Lost passport abroad: what to do
If your passport is lost or stolen while you are abroad, report it to the police first, then go to your country's embassy or consulate and ask for an emergency travel document to get home. Each country has its own rules and its own forms, and a child has different ones again.
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Updated October 2026
What to do first, wherever you are
Report the loss or the theft to the police as soon as you know about it, and keep the report. The Mexican consulate in Barcelona says the police give you a sealed copy of that report, and that the report is required for the procedures that follow, which include a new Mexican passport, the return of passages, traveller's cheques and claims with insurance companies.
Then tell your own country's embassy or consulate, and do not wait until the end of the trip. The same page warns that in Spain a person must carry an identity document, which the police can ask for at any moment, and that you should get in touch with the Consulate as soon as you find out about the loss.
If you find the passport again after reporting it, do not travel on it. Once a passport is reported lost or stolen it is no longer valid for international travel: the U.S. Department of State says the next country you fly to may deny you entry, or may not let you leave if you are already abroad.
If you are a United States citizen
Report the passport lost or stolen immediately, and the Department of State says it can be done with its online form filler. When you report online, the passport is cancelled within 1 business day and you get a confirmation email once it is, and the reason to do it at once is to protect yourself from identity theft.
To get a new passport you have to apply in person at a U.S. embassy or consulate, with Form DS-11, the application for a passport, filled in with where and when your most recent passport was lost or stolen. If the application is not complete, the Department says it may be paused and ask you for Form DS-64, the report of a lost or stolen passport, as well.
What to bring is on the same page: one passport photo of 2x2 in or 5x5 cm, and the Department says to get it in advance to speed the process up; identification such as a driver's license or an expired passport; proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or a photocopy of the missing passport; the travel itinerary from your airline or your train tickets; and a copy of the police report if you filed one at the time.
A police report is not mandatory, the Department says, but it can help confirm the circumstances of the loss or the theft. If you cannot show proof of U.S. citizenship while you are abroad, you may ask for a free file search, and that can help you get an emergency passport.
The emergency passport, when there is no time
If there is not enough time to receive a regular passport, the consular section of a U.S. embassy or consulate can offer an emergency passport, and the Department says it may be valid for up to 1 year. You can exchange it for a full-validity passport after your trip. If you cannot pay for a new passport, the Department says you may qualify for a free emergency passport if you are a victim of a serious crime or a disaster, and that this passport has limited validity.
In Mexico the emergency passport is the Consulate's own document. The Consulate General in Frankfurt says these passports are issued only to nationals who need a passport because they are in a situation of extreme vulnerability, and that it has to be verifiable, and that under the Federal Rights Law they carry an extra charge on top of the cost of an ordinary passport, which is paid in cash in the exact amount. The Consulate General in Barcelona says that in the case of a loss or a theft during a trip in Spain the Consulate can issue an emergency passport for the return to Mexico.
The U.S. Department of State says most embassies and consulates cannot issue passports on weekends or holidays, but that all of them have after-hours duty officers for life-or-death emergencies of U.S. citizens abroad, and that in most cases a replacement passport is issued the next business day.
If you are a Mexican citizen
The Consulate General of Mexico in Frankfurt sets out the order. First report the loss or the theft to the nearest police station or lost property office. Then, once you have the report, email the consulate confirming that you no longer have your passport, attaching the report, your copy of the Mexican birth certificate, a copy of the lost passport if you still have it, current official identification with a photograph, the plane tickets or flight itinerary if you were going to fly, and the application form duly completed.
Once the documentation has been reviewed, an appointment is scheduled to attend the consulate, and you have to attend in person with all the documents you sent, in original and copy. The consulate says the passport is delivered the same day. The appointments are booked through the MiConsulado system, one per person, and the appointment has to be in the name of the person who needs the passport, even when that person is a minor.
The consulate also says that the biometric data is taken on the day of the appointment, so there is no need to bring photographs of your own, and that the original documents are handed back at the end of the procedure, along with your previous passport if it was cancelled. The appointments are handled by prior appointment, and the consulates say that no appointment can be made by email, by telephone or through the consulate's social media.
If you are an European Union citizen
Since 9 December 2025 the EU Member States issue an EU Emergency Travel Document, and the European External Action Service says it goes to EU citizens whose passport has been lost, stolen or destroyed, or cannot be obtained within a reasonable time. It is valid for a single journey to your Member State of nationality or residence, or exceptionally to another destination, such as a neighbouring country where your own country has an embassy or consulate.
