Lost your passport abroad? Here's what to do

When you leave India to go abroad, your only proof of identity is your passport. Whether it is airports, college admissions, police verification or even entering bars, international students are required to show their passport. In case you happen to lose, misplace your passport or it gets stolen, you risk deportation. You are supposed to get the original passport replaced immediately. It will be a long process; you will have to make calls, send emails, visit many offices, and deal with a lot of paperwork.

If you are in this sticky situation, here is the process and stages of getting a new passport while abroad.

1. Report to local police – The local police must be informed the first thing in case of any theft, not only in the case of passport. The police will give you a written statement or report of the complaint which will be required at almost every office.
2. Contact the local Indian embassy/consulate – The Indian embassy needs to be informed about the theft of the original passport. They will issue a temporary or new passport depending on individual cases.  The embassy will ask you for photocopies of your passport including information like date of issue and expiration date, identification number and full names, photocopy of student visa, two or three photographs, biometric details, original police report, application fee, and proof of residence in India.
3. Inform college – Get in touch with your admissions’ cell or students’ cell and inform them about the loss of your passport, as this is your only identification proof in the country. Since you have lost your student visa along with the passport, you may have to re-fill a few forms to avoid getting your enrollment cancelled.
4. Reapply for a student visa – Countries like UK or US require you to re-apply for the student visa. This means you will have to go through the process from scratch. In this case, you need complete and original documentation required for a student visa. You may have all the data from your student visa, but these countries require a completely new process regardless your current visa was still valid.
5. Inform landlord – If you have a private accommodation like a rented room or apartment, you will have to let your landlord know about the loss and provide him/her with the details of new passport, or you stand the risk of losing your accommodation.

The best approach is prevention rather than cure. You should keep a few simple things in mind while travelling abroad on a student visa –

• Make multiple photocopies of passport, visa, travel insurance, student ID card, credit/debit card etc.
• Keep a scanned copy of the first and last page of your passport on your phone for the purpose of identification. It is not advisable to have your passport on the person all the time.
• Note down the details of your passport like passport number, expiration date etc. on your phone or paper, just in case.
• If you had been issued visas from various countries, then contact those embassies for reapplication once you are back in India.
• In case there is an emergency and you have to return to India as soon as possible, apply for a temporary passport. This will allow you to make one trip to India. You can reapply for the passport and visas once you land.