Renew a Passport in Portugal: Americans and Britons Explained

An American living in Portugal renews a U.S. passport through the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, or the Consulate in Ponta Delgada in the Azores, by mail with Form DS-82 or in person at an appointment. A Briton applies to HM Passport Office through the GOV.UK overseas passport service, and the British Embassy Lisbon page points to the replacement passport route and the emergency travel document.

This guide rests on pages of the U.S. Embassy in Portugal, the U.S. Consulate in Ponta Delgada, GOV.UK and the British Embassy Lisbon, read on 19 October 2026. The most recent date the text relies on is 7 October 2026, the date the Embassy’s passport page shows as its last modification; the mail renewal page was last modified on 22 December 2025. It is a reading of official wording, not legal advice. The State Department’s passport pages (mail renewal, last updated 1 October 2026, and fees, last updated 19 March 2026) and the GOV.UK overseas application service were read in a browser the same day; the GOV.UK consular fee lists and the Embassy’s page on reporting a birth were not read. A valid passport also matters for your residence file, as the guides to renewing a Portuguese residence permit and to the first month of paperwork in Portugal show.

How does an American renew a U.S. passport while living in Portugal?

The Embassy’s passport page tells you to use the U.S. Embassy Lisbon Navigator to book an appointment, renew online, determine your eligibility and learn about the required documents. It lists the forms by situation:

The Embassy page adds that children under 16 cannot renew and must apply with Form DS-11, and that passport services are not available on weekends or on Portuguese or U.S. holidays. The State Department’s page on renewing by mail, which says that renewing a passport outside the United States is different and sends you to your local embassy or consulate, lists these conditions for renewal by mail: you can submit your most recent passport, it has never been reported lost or stolen, it was issued within the last 15 years, it was issued when you were 16 or older and was valid for 10 years, it is in your current name or you can show a name change document, and it is not damaged beyond normal wear and tear. If you do not meet them, the page says you must apply again in person. Follow the Embassy’s package for the actual procedure from Portugal.

How does renewal by mail work?

The Embassy’s mail page gives three steps: prepare, send, wait. The package it asks for:

1. The DS-82 application, printed, completed and signed with a “wet”, non-digital signature, including your Social Security Number information.
2. One photo measuring 5 cm by 5 cm on a white background, without glasses.
3. Your current or most recent passport, the original.
4. A printout of your online payment confirmation from Pay.gov.
5. If you want the passport mailed home, a pre-paid CTT green envelope (size S, 115 by 215) pre-addressed to you, and stamps for 2.80 euros per applicant for registered mail. If you do not include them, you pick the passport up at the Embassy.
6. If you change your name, the name change documents (original plus one photocopy).

The page says electronics, including AirTags, must not be mailed and will be destroyed. Send the package to the American Citizen Services at Avenida das Forças Armadas, 1649-044 Lisbon if you live in continental Portugal or Madeira, or to the Consulate at Avenida Príncipe de Mónaco 6-2F, 9500-237 Ponta Delgada if you live in the Azores.

On timing, the page says: “Passports take on average 4 to 6 weeks to process and return.” Passports at the Embassy are processed in Arizona, so the Embassy generally cannot give status updates. It replies to individual status requests only 10 weeks after you mailed the application, 6 weeks after an email from travel.state.gov saying the passport has shipped, or when emergency travel is less than 5 days away.

What does the Embassy say about paying online?

The Pay.gov form for overseas renewals is available only for adult passport book renewals, one payment per passport application. The Embassy’s FAQ says you are eligible to pay online if you are 16 or older and already hold a U.S. passport book issued no more than 15 years ago. Accepted: internationally accepted credit or debit card, PayPal or Amazon Pay, all processed in U.S. dollars. On the State Department’s fee page (last updated 19 March 2026), an adult who is eligible to renew pays $130 for a passport book, $30 for a passport card or $160 for both; an adult applying with Form DS-11 pays the same application fee plus a $35 acceptance fee to the facility that takes the application; a child under 16 pays $100 for a book, with the same $35 acceptance fee. The page adds $60 for expedited processing. Those are the page’s general figures: confirm on the Embassy’s payment form what applies to an application made from Portugal.

