Whether due to carelessness, theft, expiration, or damage, losing your identification document abroad can be a major setback during your trip, as it will be impossible for you to return to your country until you obtain a new document. If you find yourself in this situation, remain calm and don’t worry, as there is an easy solution.
In case of losing or having your passport or ID stolen outside your country, you should go to your Embassy or Consulate in the country you are visiting to apply for a new document or legal permit.
As you can see, overcoming this situation is not overly complex, but it can be a somewhat tedious process. Below, we will explain step by step what you need to do to obtain this temporary identification so that you can at least return to your country without any issues.
1) File a report of theft or loss with the police
Even if you are in a foreign country and think that filing a report won’t be useful since it is highly unlikely that you will recover your identification document, this step serves three purposes:
Firstly, you will need a report of loss or theft of your passport to obtain a new one, as we will see in the next step.
Secondly, by reporting the situation to the authorities, you will be legally exempted from any fraudulent use that could be made with your document. Additionally, in the event of identity theft, this report will be crucial for resolving the potential problem. However, you shouldn’t be overly concerned, as the likelihood of this happening is not very high.
Finally, thirdly, the report will be necessary for making any claims to insurance coverage you may have for such incidents abroad.
2) Go to an Embassy or Consulate of your country
Whether due to theft, loss, damage, expiration, or deterioration of your identification, you can apply for a new passport or a temporary travel document to return to your country at any Embassy or Consulate of your nationality.
To obtain your temporary passport at the Embassy or Consulate, you will simply need the report filed in the previous step, two passport-sized photos, and a copy of your document. Since you most likely won’t have a copy of your document with you, remember that you can ask a family member to email you a photocopy of your document or passport that you may have at home. Additionally, you can also provide any other document containing your photo, such as your ID card, driver’s license, or a bank card with a photo.
3) Notify your travel insurance company
If you have travel insurance that provides coverage abroad, you will likely be able to claim some form of compensation. To do so, you will need to present the report filed in the first step of this process.
Contact your insurance company as soon as possible to expedite all necessary procedures, which can be somewhat slow and tedious depending on the company.
4) Pay attention to your bank accounts and notify your bank
While not strictly necessary, it is a good idea to notify your bank of the loss of your identification document so that they can place an internal alert in case someone tries to withdraw money from your account using your document in any branch of your country where you are not known. This way, if such a situation were to arise, an automatic alert would trigger, prompting the bank employee to ask the client for certain personal information to withdraw the money, thereby thwarting the attempted theft.
Additionally, it is also advisable to monitor any suspicious activity in your account and check for your appearance in any delinquency registers. It is unlikely that such a case would occur, but if it does, it is crucial to notice it as soon as possible in order to report identity theft, resolve the issue, and prevent further complications.
Final advice:
As you have seen, in the unfortunate event of losing your identification document during your stay abroad, you always have alternatives available to find a solution and return to your country. However, it is logical that the easiest way is to be cautious and prevent finding yourself in this situation. If you’re interested in knowing all the tips to never lose your ID or passport during your travels, don’t hesitate to check out our article: How to prevent theft, loss, or damage of identification documents and passports abroad?