Babies and children can no longer be added to an adult passport. They need their own passport.
You can apply for a passport on-line or by filling in a form available from the Post Office.
As at June 09, a child passport costs £46. Up-to-date fees are listed here.
Passport photo standards
The main hurdle with obtaining a passport for a baby is getting a suitable photo. Strict standards are laid down by the passport office and failure to comply will mean that your application will be rejected.
The standards are relaxed slightly for young babies. For example, if your baby is less than 6 months old, they do not have to have their eyes open and a neutral expression.
However, there are some key standards that must be observed:
- Nothing but your baby must be seen on the photo – no dummies, toys, or supporting adult hands (even round the waist).
- The whole of your baby’s face must be visible.
- Your baby should be against an off-white, cream or light grey plain background.
Further details about these are available here.
Getting a passport photo
Your best bet is probably to go to a local photographers and get them to take the photo.
MoorMum Barbara from Menston says: “I can recommend Annings Camera Shop in Ilkley. It’s on Cunliffe Rd, next to Monkmans and across the road from Mortens. You lay your baby on a piece of white card and then they take several digital photo’s which you can collect about 20 minutes later (plenty of time to grab a coffee and a piece of cake!). It costs £5 and is well worth avoiding the stress of attempting to get photo’s done in a photo booth!!”
MoorMum Catherine from Menston says: “We went to SnappySnaps in Leeds. It was a very fast and efficient service.”
You could also try a photo booth (e.g.: there is one available in Tesco in Ilkley) but it can be very tricky to hold your baby up whilst not being on the photo yourself. A top tip is to hide your hands under his/her clothing.
If you’re not in too much of a hurry, a number of websites offer a passport photo service where you upload your own picture and have it posted to you.
MoorMum Janet from Otley says: “You can also upload digital images to www.passpic.co.uk – you select the image you want and they do a check to make sure it’s acceptable before you pay for it. Costs about £4 – though you do have to wait a couple of days for them to post it. It came back very quickly.”
Passport application checking service
For a small fee (£6.85), the Post Office will check your passport application before you send it off. Although, you could just be careful and read all the instructions.
How long does it take
Baby passports are processed quite quickly as there tends to be less to check. The passport office say they will return your passport within 3 weeks of receiving your application.
If you are in more of a rush (e.g.: you’re going away at the end of the week), you can apply for a passport in person at one of the passport offices. There is an extra charge for this and you must ring to make an appointment first. Details are on the passport office website.
Share your tips
If you would like to share any top tips you have with regards to applying for a baby passport with other local mums, please contact us and we will add them to this page. Alternatively, disscuss them in our baby chat section.