How does a Briton renew a UK passport from Portugal?

The GOV.UK page “Renew or replace your adult passport” gives UK fees (£102 online, £115.50 on paper) and says “There are different ways to renew or replace your passport if you’re outside the UK.” Those UK figures are not the overseas fees. The overseas route is a separate GOV.UK page, “Overseas British passport applications”, for a British national who wants to renew or apply for a British passport from overseas; it leads to a service that gives the forms, prices and application details. The service it starts (HM Passport Office, “Apply for a passport”), where we answered that the applicant lives outside the UK, in Portugal, is an adult and has had a UK passport before, lists the steps: get a digital passport photo, provide your application details, find out what documents to send, pay, have someone confirm your identity if required, and track the application by email or text. On 19 October 2026 it gave the fee as “£116.50 for an adult, and £75.50 for a child. Plus a £28.64 courier fee.” The page shows no processing time and no update date, so we state none.

The GOV.UK renewal page also says not to book travel until you have a valid passport, because the new passport will not have the same number as the old one.

What does the British Embassy in Lisbon do for passports?

Its GOV.UK page says that if you are abroad and your passport has been lost, stolen or damaged, you can apply for a replacement passport, and that if you need to travel urgently before it is issued, you can apply for an emergency travel document. The page also says the Embassy cannot help with travel or visa enquiries for the UK and sends those to UK Visas and Immigration. Public access to embassies is by appointment only, and the contact route is the online form at the FCDO contact service. The page lists a Vice Consulate in Portimão, notarial and documentary services and a list of consular fees (pages not read).

What if I need to travel before the new passport arrives?

For Britons, GOV.UK adds that you must have had a valid UK passport issued on or after 1 January 2006; otherwise you usually apply for a UK passport instead, unless exceptional circumstances apply, such as an unexpected birth, urgent medical treatment or a close relative’s funeral. It lists holidays, weddings, family events and job interviews as reasons that do not qualify in that case. The page was last updated on 23 October 2024.

What else do the embassies handle for residents?

The Embassy’s American Citizen Services page says the unit provides passport and citizenship services, notary services and other assistance. Non-emergency contact is by phone, Monday to Friday 8:00 to 17:00 local time, or by email, and it asks for email. Its menu lists “Report a Birth and Renunciations”; the page for it was not readable (see the list at the end).

The American Citizen Services unit offers notary services for documents to be used in the United States, for all nationalities, by appointment, at $50 per notary service, paid on the day through Pay.gov; a document the officer must sign in three places costs $150. You need a government-issued photo ID, you must understand the document, and you sign only in front of the notary. Appointments take about 90 minutes. The Embassy does not provide apostilles or help with an American driver’s license exchange, and it cannot notarize or certify state or county documents such as birth, marriage or death certificates. For apostilles and translations, read apostilles, translations and certified documents for your file.

The Ponta Delgada page says its routine services, including passport applications and notarizations, are by appointment only, from Monday to Friday, and gives the Consulate’s emergency line. The Embassy passport page mentions an outreach visit to Porto in September 2026 (already past when we read it) for passports, notarial services and birth report appointments.

The Embassy passport page reminds dual nationals that U.S. law requires all U.S. citizens to enter and exit the United States using their U.S. passport, so keep it current. If you are weighing a second nationality, see dual citizenship for Americans and Britons and the Portuguese citizenship guide. Whether you move as an American or as a Briton after Brexit, a passport with enough validity is part of the file. Voting from Portugal has its own rules, set out in voting from Portugal for Americans and Britons. Americans filing from Portugal can find the tax side in U.S. taxes for Americans abroad.

Pages read

U.S. Embassy in Portugal: Passports, Passport Renewal by Mail, American Citizen Services, Notarials; U.S. Consulate Ponta Delgada citizen services; GOV.UK: Renew or replace your adult passport, Overseas British passport applications, Travel urgently from abroad without your UK passport; British Embassy Lisbon; the State Department pages Renew Your Passport by Mail and Passport Fees; the HM Passport Office overseas application service. All read on 19 October 2026.