If your passport is stolen, contact the issuing authority and local authorities, and your embassy or consulate if abroad. Obtain a replacement passport with proof of citizenship and identity. Check for updates and monitor credit history. Prepare by photocopying your passport and bringing additional identity documents. Even after replacement, there may be future difficulties.
Passport identity theft is the theft of an individual’s passport, usually for the purpose of posing as that individual for any reason. If you become a victim of passport identity theft, there are a number of steps you can take to control the damage. When your passport is stolen, you should usually contact the issuing authority immediately. It is also advisable to notify local authorities as well, both to protect yourself from illegal activity in which your passport identity may be involved, and to ensure that any attempt to use your passport identity is sent a red flag. If your passport is stolen while you are abroad, you should also contact your embassy or consulate immediately.
If you are able to prove your citizenship and identity, you should obtain a replacement passport within 24 hours. You will need to bring a copy of your driving license and a copy of your birth certificate when requesting a replacement passport. The issuing authorities may also request an interview with you and your travel companions, as well as your friends and family from home. You may also need to ask for an account of how your passport was stolen and a copy of the police report.
You will generally want to check in with the authorities at regular intervals to ask if there are any updates regarding your passport. Also, you may want to contact the credit bureau to make sure no one is trying to use your identity to open a line of credit. You may also want to periodically do a thorough check of your credit history to make sure it’s intact.
It may be wise to prepare for such eventualities so that you are prepared if passport identity theft occurs. Photocopy your passport before leaving home and leave a copy for your family and friends. Bring the other copy with you and keep it separately from your passport. Bring your birth certificate and another document that proves your identity, such as a driver’s license or marriage certificate, and keep them in addition to your passport.
You may also want to bring several photos of yourself that meet the passport photo requirements. It may be helpful to note the date and place of issue of the original passport, which may be part of the information you can provide to prove your identity. These could speed up the replacement process if your passport is stolen.
Note that even after you have replaced your passport, being a victim of passport identity theft may still pose some difficulties for you in the future. It may take a certain amount of time for the passport thief to attempt to use your passport and this may affect your passport clearance the next time you try to travel. It may therefore be necessary to go to the issuing authority again and clarify the situation before proceeding with the journey. If you’ve taken the correct steps to notify all affected parties immediately as soon as you realize your passport has been lost, rectifying the situation should be a relatively simple matter.
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