Sometimes bad things happen while traveling. Your credit card could get compromised. Your phone could get stolen. But if you lose your passport while traveling, thatās an āOh shitā moment youāll not soon forget.
Many articles exist on what to do AFTER your passport goes missing, but few tell you how to shorten the process of getting a replacement. Hereās how you can be prepared.
Documents to carry in case you lose your passport
My wife Julie is expert at splitting up documents and hiding them in various secret compartments in our luggage. I have no idea what she squirrels away and where they are hidden. Hereās what we pack in each bag (so Iām told).
1. Photocopy of current passport ID page
This is helpful for two reasons. First, youāll want a copy of this when you report your passport as stolen or lost to the local police. Second, it can speed the process when you end up at the embassy/consulate to get a replacement.
2. Driverās license or national ID card
The embassy/consulate will need to see a photo ID that proves that you are who you say you are! This is best demonstrated using a valid driverās license or national ID card. Because your license/ID might be lost with your passport (you should not carry them together for this reason), itās a good idea to have a printed copy of it.
3. Expired passport or birth certificate
We each carry our previous invalid passport with us. While it cannot be used for travel, it can be immensely useful as proof of identity. If you donāt have your old one (or never had one before), having a copy of your birth certificate will suffice as long as you also have some other form of photo ID.
4. Extra passport photos
Passport photos are small and cheap, and you will need to bring one to the embassy/consulate to get a replacement passport. Again, you donāt want to be wasting time hunting for a place that sells overpriced passport photos just before you need to get to the embassy/consulate.
In addition, if you are from the US, make sure you know your social security number by heart! Youāll need it.
PRO TIP: If you are visiting a country that requires a visa and passport control gave you a small slip of paper or applied a stamp to your passport with an entry date, make sure you take a photo of that slip of paper or stamp! If you lose your passport, you can then show your old stamp/slip of paper to local immigration authorities to rectify the situation. Physical visas, stamps and paper slips are increasingly rare as many countries have digitized this but it still happens in some countries.
Why not just save digital copies?
Yes, you can and should save digital photos of all of these documents, especially your current passport and driverās license! However, in the aftermath of a lost passport your stress level will be through the roof. Having physical photocopies will save you the hassle of having to hunt around town for a place to print these documents before proceeding to an embassy/consulate.
You donāt need scanned PDFs of these documents. Photos are fine. Just make sure you copy them into your cloud storage account with file names so you can easily search for them later! Otherwise they will disappear into the digital abyss of photos on your phone.
GOOD TO KNOW: If you are from the US, the Department of State will issue you an entirely new passport with a new number. It will not be a copy of your lost passport.
Traveling as a couple? Have one person carry both passports
There is always one person in a relationship who can be trusted to keep important documents safe and secure.
Thatās not me.
On numerous angina-inducing occasions, my wife Julie watched me feverishly pat down pockets searching for my passport. She could take it no more and wisely appointed herself guardian of all cash, tickets and passports. After we clear immigration, she immediately snatches my passport from my hand. This counterintuitive system works for us because the risk that Julie will lose both of our passports is far lower than me losing my own passport. :-)
BEST PRACTICE: Your first order of business is to report a lost or stolen passport to the police. When you file a report, insist on getting a physical printout of the police report, not just a verbal affirmation or incident number. The physical report can be helpful for explaining the circumstance of the disappearance and will be needed to file a travel insurance claim to recover costs you incur.
What if you need to fly to get to the embassy or consulate?
One more reason to travel with physical copies of these documents. Letās say you are on an island in Thailand when you lose your passport. You need to get to the Embassy in Bangkok but cannot fly without a passport. What do you do??
After you report your lost passport to the police, contact the Embassy in Bangkok and ask if you can get a purple āLimited Validity Passportā (Emergency Passport) so you can fly to Bangkok or home where you can secure a new permanent passport. Having a physical copy of the documents noted above will make that process a lot easier.
Is this all overkill?
Yes, if you donāt plan on losing your passport! Yet, to my knowledge 100% of people who lose their passport did not plan to do so. :-)
This exercise takes less than 15 minutes and only needs to be done once.
Print two copies of each document
Insert them into two separate clear small resealable bags so they are waterproof
Tuck them into the lining or a relatively obscure pocket of each bag, along with your old passport in one.
If you have the misfortune of losing your passport, it will be the best 15 minutes youāve even spent!
About Chris
In 2026, after 25 years in Austin, Chris and Julie sold most of their possessions and decided to travel globally full time. Chris started focusing on travel writing after a long career as a copywriter and marketing executive. A lifelong learner, he focuses on what it takes to plan, sustain and love life as a long-term traveler, and associated practicalities for people over 50. Although new to travel writing, he is certainly not new to travel, with 100+ border crossings on 6 continents since 1997. Come along for the ride!
Very helpful!