Lost U.S. passport and ID

Have you discovered this web site yet?

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/emergencies/lost-or-stolen-passports-abroad.html

Seems like it's possible to get an emergency replacement that might allow you to complete your travels.

Best of luck!

We've had students who lost or had their passports stolen while traveling in Europe for 4 months with us. They just took passport sized photos and money to pay for a new passport to the nearest US Embassy on the following business day and got a new passport and kept on traveling with us.

I think you could make a case for "A" scenario since you are in Europe and on the move. They issue a same day passport that is good for one year. Make sure you have all the requirements they ask for and show up at the early walk in time.
https://fr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/lost-stolen-mutilated/

EDIT: scope out the specific place where you are to line up EARLY on Monday morning. There can be multiple entrances. Our students were told to travel with 2 replacement sized photos with them. Some did and some didn't. One student had to go to a photo booth to get photos made. Another had to go to a copy shop/photo place to get replacement photos. Our hotels were able to tell us where the nearest photo places were. Do that this weekend so you will be ready for Monday.

U.S. Embassy Paris
2 avenue Gabriel
75008 Paris
France

Mona,

I don't have an ID either which is what they want. Not sure what they do for people in my situation. I saw that website and was planning on going to the US Embassy in Paris on Monday (closed weekend), but was trying to figure out before then If I am considered an emergency and if I do get an emergency passport somehow, doesn't that mean I have to go back to U.S. right away? That's what it seems like it is saying,.

Just go on Monday with what you have, your passport copy and the things they ask you to bring: money, passport photo, form filled out, SS#. Get in line early. They will help you as you are traveling and on the move I think you will qualify for "A". Our students did and they kept on traveling with us for the remainder of the semester.

Did you contact Eurostar to see if your items were found and turned in?

Don't despair! On a trip to Venice, a friend had his passport, airline tickets and id stolen. His next stop was Florence. It took him almost a full day at the consulate and I believe he had a replacement passport within 72 hours.

Though you'll be inconvenienced and might have to change your travel plans, I'm sure you'll be able to pick up your itinerary and enjoy your vacation in Europe.

Here's a link to the US Dept of State info page regarding stolen passports. And here's a link with addresses of the US Embassy and Consulates in France and their Lost, Stolen or Mutilated info page. I would call the location nearest to you to determine where you should go and what you should bring. After the ordeal is over, you might want to post the results here so other folks might learn what to do if this situation befalls them.

You can apply for a limited validity passport at the US embassy. It will be good for one year and the embassy will tell you the limits of the validity but you can use it to travel to other countries. Here is a link with the information: https://fr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/lost-stolen-mutilated/ Apparently, Monday is the worst day of the week to go in terms of waiting time but you should be done by the end of the day if you arrive with all the required documentation but it is possible you may have to wait a day or two or three for the passport to be ready. A copy of the passport will suffice as ID. It did for my friend who was in a similar to yours last year.

Yes, go to the Embassy. This is considered an emergency situation. You have no ID to get on a plane back home anyway. So get the emergency passport and enjoy the rest of your trip.

Mona,
Yes I contacted Eurostar London St. pancras and Paris Gare du Nord lost luggage and nothing was found. It happened Thursday 6/22 afternoon so probably was stolen whoever found it since money was in it.

It might help if you could produce your airline tickets, as well.

JHK,

Glad to hear it worked for your friend last year. Hopefully will in my situation too. Yeah I'm fine waiting a few days, I just wasn't sure if I was even able to get it that quick. Plus I assume I also need an ID to travel and I don't think I'd receive one, just the passport.

I have a photocopy of U.S. passport and ID (front and back), a photo on my phone of my ID as well & some work check stubs with my name on it which hopefully are enough for them.

Yeah I am going to embassy Monday. I guess just was feeling useless all weekend since nothing I can do really since they are closed.

"Plus I assume I also need an ID to travel and I don't think I'd receive one, just the passport."

Not sure what you mean by this. Your passport serves as proof of identity and proof of citizenship. So, once you get your replacement, if it is good for a year as everyone says, you should be free to resume the remainder of your trip. You should not have to return to the US immediately, unless you want to.

As said above, I understand how stressful this is, but you aren't the first person in this situation. Bring the appropriate materials (photos, fees, forms, and the document copies you do have) to the consulate, get there early, and you'll be fine.

Yes, as Harold notes, the passport IS the i.d. Once you have it -- probably tomorrow -- you'll be fine and can continue your trip (considering how you deal with getting more money if your cards were stolen too though . . . you may have to have someone back home send you some money via PayPal or something - it used to be transfer via Western Union).

