Many countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months after the date you travel. (You can see a full list of countries here.)

So, if you’re going abroad this summer, check your expiry date now as passport renewal fees rose in March.

It typically takes around three weeks to get a new passport. A normal renewal online will cost you £75.50 or £85 if you apply by paper through the Post Office.

If you need a renewal more urgently, it will cost you more.

The one-week fast track service costs £142 for an adult passport or £122 for a child passport.

It requires an appointment at a passport customer services centre (they’re in Belfast, Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport and Peterborough). You have to fill in a paper form from the Post Office first (you can’t apply online), then make an appointment online. Your new passport will be delivered to your home within a week of your appointment.

There’s also a premium service where you get your new passport four hours after your appointment, or you might get it the next day if your appointment is in the afternoon. It costs £177.

You apply, pay and book an appointment online. The earliest you can get an appointment is two days from when you apply.

You’ll get your new passport at your appointment. You can only use this service to renew a red adult passport that has expired or is about to expire. For your appointment you’ll need your old passport and either a digital photo or a device that takes digital photos (like your smartphone) and someone to take the photo.

There is a paper version of the premium service where you apply using a form from the Post Office, then book an appointment online. You’ll usually get your new passport four hours after your appointment. This service can only be used to renew a red adult passport that has expired or is about to expire or to change the name on your passport if you got married or entered into a civil partnership.