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Traveller searching a bag on a square in a foreign old town

I have lost my passport abroad

In the middle of a trip you realise your passport is gone – lost or stolen, often together with your wallet and cards.

First

  1. Stay calm and first search methodically: lodging, vehicle, places you last visited, lost-property offices.
  2. If stolen, have stolen bank, credit and SIM cards blocked at once.
  3. Report the loss or theft to the local police and ask for written confirmation.
  4. Contact your own country's embassy or consulate and ask about a replacement or emergency travel document.

Call emergency services if

  • Violence was used or threatened during a robbery
  • Injury
  • You feel acutely threatened or have no safe place for the night

Emergency numbers for Austria · Change region

What is happening

Often the loss is only noticed when you need the passport: at check-in, at the hotel reception or shortly before the flight home. The first moment is usually marked by shock and haste. Frequently the passport is only mislaid – in the hotel safe, in another bag, in the hire car. After a theft, however, bank cards, cash and the phone are often missing too.

The situation is rarely life-threatening, but it can be expensive and delay your return. Without a passport you often cannot leave the country or board a flight. Embassies and consulates issue replacement or emergency travel documents, but this requires paperwork, photos, often a fee and, depending on the location, time – sometimes only during certain opening hours.

Typical misjudgements: waiting too long to block stolen cards, going to the embassy without a police report, or trusting “helpers” who promise quick solutions for money. Also important: a passport reported lost or stolen is usually invalidated, even if it turns up again later.

What matters: search calmly and methodically; if stolen, block cards and SIM immediately; report it to the police and get written confirmation; then contact your own embassy or consulate. Copies of your passport and good preparation speed up almost everything.

Step by step

  1. Phase 1

    In the first hour

    • Take a breath and search methodically: lodging, safe, all bags, vehicle, places you last visited.
    • Ask the lodging, restaurant, transport operator or lost-property office of the places you last visited.
    • If stolen: have bank, credit and SIM cards blocked at once.
    • If you feel threatened, violence was involved or you are injured: call the local emergency number (112 in the EU).

  2. Phase 2

    The same or next day

    • Report the loss or theft to the local police and ask for written confirmation.
    • Contact your own country's embassy or consulate – take contact details only from your own foreign ministry's official website.
    • Ask which documents are needed: usually passport photos, the police report, proof of identity (e.g. ID card, driving licence, passport copy) and travel details.
    • Inform your travel insurer and keep all receipts for extra costs.
    • Inform the airline or tour operator about the situation early.

  3. Phase 3

    Until you travel on

    • Check whether the replacement document is valid for your planned route – including transfers in third countries.
    • If a visa or entry stamp was in the passport: ask the embassy what the local authorities require for departure.
    • Organise cash, a replacement card or a money transfer if your cards are blocked.
    • Secure a quiet, safe place to stay and remain reachable.

  4. Phase 4

    After returning home

    • Apply for a new regular passport; the emergency document is usually valid only briefly.
    • Keep an eye on bank statements and accounts – stolen data can be misused.
    • If the old passport turns up again: do not use it; hand it in to or ask the issuing authority.

What to watch out for

  • “Help” scams

    People waiting for tourists outside offices or promising quick papers for money are not official bodies. Deal only with the police, embassy or consulate.

  • A reported passport becomes invalid

    A passport that has been reported lost or stolen can usually no longer be used for travel. Travelling with it anyway can cause serious problems at borders.

  • Opening hours and weekends

    Consular sections often have limited hours. Many missions abroad do, however, have an on-call service for genuine emergencies – ask about it.

  • No consulate of your own nearby

    EU citizens whose country is not represented in a non-EU country they are visiting can turn to the embassy or consulate of another EU member state.

  • Identity misuse

    Stolen identity details can be used to open accounts or sign contracts. The police report helps you later to dispute any claims.

Common mistakes

  • Waiting hours before having cards blocked.
  • Going to the embassy without a police report.
  • Taking embassy contact details from random search results instead of official pages.
  • Keeping the passport and all copies in the same bag.
  • Waiting until the last day before the flight home before taking action.

Prepare in advance

  • Take copies of passport and ID card (paper copies kept separate from the original, plus a secure digital copy).
  • Pack two passport photos.
  • Note the contact details of your embassy in the destination and your bank's card-blocking numbers.
  • If your country offers it: register with your foreign ministry's crisis or traveller registration list.
  • Leave the passport in the lodging's safe if you do not need it while out and local rules allow it.
  • Keep a second means of payment and some cash in a separate place.

Special consideration

Travelling with children
Children need their own replacement document too. For minors the embassy often asks for the consent of both parents or guardians – clarify this early.

Sources

  • Lost or Stolen Passports · U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs
  • Council Directive (EU) 2015/637 on the coordination and cooperation measures to facilitate consular protection for unrepresented citizens of the Union in third countries · Council of the European Union, 2015
  • Krisenvorsorgeliste ELEFAND (Elektronische Erfassung von Deutschen im Ausland) · Auswärtiges Amt, Deutschland

Your situation

What happened?
Copies available
Onward travel

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Basics for this situation

Why: Always applies to this situation – regardless of your answers.

All rules of this situation (4)

  1. [not active] If What happened? = Stolen, with money or phone

    Block cards and SIM first, then report. Inform your insurer; keep receipts for costs.

  2. [not active] If Copies available = Yes, on paper or digitally

    Copies of passport and ID speed up the replacement at the embassy or consulate. Bring them to the appointment.

  3. [not active] If Copies available = No

    Ask the embassy or consulate which other proof of identity they can accept. For the next trip, keep copies separate from the original.

  4. [not active] If Onward travel = Flight or onward travel soon

    Inform the airline or tour operator early. If visas are required, also clarify entry and exit rules – the embassy or consulate is the right place to ask.