Passport renewal

Fees at the British Consulate are on average 7 times that charged by other Consulates.

All anyone is doing there is paying for the overseas jolly of their staff becuase they offer zero help or support to anyone in need.

OK, before everyone attacks, there are a few factors i should add. this is not to defend my friend but the facts.

She did have a residencia, only when her x husband decided to steal all her money from their bank account he also visited their solicitor and collected the residencias and what he did with them is a mystery.

She has also sought legal advice on numerous occasions to be told she can do this and that to later find out that she could not and after paying for the advice. Thank fully she now has a great solicitor.

No police officer has ever questioned her driving licence, and where ever she goes, she is only ever asked to produce her NIE. Maybe it is because she speaks perfect Spanish, i dont know.

She has read on the net many articles that say she needs this and dont need that and that the laws are changing. She was even being charged by her bank for being a non resident then when the law changed to europeans not needing a residencia they changed her account to a residential one, hence no charges.

She has worked and paid taxes here since arriving, to be told she is entitled to help but the system is slow over a whole year and still no money paid. Entitlements are one thing, and if the system got its act together she would not be in this mess.

She has never avoided the law in any shape or form, In fact I admire here strength, she gets constantly kicked in the teeth and always remains strong for her family.

Perhaps we should not presume, but ask for more information in order to help others.

If your friend is paying legal fees to sort all this out then it would be cheaper to just apply for a passport?

Not having a valid passport is no problem whatsoever. I have never heard of an English person being deported?

When I was without a passport recently  I was filling in a form with a magistrate and I told her I had no passport and she just said ok give me a copy of your driving licence. She was not even the slightest bit interested as to why I did not have a passport. I had more problems with a hotel in Madrid as I always forget you need to show ID or passport. But as always when there is no other option no problem!

I would not have minded being deported as it would have made applying for a new passport a hell of a lot easier.

The easiest way for her to get photo-id is to exchange her old uk driving licence for a spanish photo one. Just make a copy of it before she does that includes all the entitlements she has.

 Thank you for the advice.

* she has never been charged by her solicitor as his consultations are free.

Yes I did say free.

And the cost of changing  a UK driving licence is 60€ ( that is the medical cost of watching 2 green lights go round, every one passes, i wonder why?

There's always little procedural fees to fee in Spain.

It keeps them all working ...........

When I updated my Passport I queried the high cost, and was told that a proportion goes into a fund to pay for the mindless morons who come here on holiday and end up in jail... sorry! but if they want to get themselves in that position, leave them there, and reduce the price of the passport.

"IPS does not make a profit. Passport fees cover the costs of providing passport services in the UK. Part of the fee is called 'the consular premium'. This covers the costs of providing consular help to British nationals who find themselves in difficulty while overseas" (from direct.gov.uk - I for one believe everything the government tells me) I think the current fee for a passport at any overseas embassy or consulate is 124 GBP or local currency equivalent. In the eurozone that seems to be 151 euros - not sure where they change their money?? 

Comparison table of passport renewal costs for other countries: http://www.ips.gov.uk/cps/files/ips/live/assets/documents/Passport_fees_comparison_June_2010_(public_for_web)v3_(2).pdf

If someone can be bothered to work out all the exchange rates, it would be interesting to know where the UK comes in terms of cost.

 I visited the Residencia office today as a translator, to discover that a Residencia Card no longer exists and that it is now an A4 sheet of paper with no photo. And the new Residencias do not have to be renewed. So you will not even receive a nice new crisp piece of paper.

The bus passes also no longer exist for those who have lost or had them stolen, Also another piece of paper.

The problem here is they get torn and crumbled with use and then you receive huffs and grunts when you have to produce them.

Has anyone seen a tree in Spain, besides the Palm trees which are protected? 

We are told we are a part of the European Community,so why not:

One price for all ( considering the conversion rate).

One identification card ( European)

One driving Licence

One passport

That is what the European Union said they was going to do originally,

Why Not done yet ? MONEY and NO brains

Dream on.

The residencia card no longer exists because the EU told Spain it cannot oblige other EU citizens to take out ID in their chosen country of residence, since theoretically they already have valid ID issued by their country of origin. In the case of the UK, which has no ID cards, that means a passport.

If you think UK embassies are useless, imagine having to go to the EU Embassy in some black hole half way round the world for help.