If your own Member State has no embassy or consulate in the country where you lost your passport, or it cannot be reached easily, you have the right to get the document from any other EU Member State there. This is, the Service says, part of the right to consular protection.
You apply at the embassy or consulate of an EU Member State. You fill in an application form, you show any means of identification you have, such as an identity card or a driving licence, and a photo is taken. The document is issued after your nationality and your identity are verified between the Member State helping you and your Member State of nationality, and the Service says that in normal cases the procedure should not take longer than seven working days.
The document is valid for the time the journey needs, plus two days of flexibility, and normally its validity does not exceed 15 calendar days. You should complete the journey as quickly as possible and apply for a normal travel document as soon as you arrive, and you are asked to return the emergency document on arrival at your final destination, with the Member State that issued it telling you where to return it. It consists of two parts, a sticker with your information attached to a form that folds to the size of a passport, with room for stamps and up to two visas.
If the passport belongs to a child
The rules are different for a child, and the difference starts with the appointment. The Consulate General of Mexico in Frankfurt says the appointment has to be booked in the name of the person who needs the passport, even when that person is a minor, and that the appointments are by prior appointment, one per person.
The same page says that the ordinary passports of 1 or 3 years are issued to nationals under 3 years old, those of 3 or 6 years to nationals over 3, and those of 3, 6 or 10 years to nationals over 18. On the United States side, the Department of State says that full-validity passports last 10 years for adults and 5 years for children under 16 years old.
Keep a copy of your child's passport at home before you travel, and tell the family what to do if the original is lost. The consulate in Frankfurt asks for a copy of the lost passport if you still have it, and the Department of State accepts a photocopy of the missing passport as proof of U.S. citizenship, so a copy that never leaves the house can still help.
Sources
- Official page of the U.S. Department of State, Lost or Stolen Passport Abroad, last updated 25 September 2025: a passport lost or stolen should be reported immediately to protect against identity theft, and it can be reported with the online form filler, which cancels the passport within 1 business day and sends a confirmation email once it is cancelled; after the report the passport is not valid for international travel, and the next foreign destination may deny entry or not let the traveller leave; a new passport has to be applied for at a U.S. embassy or consulate, in person; police reports are not mandatory but can help confirm the circumstances of the loss or theft; the consular section can offer an emergency passport if there is not enough time for a regular one, and it may be valid for up to 1 year; what to bring is one passport photo 2x2 in or 5x5 cm, identification such as a driver's license or expired passport, proof of U.S. citizenship such as a birth certificate or a photocopy of the missing passport, the travel itinerary from the airline or train tickets, Form DS-11, the application for a passport, filled in with where and when the most recent passport was lost or stolen, and a copy of the police report if one was filed; if the application is not complete the application may be paused and Form DS-64, the report of a lost or stolen passport, asked for; if proof of U.S. citizenship cannot be shown, a free file search may be requested; most embassies and consulates cannot issue passports on weekends or holidays, but all of them have after-hours duty officers for life-or-death emergencies, and in most cases a replacement passport is issued the next business day. The page says the replacement fees for a lost or stolen passport abroad generally cost the same as any other passport. — travel.state.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
- Official page of the Consulate General of Mexico in Frankfurt, of the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, on passports, last updated 21 July 2025, read in a browser because the site answers a bot check to automated readers. On its tab for theft or loss: in case of theft or loss of the passport you must first report it to the nearest police station or lost property office, and once you have the report you send an email confirming that you no longer have your passport, attaching the police report or the lost property office report, a copy of the Mexican birth certificate, a copy of the lost passport if you still have it, current official identification with a photograph such as the INE credential, a residence permit or a driving licence, the plane tickets or flight itinerary if you were going to fly, and the application form duly completed; once the documentation has been reviewed a appointment is scheduled to attend the consulate, where the person must attend in person with all the documents sent in original and copy, and the passport is delivered the same day. On its tab for emergency passports: they are issued only to nationals who need a passport because they are in a situation of extreme vulnerability and it is verifiable, and that under the Federal Rights Law they carry an extra charge on top of the cost of an ordinary passport, which is paid in cash in the exact amount; the detailed information is on the theft or loss tab. The page also says the passport appointments are by prior appointment, one per person, through the MiConsulado system, booked for the person who needs the passport even when they are a minor, that the documents must be brought in original and copy, that the biometric data is taken on the day of the appointment, and that honorary consulates do not issue passports. — consulmex.sre.gob.mx (checked 21 October 2026)
