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The Red Confidential

Living, learning, laughing and loving it!

What To Do About A Stolen, Lost or Damaged International Passport

Regardless of how, losing your international passport can be one of the most upsetting experiences ever, especially if you have valid visas in it, and or are outside Nigeria. If this is your situation, calm down. This post is for you.

First, understand that your visas are forfeit. You cannot get them back. You will have to apply for all your visas afresh. But first, let’s focus on getting you a new passport booklet.

Step 1
Report the situation to the nearest Police station and make a statement. If you are in Nigeria, this shouldn’t take too long if you cooperate with the officer in charge. When you get the Police Report, please make photocopies.

Step 2
Go to the nearest court house and file for an Affidavit of Loss. An Affidavit of loss is a legal document declaring the physical loss of a security through theft or destruction by fire/flood. It will contain all details regarding the loss, the owner’s name and any information pertaining to the security, such as serial number or date of issue.  If you are in Nigeria, this won’t take up to 2 hours if you facilitate the process. They may ask you to support the typist or  inform you that “there’s no light”.  In my experience, if you don’t want to suffer, be friendly, placating and generous. Again, when you get the Affidavit of Loss, please make photocopies.

Step 3
Apply for a replacement passport at any Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) office. You can find the Passport Office nearest to you here.  You will be required to submit photocopies of your previous passport. If you do not have any, they will run a search. This search and processing costs about N15,000. Getting a new booklet currently takes about a month or more, depending on the availability of the 32 page booklet. If you are in a desperate hurry and or financially capable, apply for the 64 page booklet. This costs an additional N45,000 approximately. Note that these costs are estimates and is subject to variations. You may be able to apply for a replacement passport online, however I have never used this portal and can’t vouch for its functionality.

If you are outside Nigeria, go to the Nigerian Embassy nearest to you, report the situation and request for a new passport. You will be required to present a copy of the old passport data page and copies of the police statement and affidavit. I have no idea how long this process takes or how much it costs, because the Embassy needs to contact our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerian Immigration Service before reissuing a passport. Given our Nigerian antecedents, be prepared to wait a while.

Step 4
Make enquiries at the Embassies of countries to which you had valid visas and report your stolen passport and visa. Often, a formal letter to the Consular explaining your situation, along with photocopies of the Police Report and Affidavit of Loss will suffice.

Step 5
Like I said at the beginning of this post, your old visas are gone so you have to reapply for new ones. If there is room for additional information on your application form, state that your old passport was stolen. As usual, include copies of  the Police Report, Affidavit of Loss  and the letter to the Consular in your new application along with other relevant documents for the visa application.

Summarily, I hope this post is helpful in addressing this issue and I wish you all the best. Please remember to share this post. On the other hand, if you have not lost your international passport, do yourself a favour and make copies of your data page and valid visas if you haven’t already. Better still, scan all stated pages and upload them to a secure cloud storage. Having copies of your passport will expedite the process of renewal by validating your claim, but do try not to lose you passport.

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41 responses to “What To Do About A Stolen, Lost or Damaged International Passport”

  1. I also lot my passport wen I got to immigrantion office I was ask to pay 55,000 before I can retrieve it

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  2. Hi i have a damaged passport,how can i have a new one i live in sweden,because the link for damaged passport is only in nigeria you can renew your damaged passport

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  3. Hey I’m a Nigeria living in Denmark and I lost my e-passport and I’ve gottten the police report and the embassy ask me to do the booking applications online and I had tried to do the booking uptill now it still doesn’t work…..So what do u think I should do now

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    • Hi Anthony, sorry about your current situation. Unfortunately, I do not have any reliable information about the Nigerian Embassy in Denmark or the booking process there. I would recommend that you get in touch with the embassy as you did before and request assistance with the booking process.
      Good luck

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  4. I lost mine here in Italy, I have done my police report and I have also reapply all most 2 months I have not heard anything from them

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    • You should make a police report as soon as possible. If you have photocopies or scanned copies of the passport you may be able to present those at Nigerian immigration. Goodluck

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  9. hi Red, i lost my ROA UK in Lagos , got the passport number , birth certificate and other relevant documents…. how do i go about getting Right of Abode in Nigeria?

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  10. Pls can I simply go for a fresh passport, if I lost my international passport without knowing my passport number, or copy of the passport

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  11. hi i lost my nigerian passport in rome and i live in shanghai. i have a police report but i am waiting for embassy in rome to open on monday. if i am able to get a new passport, i hope i can get a visa to enter back to china because im a student there. i hope you read this soonest

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        • I suspect you will have to apply for a new a Chinese visa in the country you are in or in Nigeria, and attach copies of these documents, including your School admission letter and Identity card.

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            • The pleasure is mine. I really hope you find one because if there is none you may not be able to get back into China. China does not provide visa on arrival for Nigerian passport holders so you might have to find a Chinese embassy and apply. Goodluck!

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  12. pls Mr Red,I lost my passport without having any copy with me,and I was told I can’t replaced it without the lost passport number, pls is there any other way to go about this,pls sir

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    • Hi Ade Ade, I have also found my self in the same situation with you.. I lost my Nigerian passport in Sudan… could you pls tell me the processes you did to get a new one

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    • Thank you for reading Mary Jane.
      You can get a new passport at any immigration office in Nigeria. I believe every state has a branch.
      Cheers

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  20. Step 2 is very annoying, it will also require you to go to the police station and get a report, you would right a later, wait for it to be stamped or u come back later if the person who is to sign it is not around.
    You will also need to go to aso savings to pay #500 for the affidavit before going to the court.

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