Renewing an expired passport just got a lot easier thanks to a new program.
Americans with a 10-year passport that is less than five years old can now renew their documents online, without having to make an appointment, which can be time-consuming.
Travelers with passports expiring within a year can also use the online service, which was launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.
The department estimates that about 5 million Americans can use the service and plans to expand in the coming months and years.
In 2023, 24 million passports were processed, of which approximately 40 percent were renewals.
Americans with a 10-year passport that expired in the past five years can now renew their documents online, instead of having to schedule an appointment.
The rollout follows several months of testing earlier this summer.
The new 24/7 service is currently only available to US adults with a US address.
First-time applicants must still apply by mail, and parents cannot renew passports for children online. The expedited service is also not available online.
The current passport processing fee, which is currently $130 for a regular renewal, will remain unchanged.
“This is a new service that allows Americans to pay to upload a photo and submit their application entirely online, without having to appear in person or send documents through the mail,” said Rena Bitter, assistant secretary of state for consular affairs.
“Our goal is of course to get rid of as much paper as possible as quickly as possible,” she added.
“This is a first step in what will hopefully be a much longer process of modernizing the systems we use.”
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the processing time for passport renewals is currently at a “historically low” level of six to eight weeks, and that also applies to a standard application.
This is a marked change from the 10- to 13-week wait Americans faced last year for routine applications to be processed.
The Covid-19 pandemic left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a huge backlog after years of people being forced to stay home due to travel restrictions and uncertainty.
In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, wait times were up to 18 weeks.
This comes after it was revealed that Americans planning to travel to the UK will have to pay a fee to enter the country from next year.
There will be no change to the current passport processing fee, which is currently $130 for a regular renewal
US travellers must now pay to enter the UK under new rules (Pictured: File image of London City Airport)
According to the UK government, the charges for Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) will come into effect in the country on January 8, 2025.
Travelers from the US must pay $13.05 (£10) to obtain the authorization, which is digitally linked to their passport.
The permit is valid for multiple trips over two years, for stays of up to six months at a time, “or until the holder’s passport expires,” the government said.
US citizens can apply for an ETA starting November 27, 2024, and can expect a response within a minimum of three business days.
Every traveller, including all children, must have their own ETA.
According to the State Department, nearly half of Americans now have a passport, up from just 5 percent in 1990.
