Don’t panic! The process is actually pretty simple.
You know that sinking feeling? The one you get while rifling through your fanny pack, frantically searching for your passport while abroad? Losing that booklet is something most international travelers have nightmares about, and it’s a fairly common mishap.
But it doesn’t have to completely derail your vacation. Here’s what you should do if you lose your passport overseas, and some steps you can take to make recovering your passport a little easier.
What to do if you lose your passport while traveling
Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate
Before reporting a missing passport, make sure that you’ve looked everywhere for the document. Once it’s been declared missing, it’s entered into the Consular Lost and Stolen Database and flagged, so even if you do happen to find it later, it won’t be valid for travel.
If you’re absolutely certain your passport is gone for good, the first thing you should do is contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate and file a report with the consular section, according to the State Department. (You can submit a DS-64 form online or report a missing passport by calling 1-877-487-2778.)
You may want to file a police report if your passport has been stolen. But this probably won’t help you get your passport any sooner, so you might want to skip this step if you’re flying back to the U.S. soon.
Prepare for your appointment
You’ll need to book an in-person appointment and go to the U.S. embassy or consulate with the required materials. Make sure you have some form of ID, like a driver’s license, evidence of American citizenship (take a photo or make a copy of your birth certificate or passport before traveling), your travel itinerary, and a new passport photo — which you should take before going to your appointment.
You should also expect to pay about $200 in fees for an emergency passport. That document is only valid for a year, but once you’re back home you can exchange it for a standard passport without paying an additional fee.
Once you’ve submitted all the documents, you can expect to receive an emergency passport that same day — unless it’s a weekend or holiday, Michelle Bernier-Toth, managing director of overseas citizen services for the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, tells U.S. News & World Report.
Ways to keep your passport safe
Travel experts recommend having a photo of your passport saved on your phone and traveling with multiple photocopies stored in different pieces of luggage. It also doesn’t hurt to make sure your passport is hidden or secured in a hotel safe. While there are lots of belt and neck wallets that allow you to securely carry your passport under your clothing, avoid taking your passport with you on your outings. But, if your hotel doesn’t have a safe or you need your passport for an activity, invest in this belt bag that might not be the prettiest thing to look at, but that’s the point, right?