- Official page of the Consulate General of Mexico in Barcelona, of the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, on the loss or theft of documents, read in a browser because the site answers a bot check to automated readers. It says that for the issue of a new Mexican passport, the return of passages, traveller's cheques or claims with insurance companies, you must first report the loss or theft of your documents to the police, at any Comisaría, preferably the nearest one to where it happened, and that when you file the report you should remember every possible detail: the place it happened, witnesses present, the detail of the lost property, and the description of those responsible; the police give you a sealed copy of the report, which is required for the procedures that follow. On the passport replacement slide it says that in the case of loss or theft of a passport during a trip in Spain the Consulate can issue an emergency passport for the return to Mexico, that Spanish law requires every person to carry an identity document, which the police may ask for at any time, and that you should therefore not wait until the last moment of the trip to start the replacement, and should get in touch with the Consulate as soon as you find out about the loss or the theft. — consulmex.sre.gob.mx (checked 21 October 2026)
- Official page of the European External Action Service on the new EU Emergency Travel Document, dated 9 December 2025: as of 9 December 2025 the EU Member States issue a new EU Emergency Travel Document to persons who lose their passport while travelling abroad, and it is issued by EU Member States to EU citizens whose passport has been lost, stolen or destroyed, or can otherwise not be obtained within a reasonable time; it is valid for a single journey to the holder's EU Member State of nationality or residence, or exceptionally to another destination such as a neighbouring country with an embassy or consulate of the holder; EU citizens who lose their passport in a country outside the EU where their own Member State has no embassy or consulate have a right to receive one from any other EU Member State in that country, and the same applies if the embassy or consulate of their Member State cannot be reached easily; the document is applied for at the embassy or consulate of an EU Member State, where the applicant fills in an application form, shows any available means of identification such as an identity card or driving licence, and a photo is taken; it is issued after the applicant's nationality and identity are verified between the Member State providing assistance and the Member State of nationality, and in normal cases the procedure should not take longer than seven working days; the issuing Member State may charge the same fees it charges its own nationals for national emergency documents, so the fees differ depending on which Member State issues it; the document is valid for the period required to complete the journey it was issued for, including two extra days of flexibility, and normally the validity does not exceed 15 calendar days; the holder should complete the journey as quickly as possible and apply immediately for a normal travel document after arrival, and is asked to return the document on arrival at the final destination, with the issuing Member State saying where to return it; the document consists of two parts, a sticker with the holder's information attached to a form, which is a sheet of paper the same size as a passport when folded, with space for stamps and up to two visas. — eeas.europa.eu (checked 21 October 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to report my lost passport to the police?
The United States Department of State says a police report is not mandatory, but that it can help confirm the circumstances of the loss or the theft, and it asks you to bring a copy if you filed one. The Mexican consulate in Barcelona says the police report is required for the procedures that follow, and that the police give you a sealed copy of it.
What do I bring to the consulate?
The Consulate General of Mexico in Frankfurt lists the police report, your copy of the Mexican birth certificate, a copy of the lost passport if you still have it, current official identification with a photograph, the plane tickets or flight itinerary if you were going to fly, and the completed application form. You attend in person with all of them in original and copy.
How long does it take to get an emergency travel document?
In the United States, the Department of State says that in most cases a replacement passport is issued the next business day, and that if there is not enough time for a regular passport the consular section can offer an emergency passport valid for up to 1 year. In the European Union, the European External Action Service says the procedure for the EU Emergency Travel Document should in normal cases not take longer than seven working days. The Mexican consulate in Frankfurt says the passport is delivered the same day.
How long is an emergency travel document valid?
It depends on the document. The U.S. Department of State says the emergency passport may be valid for up to 1 year. The European External Action Service says the EU Emergency Travel Document is valid for the time the journey needs, plus two days of flexibility, and normally not more than 15 calendar days, and it has to be returned on arrival at your final destination.
What if my own country has no embassy near me?
If you are an EU citizen, the European External Action Service says you have the right to receive an EU Emergency Travel Document from any other EU Member State in that country if your own Member State has no embassy or consulate there, or if it cannot be reached easily. It calls this part of the right to consular protection.
Does my child need anything different?
For the appointment, yes. The Consulate General of Mexico in Frankfurt says the appointment has to be in the name of the person who needs the passport, even when that person is a minor, and that the appointments are by prior appointment, one per person. On the validity of the passport itself, the Department of State says full-validity passports last 10 years for adults and 5 years for children under 16.