What To Do When You Lose Your Passport

Losing your passport is a nightmare for any traveler and many take steps to ensure it never happens. Whether that means keeping a copy in your luggage or locking your passport in a safe, sometimes even best practices can’t guarantee your passport doesn’t go missing. But fear not! This happens all the time around the world and you can easily get a handle on the situation.

Make sure you still have identification.

If your passport was stolen, make sure they didn’t make off with any other important documents. This can mean picture ID, any paper copies of your passport or cash. Take stock, then get ready to jump into action.

Let the hotel know.

Communicate with the manager if you are at a hotel so they know what happened. They may have experience working with foreigners who have lost their passports, which will come in handy if you are feeling frazzled.

Find the nearest embassy or consulate.

If you are in the capital city, that means finding the U.S. embassy. If you are in another major city, a consulate will be what you want. If you are in a small city or village, find a way to get to one of the above. This can mean taking a train or a car, but planes might be tricky without a passport.

Speak to the airline.

Give the airline with which you are flying back to the United States. a call to let them know what happened. They should be able to help you get your ticket changed in the event there is a delay in getting a new passport.

Be patient.

Once you’re at the embassy, rest assured you will be helped. But you will need to stay patient while the staff files paperwork and makes calls to get you the documentation you need. It can take a while depending on what country you are in and any holidays or special circumstances, so just take a deep breath and know you are going to be okay.