398 fee will be the only expense made toward the travel documentation with around 35,000 expensive Australian passports lost or stolen in 2022-23, demanding the issue of 10,000 emergency passports.
In 2022-23 more than 400,000 people also had to pay for their application to be fast-tracked with two-day processing (currently an additional $290 proposition).
Citizens who misplace their passport twice in five years will only be issued a five-year document but still have to pay for 10. If it is lost three times in the same period, the pricey passport will last a mere two years.
Source: The Australian.
