In the life of each of us there are unforeseen situations. Sometimes (even adults) can lose valuable documents. What to do if you have lost your passport? If you want to avoid unnecessary fuss and quickly recover documents, use our advice.
How to recover a lost passport
First of all, find the police department and file a statement about the loss of your passport.
If you find yourself in an unfamiliar city, then you should use the help of hotel workers or tips from passers-by. Feel free to ask. In a strange city, it is not entirely appropriate to rely only on your own strength.
As soon as you find the police station, immediately report the loss of documents (do not forget to list all the papers that you lost). It is advisable to indicate the approximate place of loss of documents. Such information will speed up the process of searching for documents.
Having completed all the necessary documents, the police must issue you a special report, which will confirm that you have applied for help to the police station. Try to save this paper.
Valuable advice should not be overlooked. Prepare small notes in advance (while still at home) and put them in your wallet and passport. Sometimes there are decent people who return papers and found documents.
After contacting the police, proceed to the next step: take photos. The consulate cannot help you if you do not provide them with two photographs of 3, 5 by 4, 5 cm.
Experts recommend that you always take a few spare shots with you to avoid unnecessary headaches. If (for some reason) you did not have time to stock up on photographs of the required format, then you will have to use the services of a foreign country. Practice shows that it is not difficult to take the necessary pictures.
Actions after contacting the police
- We find compatriots. These people should act as witnesses who can confirm your identity. The people you find must be citizens of your country, so you won't be able to get rid of the first acquaintances you come across.
- Please contact your country's consulate. With two photographs and a document that was given to you by the police, contact the consulate. Once you are in the right place, proceed with the issuance of a temporary certificate. Please note that you will have to pay a consular fee (in the consulates of different countries, the amount may differ significantly). Typically, the certificate is issued on the same day, so you can go home immediately. Be sure to keep in mind that the validity of the document is no more than 30 days, so you should not get carried away with the trip.
- Contact the OVIR Upon returning home, you must contact the OVIR and proceed with the registration of a new passport.
