5 Things To Do If You Lose Your Indian Passport While Travelling Abroad

For any traveller, an absolute nightmare would mean losing your phone, wallet or worse, your passport in a foreign country. You don’t know the country, its people or the language. And what you thought would be a fun holiday ends up being an utter disaster if you lose your essentials while travelling abroad. Losing your passport is the worst. Because it brings the most fundamental worry, how do you get back home? But don’t worry, every problem has a solution, so does this. So if you were to God forbid face this situation, firstly try not to panic. Take a deep breath. And when you’re done searching every nook and cranny, and you know for sure it’s lost, here are 5 simple things you must to do if you lose your Indian passport while travelling abroad. 

1.  File An Official Report For Lost Or Missing Passport

Firstly, locate the nearest police station and file a report for a missing or lost passport. This is a crucial step for any travel insurance policy. It’s also an important piece of information that you need to bring to the notice of the embassy or consulate. But do keep in mind that this might not necessarily speed up the process of a new passport. But it’s crucial nevertheless. Also, a police report can assist you with embassy related formalities like applying for an emergency certificate or new passport.

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2. Visit The Nearest Indian Embassy Or Consulate

Next, visit the nearest Indian embassy or consulate. They shall help you apply for a new passport. Ring ahead and make an appointment beforehand. It’s also important to inform the embassy if you’re a victim of passport theft.  Here’s the complete list of Indian Mission abroad as per the Ministry of External Affairs Website. Find the one nearest to you and get their contact number and email for further communication.

3. Keep All The Supporting Documents Ready

So as your appointment to the Indian embassy comes up. You must get ready with the supporting documents to replace your passport. You need to submit some documents along with the application when you visit the embassy. For replacement of a new passport, it shall take around a week to get your passport back. You need to submit the following documents for this:

• Photocopy of lost passport (front and back pages)
• Photocopy of passport lost or stolen police report
• Passport size photos (4 to 6)
• Photocopy of  air tickets and visa
• Personal application giving the reason for the immediate issue of the new passport

And if you wish to travel back to India immediately, then you don’t need to wait for a new replacement passport. Just apply for an Emergency Certificate. This is a one-time use travel document. It authorizes an Indian citizen who lost their passport to go back to India without any hassle.  For both these options, you need to get your visas stamped again. To apply for an Emergency Certificate you need the following documents:

• Application by giving an EAP-2 form
• Passport size photos ( 4 to 6)
• Photocopies of passport( Front and back pages)
• Police report for lost or stolen passport.

4.  Appy For Re-Issue Of Your Visa

If you lose your passport while travelling abroad, you shall also end up losing any visa that you might have. So, you can get your visa back by visiting the respective country’s embassy that issued your visa in the first place. Once again for this process, you need a copy of your old visa and the police report filed. Also, you need your new replacement passport.

5. Reschedule Your Flight & Claim Travel Insurance On Return

With the loss or theft of your passport, it’s not possible for you to travel outside the foreign country until you receive a new passport or Emergency Certificate. So you might have to reschedule your flight if need be. Call your airline and intimate them about this situation. The sooner you let the airlines know about this, the better chance you have of not squandering your money on rescheduling your flight.

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It’s always better to take travel insurance before flying abroad. And if you have done this, then when you return back to India, claim your travel insurance. Redeem your insurance by filing a claim for lost passport. Contact the insurance company at the earliest and keep the police report and other recipes related to the costs incurred due to loss of passport handy.  So these are the 5 things you must do if you lose your passport or if it gets stolen when you’re vacationing abroad. But most of all, don’t forget to stay positive, take a deep breath and not panic. If you’re cool and collected, you can overcome this situation sooner and in a stress-free manner. Till then, check out our beginner’s guide to boarding an international flight.