If you lose your passport abroad

If you lose your passport

  1. Report immediately a crime or lost property at the local police station. Many countries have special tourist police officers who can receive your report.
  2. Ask for a copy of the report or the investigation document. You will need it later when you apply for a new passport or file an insurance claim, or if your lost passport is misused. The Finnish authorities do not file official reports of lost passports based on information provided over the phone.
  3. You can apply for a new passport at any Finnish mission abroad that issues passports. Check the nearest mission at the website finlandabroad.fi. If Finland does not have a diplomatic mission in the country where you are travelling, you can ask for assistance at a mission of another EU Member State(Link to another website.) to get an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) for your journey home.

What if your lost passport is found?

If your passport is found later, the local authorities usually deliver any found passports to the Finnish mission. The Finnish mission will send any found documents back to Finland, either to the issuing authority or to the police in the document holder’s municipality of residence.

Once a passport has been reported to the Finnish authorities as lost or stolen, you can no longer use it. 

If you lose your passport in Hong Kong

Theft or loss of a valid passport must be reported to the police and a police report should be presented when applying for a new passport. The applicant must be able to prove their identity with some other reliable identity document containing a picture.

You can file a report at the nearest police station in Hong Kong. You can find the contact details of the police stations here: Hong Kong Police Force.(Link to another website.)

Temporary Passport 

A temporary passport can be issued to a person only in a valid emergency type situation, e.g. if a passport has been lost or stolen, and even if the fast-track application procedures are not fast enough.  The conditions for issuing a temporary passport are always considered carefully and on a case-by-case basis. In general, temporary passports are issued only accordingly with the necessary travel plan, for instance for the purpose of returning to the country of residence.  

Please note that a temporary passport is not a biometric passport and not all countries accept it for entry. For instance, USA requires a visa for a Finnish temporary passport. Some Asian countries do not accept the Finnish temporary passport for entry either or they may require a visa. Always check the validity and possible visa requirements of the temporary passport at the representative office of the country in question.