Replacing a Lost or Stolen CBI Passport

Report the loss quickly — the old passport may be electronically cancelled

If the passport is stolen, make a local police report where possible and contact the issuing country's passport or consular authority. Even for an unexplained loss, the authority may require a declaration describing when and where the document disappeared. Once reported, a passport can be recorded as lost or stolen in national and international systems. If it later turns up in a suitcase, do not simply resume using it. Confirm its status with the issuing authority because a cancelled passport can cause serious border problems.

Reporting the loss serves two purposes: it starts the replacement process and reduces the chance that the old document can be misused. Depending on where the loss occurred, the citizen may need both a local police report and notification to the issuing country's consulate, passport authority or citizenship office.

Emergency travel documents may be different from full replacement

A copy of the lost passport, naturalisation certificate, national ID if any and civil-status documents can help establish identity. CBI citizens who live far from the issuing country should keep secure digital copies and store original citizenship evidence separately from the travel document. A consulate may issue a temporary or emergency document so the citizen can travel home or complete an urgent journey. That document can have limited validity and fewer destination options. It is not necessarily the same as receiving a new full-validity passport.

If visas were physically placed in the lost passport, replacement of the passport does not automatically replace those visas. Some countries will transfer them, some require a new visa, and others may accept the old cancelled booklet alongside the new passport if it is later recovered. Check each important destination rather than assuming the new passport number is enough.

Repeated losses can trigger extra scrutiny — protect the identity data as well as the booklet

Passport offices may ask more questions when a person has lost several documents. That is a security measure, not a special CBI penalty. Keep police reports and explanations so the history is clear if later renewals ask about previous lost or stolen passports. A lost passport contains personal identifiers that can be abused for fraud. Monitor accounts and be alert to suspicious requests that reference the document. If scans were stored in an insecure email or device that was also stolen, change relevant passwords and secure those accounts.

Travel plans may need to change — update linked records after replacement

Replacing a passport abroad can take longer than a trip itinerary allows. Do not book complex onward travel based on an assumption that a consulate can issue a full passport immediately. Check whether the emergency document is accepted by transit and destination countries. Airline profiles, visas, residence permits and financial institutions may contain the old passport number. Once the replacement arrives, update records that rely on the document. Citizenship is continuous, but document identifiers change and systems do not update themselves automatically.

A stolen passport contains enough biographical information to be useful in identity fraud even after the document is cancelled for travel. Keep a copy of the lost passport's data page and note the passport number so the police report and replacement application are accurate. Monitor unusual account or identity activity if other documents were stolen at the same time. When the replacement arrives, update visas, airline profiles and institutions that recorded the old passport number where necessary. The objective is twofold: restore a valid travel document and close the administrative trail around a booklet that is no longer under your control. If the lost booklet contained valid visas, contact the issuing embassies as well; replacement of the passport does not automatically recreate visas that were physically or electronically tied to the old document.

After replacement, update systems that stored the old passport number. Airlines, residence-permit authorities, banks, brokers and visa issuers may all have the previous document on file. The old number should remain in your records because future forms often ask for previous passports even after the document has been cancelled.