LIVING

For British citizens who need to renew their passports, the procedure is simple but costly and time-consuming: although most passports are issued within 10 working days, the embassy itself recommends applying at least five weeks before travelling. Application forms can be downloaded from the British Embassy in Madrid’s website (see below), printed out then filled in by hand. They must be sent, together with a payment authorisation form, two passport photographs and your old passport, to the embassy (Passport Section, British Consulate-General Madrid, Paseo de Recoletos 7/9, 28004 Madrid). Only credit and debit cards are accepted as payment methods; download the payment authorisation form from the website, print it out and complete, including your credit card details. The renewal of 32-page passports currently costs €145 for adults and €92 for children, plus a courier fee. The rules governing acceptable passport photos are very strict so check the website before getting any pictures taken. One of your photographs must also be countersigned by a respected British professional (for example, a teacher, lawyer or civil servant) or, if you do not know anybody like this, a Spanish citizen of equivalent standing who has known you for at least two years.

Those looking to renew their Irish passport will have to either email (cons.irl@webcat.es) or call the Barcelona consulate (93 491 5021) to request form APS2E. As with the UK, the rules for acceptable photos are strict and there is a short list of authorised professionals who can sign your picture. For a 10-year standard passport the cost is €80. You must send the documents to the Irish Embassy in Madrid (Ireland House, Paseo de la Castellana 46-4, 28046 Madrid). They advise you to allow at least two weeks transit time for your new passport to arrive and in total six weeks to process your request.

If you are the holder of a US passport then you can renew your passport  at the US Consulate General in Barcelona (Paseo Reina Elisenda de Montcada 23, 08034 Barcelona)—routine (ie non-emergency) renewal of a passport will require an appointment, which you can make online; you have to make an online appointment to be allowed entry into the Consulate General for routine services. The Consulate also provides services to US citizens who need additional pages in an existing passport, name changes or the replacement of a lost or stolen passport. The fee for passport renewals changes periodically, so to know how much it will cost you, the best idea is to check the consulate website in advance. For e-mail enquiries, the address is: consularbarcel@state.gov

CONSULATES:

UK Consulate: 93 366 6200; www.ukinspain.fco.gov.uk

Irish Consulate: 93 491 5021; www.irlanda.es

US Consulate: 93 280 2227; http://barcelona.usconsulate.gov

Other countries:

Australian Consulate: 93 490 9013; www.dfat.gov.au

Canadian Consulate: 93 412 7236; www.international.gc.ca

EMBASSIES

• British Embassy, Madrid: Tel. 807 42 90 26 (calls cost at least €1.09 a minute); www.ukinspain.com

• US Embassy, Madrid: Tel. 91 587 2240; http://madrid.usembassy.gov

• French Embassy, Madrid: Tel. 91 423 89 00; www.ambafrance-es.org

• Dutch Embassy, Madrid: Tel. 91 353 75 00; www.embajadapaisesbajos.es

• German Embassy, Madrid: Tel. 91 557 90 00; www.madrid.diplo.de

 Please note that this text was amended on June 30th, 2009 in response to comments and corrections provided by the US Consulate, Barcelona