It is true that travel broadens the mind and expands your horizons. It also creates memorable experiences. While in most cases, your meticulous planning and preparations ensures that the memories are beautiful, there are occasions when things do go wrong, and it could lead to loads of stress – losing your bag in a foreign country, including your passport, for example.
Nightmarish a scenario as it is, there is no need to panic. Here is what you have to do:
1. Reach out to the nearest police station
Go to the nearest police station and file a police report. You should be able to procure a copy of report in about half-an-hour. Please don’t be inhibited about going to the police station as the people stationed there are for your assistance. The report prepared by the local police is one of the most important documents you must have in your possession in order to prove your loss or theft of passport along with other belongings.
2.Reach out to the Indian embassy located there
You need to get in touch with the Indian Embassy via their emergency telephone lines in order inform them of your predicament. You can look for information regarding the Embassy online.
3.Immediately apply for a duplicate Passport
The Indian consulate will assist you through all the procedures required for obtaining a duplicate passport, for which (in most cases) you would have to put in an application for in person. Getting a physical duplicate passport takes about 7 days, as the passports are printed in India and have to be sent to the embassy of the country you are stuck in. You need to manage your tickets and hotel bookings accordingly.
4. Get any lost Visas that were affixed on your passport back
If you had any non-expired visas that were also lost along with the passport, you can make a requisition to get them back as well by getting in touch with the respective embassies of the foreign countries that had issued those visas. For example, if you had a German visa, call the German consulate to notify them. It will mostly take 2-4 days to get the new visas issued. They will in all likelihood require the copies of the non-expired visa, the report prepared by the local police and the new passport. They cannot attach the visa without the new passport.
5.Get in touch with your insurance provider to claim for the loss of passport
Under most travel insurance schemes, there is a clause for the loss of passport and you should be covered under that for the same. Get in touch with your insurance provider immediately.
Required documents for claim of loss
The list of documents required to be attached with the loss claim are as follows:
• Duly Signed Claim Form stating the exact circumstances of loss
• Copy of the local Police Report.
• Detailed receipts of all out-of-pocket expenditure with regard to obtaining a new passport.
• NEFT form and Pre-Printed Cancelled cheque stating claimant’s Indian Bank account details On the other hand, you could actually avoid or minimise all the hassles if you were to keep soft copies of your passport, visas and other such essential documents in your email or cloud service before you travel overseas. You should also have the photocopies of your passport in each item of your luggage in your hotel room, as back-up. Having these copies at hand will help speed up the processing time for your duplicate passport.
This blog is intended solely for educational and informational purposes. The content may include outdated information regarding the topic discussed. Readers are encouraged to confirm the accuracy and relevance of the data before making any significant decisions. SBI General Insurance disclaims responsibility for any errors or consequences arising from the use of outdated information provided herein.
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