What to do if you lose your British Passport in the Philipines.

[CBM]

I'm posting this thread here because it could happen to anyone and it did just happen to a friend of mine who had lived in the Philippines for thirty years and was an Embassy Warden before moving to Cambodia last year - he's a journalist - was visiting his g/f and stepdaugther in the Philippines...

First you must of course report the loss/ theft to the Police and swear an Affidavit of Loss before a lawyer. Then you get on the Internet and go to the British Consulate in Hong Kong's website, which you will find here:

http://ukinhongkong.fco.gov.uk/en/he...als/passports/

You will need to download and complete the Lost Passport form, here:

http://centralcontent.fco.gov.uk/res.../ls01-form.pdf

and complete the usual application form which you will find here:

http://ukinhongkong.fco.gov.uk/en/he...pines/renewals

and send that along with the passport photos and either a cashier's cheque / draft drawn on HSBC for the total amount
(£128 passport fee plus £19.86 courier fee) OR fill in the Credit Card Authorisation Form, here:

http://ukinhongkong.fco.gov.uk/resou...horisation.pdf

using an international credit card or a Visa or Mastercard debit card, by courier, to the British Consulate in Hong Kong.

Simple, innit?

UK Passports are no longer issued by the British Embassy in Manila.

If your passport was nicked along with your credit cards, it may be a good plan to phone a friend and ask him/her to fill in the credit card authorisation form - which is what my friend did.

He is now about to find out what happens when you need to extend your stay and you don't have your passport any more - I will report back!

[fred]

If you go to a UK embassy and explain the circumstances you can very often get an emergency passport.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...ergency-travel

[Doc Alan]

Some good links here, CBM and Fred, thanks for posting !

Of course loss /theft of a passport is something we hope will never happen. It’s worth photocopying your passport and saving as a computer document which can be retrieved if necessary – keep a separate note of your password for access to the document.

The Philippines Ministry of Tourism claimed over 100,000 British tourists visited the country last year - most visits are trouble-free. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly updates travel advice ( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...a/philippines#
) which is worth reading, if only because travel insurance companies expect you to have noted their advice.

Similarly, it’s worth considering registering on LOCATE (
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...-safe/Locate/#
) so that the embassy and crisis staff can assist in the ( unlikely ) event of an emergency.


There’s a “ health checklist “ on the forum (http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....to-Philippines ), which may also be helpful.

[Stuart]

Beats my method......... Great Post! T.Y. !

[RickyR]

Losing your passport whilst overseas must be one of the biggest nightmares for anyone on holiday, but at least there are two options. The route that CBM's friend took was to apply to Hong Kong for the new passport, but as Fred says, if you need to travel urgently you can get the Emergency Travel Document. The Emergency Travel Document is often restricted to a one way passage by date and destination, but on very rare occasions can incorporate multiple destinations.

Personally, I bear two valid and separate British Passports which would probably help me out a little in that situation (would still be severe). The second passport is due to the frequency of my travel and requirement to have one passport in for visas whilst travelling on the other, and required quite a lot of hassle to obtain.

[CBM]

An Emergency Travel Document would have been no use to my friend as he lives in Kampot, Cambodia - an emergency travel document will get you to Britain but you will still need a new passport when you arrive. In his case he needed a document into which a replacement Cambodian visa could be stamped.

The gist of my post is that if you lose your passport the best answer may not be to travel to Manila and call on the Embassy, where the Consulate can only provide an emergency travel document. You will usually do better to head to the nearest internet cafe and contact Hong Kong.

[lastlid]

Personally, I bear two valid and seperate British Passports which would probably help me out a little in that situation (would still be severe). The second passport is due to the frequency of my travel and requirement to have one passport in for visas whilst travelling on the other, and required quite a lot of hassle to obtain.

For a while, I used to have 2 passports for the same reason. Another reason was so that one could enter an Arab country without showing any Israeli stamps in ones passport. I don't know if this is still a problem, but it used to be. (Israeli stamps in one and no Israeli stamps in the other.)

[joebloggs]

also dont forget to carry a photocopy of your passport, it will probably help speed up getting a replacement.

[Doc Alan]

also dont forget to carry a photocopy of your passport, it will probably help speed up getting a replacement.

... as in #3 Joe ... " It’s worth photocopying your passport and saving as a computer document which can be retrieved if necessary – keep a separate note of your password for access to the document. "

[joebloggs]

... as in #3 Joe ... " It’s worth photocopying your passport and saving as a computer document which can be retrieved if necessary – keep a separate note of your password for access to the document. "

i meant taking it with you but don't carry both together at the same time

[Doc Alan]

i meant taking it with you but don't carry both together at the same time

Even if you don't have your own computer with you, the saved computer documents ( including passport photocopy and list of emergency numbers ) can be sent by e mail / attachments to your e mail address and retrieved if needed. All you need to remember is the password to access your e mail account - and then to log off completely from the computer you use !

Of course, chances are none of this will be necessary - but well done CBM and Fred for raising the topic .

[Trefor]

For a while, I used to have 2 passports for the same reason. Another reason was so that one could enter an Arab country without showing any Israeli stamps in ones passport. I don't know if this is still a problem, but it used to be. (Israeli stamps in one and no Israeli stamps in the other.)

Yes it is still an issue. Especially going into The Kingdom. I think there are still no direct flights, you need to change in Lebanon/Syria or similar. Several colleagues in Dubai have 2 UK passports for this reason.

[Tawi2]

I was seperated from my passport earlier this year,filed a plod report,took the paperwork to the brit embassy and got an ETD for travel that night,ETD looks like a regular passport except its got a limited number of pages and its cream in colour,plus immigration take it from you when you enter the country,your not allowed to keep it as a souvenir