I'm sorry this happened to you.

Robert here's another job for today. Buy another money belt, belt loop pouch or neck pouch and tomorrow after you take a picture of the (2?) important pages in your passport, put the passport in it and tuck it under your clothing for safe keeping, especially on travel days. Good luck with the rest of your wonderful 2+ month adventure.

EDIT: Maybe Kim or someone in Paris can tell you where the best places might be to look for a money/passport storage belt on a Sunday!

Oh yeah, I noticed today all passport photo places seem to be closed so wasn't sure if any are open. There must be one open somewhere. If this is case I may have to go on Tuesday to embassy, and all I do Monday is call them if I am able to and ask them a few questions in meantime.

I would keep looking today for a security belt AND a photo place or photo booth. However I did read on Yelp that there is a photo booth in the Embassy for people to use that accepts euro coins. Therefore if you can't find a photo place open today I'd go anyway early on Monday morning and hope to get a photo made there. What do you have to loose? You may have to go again on Tuesday morning if this doesn't prove to be accurate.

Robert here's a photo place on the Champs Elysees that is open from noon to 20:00 on Sunday and does identity photos.

http://www.photo-elysees.com/photos-d-identite-paris

Hours
http://www.photo-elysees.com/contact#horaires

There is nothing to be gained by waiting until Tuesday.

If by ID you mean a drivers license, that is unnecessary unless you had planned to drive. Your Passport is your ID when traveling oversees. If you had planned to drive, your travel partner will have to do the rental and be the driver. Audio guides at museums also require an ID be left as deposit and most people give their license rather than a passport, but you'll have to give the passport.

While a pain and it will take time out from your plans, you are way over worrying about this.

Sorry, I didn't check in until now . . .but I saw money belts for sale in the luggage section of BHV when I was there earlier today. (In case someone comes to this thread in the future). BHV is the Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville, literally atop the metro stop Hôtel de Ville on the line 1. They are now open on Sundays from 11 am to 7 pm.

During the week, they're open until 8 pm.

http://www.bhv.fr/en/magasins/bhv-paris/

There are photomat machines in many Metro stations, which are approved for passport and other identity paperwork.
Cost: 5 € for 4 regulation size photos.
Do not smile, remove your glasses and anything around your neck.
Make sure to choose the 4 photo option.
You have 3 tries if you don't like your photo - you don't pay more money.

Update for anyone who may be in same situation or if curious how it turned out for me:

I went to the U.S. embassy early this morning and my photocopy of U.S Passport & Driver License, along with police report showing that my documents were lost/stolen were all that was needed. I also showed them my plane ticket home and my flight leaving Paris to my next destination this Friday. They said I could get emergency one year limited passport on the spot which I can use to get home or to continue my travels, however the lady said since it is a rushed emergency passport which is limited, boarding plane may be issue for some airliners. They may or not may let me on plane, it is up to airline. My other option was to have a standard U.S. passport in 7-10 days, probably sooner they said, which will be sent from the U.S.. I ended up choosing the second option in order to avoid hassle of using limited emergency passport for the rest of my travels. My next destination will be interrupted and will have to stay in Paris few more days longer, but the best choice to me. I paid standard U.S. Passport cost and they said they will email once my passport is available for pickup at the U.S. Embassy.

Someone else mentioned my bank card earlier. I put a hold on my bank cards the day I couldn't find my documents and couple days later I called bank and asked if anyway to have a new card sent to me in Paris (same bank account) and they said yes and said will be there in 7 days which which is this Friday.

Lesson is to be more careful with my belongings and have my money, bank cards etc not all in the same place in case something like this happens.

I took the emergency 1-year option at the US Consulate in Napoli, got there after it was closed but there was emergency staff available, they took the photos and I had a valid passport in less than an hour.

Glad the Embassy was able to help out so quickly and easily. Surprised there was not extra fees to get the passport delivered to Paris.

When you do receive your new passport, update that info with your airline online as soon as you can if that option is available to you. You had to provide passport info when booking the ticket, the replacement passport will have a different number and if not updated might cause delays with boarding due to the mismatch.

The statement about the emergency passport possibly not being accepted by the airline is strange. It is a passport and although I have never seen one, it can't be that different than the regular one. But good info to file away in case I find myself in a similar situation.

Mention was made earlier in the thread about needing a copy of the passport and another form of ID such as a drivers license. We always have a copy of our Global Entry Card with us. Wonder if that would be accepted in lieu of a drivers license. Has anyone had any experience using that instead?

Glad it's working out for you. Thanks for updating us.

BTW did the Paris US Embassy have a photo booth option for people who need to get a new passport? Did the lady say it was up to individual airlines whether to allow people to board with a 1 year temporary passport and she didn't know which airlines?

Thanks Mark for mentioning change of passport info with airlines. I didn't think of that. Can I change it anytime prior to checking in? Cause I will have to change it for all my flights.

And she told me it is up to the airlines. The emergency passport, though it is an official document from the U.S., she told me it isn't made the same so doesn't have all the security that a standard passport such as the chip in the passports.

Yes there was a photo booth at the embassy once you get inside.

If you have frequent flyer accounts with your airlines, they will have an online option to update your passport info,. You should update this as soon as possible, especially for your return flight to the US, to avoid any delays when the info doesn't match. I can't speak for those flights you might be taking on other airlines you don't have frequent flyer accounts with and I don't want to guess about it and get it wrong.

I have a feeling that the problem with airlines not accepting the emergency passports is an issue for travel between countries other the US and not for returning to the US. My friend who lost her passport did so the weekend before the scheduled return to the US and only needed to passport for the return trip until she could get here and obtain a permanent replacement. The embassy did not mention any potential issues with the emergency replacement passport.

JHK,

No, there is no issues using emergency passport going back to U.S. since that is purpose of the emergency passport. She said using it as a passport going to other countries is where there may be issues or complications.

Thanks for updating us. I am glad it is working out for you. I have learned a lot from your experience!

Thanks for updating us. I am glad it is working out for you. I have learned a lot from your experience!

Robert,

Good to hear that it all worked out for you.

Now that the stressful part of this is over, can you share any details as to how your waist pack or was it a money belt was lost? I'm primarily interested in lessons learned type details as in the clasp was acting weird and wouldn't always lock properly. Or the seam on the bottom broke and the contents dropped out without you realizing it? No worries if you'd rather not.

Try to enjoy the rest of your trip!

To be honest, it was my mistake I am pretty sure because when I was going through french passport check and security in London, we had to put all our belongings in trays to go through security, and i may have forgot to grab it. I had quite a few things to carry. Either that or while I was waiting in departure area, it fell out or something. All i know is i got it stamped at london station and upon arriving in Paris, before stepping off train, i couldn't find it. It was obviously found which means people are willing to take your belongings. There was no waist pouch problems other than me not putting it back on right away. Also it is best to not put all important documents and money in one place like i did. People told me to do that yet i didn't so this is my fault. Personally i feel waist pack is good because you can feel that it is there and people can't bump into you on "accident" and softly grab it. Lesson learned. Now i know.

"It was obviously found which means people are willing to take your belongings". What the heck does that mean? You lost your passport, end of story. No one took it .... you lost it.

... I had quite a few things to carry. .... That is why we stress here to reduces the number of items being carried. For this situation with security I have a small, black leather bag that is the size of an ipad (because an ipad is often in it) that takes all of the important stuff - passport, money, tickets, watch, etc, goes into prior to security, last thing on the pile through the xray machine, and first thing off the pile on the other side. I can keep a close eye on one bag. Once pass security the pickpocket option is greatly reduced so I don't normal do anything with this bag other to keep a tight grip on it. Once on the train, I will use the restroom to redistribute everything and to get re-organized. Unfortunately for you this will be an expensive lesson in security.

When I lost my passport and went to the Embassy in Paris, they rejected my photos that I had brought from a Metro station booth, and directed me to use their machine in the lobby of the Embassy. I brought a photocopy of my passport, drivers license and IDP. Was out in two hours, good to go, though they did mention about possibility of an airline questioning temp passport.

I never said it was stolen. I said was my fault. I said someone obviously found it and kept it.

Robert -- sorry this happened to you but I'm glad you were able to get help quickly. I hope you're able to enjoy the rest of your trip - don't let this weigh on you too much. Remember you are there to learn and discover!!!

Thank you for sharing your information about getting the replacement passport and also the reminder about how easy it is to lose track of one's stuff. Hopefully someone reading will be the wiser for your misfortune.

Good luck!!!

Thank you, Robert, for sharing your stress with all of us! Everyone here on this forum who travels has had some form of excitement and anxiety at some point in our travels. That's the purpose of this forum...to share and learn from ALL of our mistakes. It was very enlightening and informative to hear how all of this went for you. I'm sending my 19 year old to Europe for a couple of weeks in the fall and will be sharing your experience with him - just in case!
Relax and enjoy the rest of your trip!