Emergency guidance
What to Do If You Lose Your Passport Abroad
A missing passport can disrupt a trip quickly, but the next steps are manageable. Start by checking the place where it disappeared, then follow the rules of the country that issued it. Reporting and replacement procedures differ by nationality, and a passport reported lost may become permanently invalid even if it later turns up.
First: pause, search and secure your situation
- Check your room safe, bags, passport holder, coat pockets and the last counter where you showed the document.
- Contact the hotel, airline, airport or transport operator’s official lost-property service. Keep the reference number they give you.
- If theft is possible, contact local police and ask whether your issuing authority requires a police report.
- Use another device to change passwords only if the passport disappeared with a phone, wallet or laptop.
Contact your passport authority or nearest embassy
Use your government’s official passport or foreign-ministry website to find the nearest embassy or consulate. Explain where you are, when you next need to travel and whether you have a photo or copy of the missing passport.
Your authority may cancel the passport, issue a replacement, or offer an emergency travel document with route restrictions. The United Kingdom, for example, says a traveller abroad who needs to travel urgently may be able to apply for an emergency travel document. United States guidance says a reported lost or stolen passport is cancelled and cannot be used again, even if recovered later.
Prepare the information you may be asked for
- Your full legal name, date and place of birth
- A copy or photo of the passport, if available
- Your travel itinerary and proof of urgent travel
- A local police report, where required
- Passport photographs that meet the authority’s specifications
- A second form of identity or evidence of citizenship
- A reliable local phone number or email address
Tell the airline and insurer when plans may change
An emergency document may not be accepted for every transit country or route. Ask the issuing authority what the document permits, then confirm any changed itinerary with the airline before travelling to the airport.
If you have travel insurance, keep receipts, police reports, cancellation confirmations and replacement-document fees. Coverage varies, so check your own policy rather than assuming every cost is included.
If the passport is found after you report it
Do not attempt to travel on it until your issuing authority confirms its status. Some authorities invalidate the document as soon as it is reported. Follow the authority’s instructions for returning or destroying it.
ReturnKind can help a finder reach you before or during this process, but it does not replace official reporting, police, embassy or immigration procedures.
A calmer checklist for your next trip
- Store an encrypted passport copy separately from the original.
- Save the official embassy locator for your nationality.
- Keep the passport in one consistent, secure place while moving.
- Use a private recovery link in the passport holder—not on security features or visa pages.
- Never print your home address, full passport number or unrestricted personal details on a luggage tag or QR label.
Official sources
Procedures change. These official pages were checked when this guide was updated: