[thegmanifesto]

I did.

I can tell you it's a pretty weesh move.

Here is what you need to do if you lose it in Spain:

What to do when you lose your Passport in Spain http://www.thegmanifesto.com/2011/08/wha...spain.html

This weeks Travel tip from The G: Don't lose your Passport.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Yeah that would suck big time. How did you lose it? Was it stolen or fell somewhere?

[thegmanifesto]

VP -

Not sure. It basically vanished in thin air.

I figure it was about a $1000 mistake all in all. Not to mention about two days of hassle.

The good part was, I had ID and Cash and Credit. If you lose all of those, you are pretty f*cked.

The bad part was I injured my back lifting up a super heavy dresser from a weird angle in my apartment that I thought it fell behind (a book I had fell behind it).

Then, my back went out while boxing a week later. I literally couldn't stand up.

I had to get carted to the hospital in an ambulance! (First time in an ambulance).

My life might seem easy sometimes, but trust me, I take heavy punishment.

But I keep on ticking.

Although, I think I am going to take it mad easy for a while...

[Vacancier Permanent]

Damn man, must have been a torrid time I imagine. Good thing though that you still had your ids and cash. Did the embassy give you a hard time or were they helpful in getting you a new passport?

[iknowexactly]

I may have lost mine, I'm moving right now and will find out soon.

I have an EU passport luckily. However, I think making a copy of the passport should be the first thing you do when getting a new/replacement, it makes it much less suspicious for the Matrix personnel to issue a new one when you have a copy of the old one. [/align]

[thegmanifesto]

VP-

"Damn man, must have been a torrid time I imagine. Good thing though that you still had your ids and cash. Did the embassy give you a hard time or were they helpful in getting you a new passport?"

I have to admit that the Consulate in Barcelona was extremely helpful. Pretty unbelievable.

It took about an hour from when I arrived to get an emergency Passport in hand. (There was no one in line ahead of me, which made a huge difference).

The Police in Alicante Spain were also incredibly cool (way cooler than cops in America). There was on fly Policia girl, that I was even trying to swoop a little. Ha!

The guy cops were cool as hell too, I even smoked a grit with one of them while I was waiting.

The key though is they are only open from 9am to 1pm.

So if you can't get there by Friday at 1pm, you are screwed over the weekend.

[Luckystar]

Nice article, G.

How much longer are you in Barcelona? in Europe?

[MiXX]

(08-14-2011 09:26 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

I may have lost mine, I'm moving right now and will find out soon.

I have an EU passport luckily. However, I think making a copy of the passport should be the first thing you do when getting a new/replacement, it makes it much less suspicious for the Matrix personnel to issue a new one when you have a copy of the old one. [/align]

This is a myth. Embassies do not accept copies of Passports' identification page as proof of Citizenship, and you'll find out it is worthless when losing a passport.

Even if it is 100% clear and legible, the embassy will not accept a copy as proof that you are a citizen of the country you say you are.

At least in Brazil they won't (Yes, I lost my passport once too).

** A good thing for US citizens to have is a passport card in addition to the standard book passport. A passport card may not be used for air travel, but it is a valid passpot itself, and enough to prove US citizenship to get a replacement book passport in a foreign country.

I keep my passport card on my person as ID, and my passport book never leaves the safe of my apt or hotel I am staying. One can replace the other at anytime when you return home should you lose either.

Mixx

[MiXX]

(08-14-2011 08:55 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

I did.

I can tell you it's a pretty weesh move.

Here is what you need to do if you lose it in Spain:

What to do when you lose your Passport in Spain http://www.thegmanifesto.com/2011/08/wha...spain.html

This weeks Travel tip from The G: Don't lose your Passport.

What did you use as proof of US Citizenship G when obtaining an emergency passport?

Mixx

[thegmanifesto]

(08-14-2011 10:50 PM)MiXX Wrote:  

(08-14-2011 08:55 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

I did.

I can tell you it's a pretty weesh move.

Here is what you need to do if you lose it in Spain:

What to do when you lose your Passport in Spain http://www.thegmanifesto.com/2011/08/wha...spain.html

This weeks Travel tip from The G: Don't lose your Passport.

What did you use as proof of US Citizenship G when obtaining an emergency passport?

Mixx

All I had was:

1. Copy of my lost Passport
2. Police report from Policia National saying my Passport was stolen
3. California DL (can't remember if that even helped my cause).

I was kind of shocked how easy it was.

("Easy" being relative. I had to jet set around Europe to make it happen).

"A good thing for US citizens to have is a passport card in addition to the standard book passport. A passport card may not be used for air travel, but it is a valid passpot itself, and enough to prove US citizenship to get a replacement book passport in a foreign country."

How do you get a "passport card"?

[MikeCF]

When I ordered my passport from the Post Office, they offered me a Passport Card, too. Wishing I had ordered one.

ETA: It looks like a driver's license:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_car..._3926.html

[oldnemesis]

(08-14-2011 10:45 PM)MiXX Wrote:  

This is a myth. Embassies do not accept copies of Passports' identification page as proof of Citizenship, and you'll find out it is worthless when losing a passport.

It is not entirely worthless because they may be able to pull out the record quicker (and they need to do this anyway to invalidate your lost passport). It is not accepted as a proof of citizenship, but having it is better than having nothing at all. In fact, a recent change at the Department of State website says it clear:

If you can provide the U.S. embassy or consulate with a photocopy of your passport identification page, that will make getting a new passport easier since your citizenship and identity information would be more readily available.

There also may be different rules depending whether you report the passport as lost or stolen. Pretty much all embassies require police reports for stolen passports; only few require police reports for the passports which have been lost, so you may save yourself some major headache there.

[oldnemesis]

(08-14-2011 11:04 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

How do you get a "passport card"?

When you apply for the new passport, just mark the "passport card" checkbox on the passport application, and pay extra fee.

See here.

[thegmanifesto]

old -

"There also may be different rules depending whether you report the passport as lost or stolen. Pretty much all embassies require police reports for stolen passports; only few require police reports for the passports which have been lost, so you may save yourself some major headache there."

Yeah, I am not sure which is better to say; lost or stolen.

I went with "stolen", because I got the feeling it made things simpler.

I could be wrong here.

Maybe someone can give some insight.

[UrbanNerd]

Years ago, I was contracting at the U.S. State Department...basically helping in the design of a system to process passports and visa. There was some group called "American Citizen Services" who are supposed to help travelers (Americans) who lose their passports abroad.

Are they still around? I thought they were supposed to make the lost passport process easier.

[el mechanico]

Mine got seized entering the airport in Athens.The AP were screaming at me because of my name which is French. The said that it was a bogus US passport and went into a cubicle and started entering data into a computer and threating me with the found "data".

After a couple hours they told me to fuck off and good luck in the Army(thought I was a draft dodger). I went into the US embassy a week later and had a new passport with just my Florida licence as id in 20 minutes. The guy working the counter was from Texas. I met a girl there who was just hanging out because she wanted to talk to Americans and her dad worked at the embassy. She took me around for the next two days and fucked me continuously.

[thegmanifesto]

(08-15-2011 09:43 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

old -

"There also may be different rules depending whether you report the passport as lost or stolen. Pretty much all embassies require police reports for stolen passports; only few require police reports for the passports which have been lost, so you may save yourself some major headache there."

Yeah, I am not sure which is better to say; lost or stolen.

I went with "stolen", because I got the feeling it made things simpler.

I could be wrong here.

Maybe someone can give some insight.

I should also add:

If you are in Madrid or Barcelona, it might be easier to say your Passport was "lost". (And you might not need a police report).

I happened to be in Alicante (where there is no Consulate or Embassy) and I needed to take a flight to Barcelona (or Madrid).

For this reason, I needed a police report to get on my plane to Barcelona.

Which is why I said it was "stolen".

[oldnemesis]

(08-15-2011 09:43 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Yeah, I am not sure which is better to say; lost or stolen.
I went with "stolen", because I got the feeling it made things simpler.

"lost" is always better.
When you lose your passport, the Embassy usually does not request the police report.
However when it is "stolen", they always do, which means you must go to police.

Typically you can get on a plane for a domestic flight without picture ID if you have other identification things (credit cards, etc). I've personally witnessed it in person in SFO. It was quite a hassle, and the dude stayed there for like thirty minutes answering the questions, but eventually they let him in.

[thegmanifesto]

(08-15-2011 07:59 PM)oldnemesis Wrote:  

(08-15-2011 09:43 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Yeah, I am not sure which is better to say; lost or stolen.
I went with "stolen", because I got the feeling it made things simpler.

"lost" is always better.
When you lose your passport, the Embassy usually does not request the police report.
However when it is "stolen", they always do, which means you must go to police.

Typically you can get on a plane for a domestic flight without picture ID if you have other identification things (credit cards, etc). I've personally witnessed it in person in SFO. It was quite a hassle, and the dude stayed there for like thirty minutes answering the questions, but eventually they let him in.

I think that is true on domestic flights in the US.

In fact, I was robbed at gunpoint once and got my ID lifted in The US.

I got the third degree by the cops at the airport; hell, I thought I committed a crime by the end of it.

However, on domestic flights in Spain, you still need to show your passport on flights (if you are a foreigner.)

I got the "feeling" that "stolen" was a better option (with a police report) VS "lost".

But not 100% on this as I didn't go the "lost" option.

[rinestone]

Barcelona may be more helpful because of how many pickpockets there are there and how common it probably is. I' not speaking from first hand experience, only what I've been told but while a copy of a passport is not a valid ID at the embassy, it does make things a lot easier when you need to replace one that is lost/stolen.

Copying passport is the best move- then keep the thing in you room or apartment and roll with the copy only.

[Pilgrim37]

Absolute bummer losing your passport...unless you have 2...thank God for dual nationality!

[thegmanifesto]

(08-22-2011 09:37 AM)rinestone Wrote:  

Barcelona may be more helpful because of how many pickpockets there are there and how common it probably is. I' not speaking from first hand experience, only what I've been told but while a copy of a passport is not a valid ID at the embassy, it does make things a lot easier when you need to replace one that is lost/stolen.

Copying passport is the best move- then keep the thing in you room or apartment and roll with the copy only.

As I was waiting for my new passport, an Asian girl came in who had hers heisted on La Rambla.

So you may be correct in saying they are more helpful because it is so common place there.

[avinah]

Yes, I have lost my passport at the airport. I complained to the employees of the Airport and next day I get my passport.

[Merenguero]

This is the closest thread to the questions I have, although my passport expired rather than me losing it. I just booked a flight that leaves a little over a month from now. Basically someone gave me a dirt cheap AirBandB type rental which will quadruple in price the day after I leave. My passport expired earlier this year and I never renewed it. I read everything online regarding passport renewal and although I understand most of it I am still unclear on one or two things. I have my old passport, my driver's license, a two-sided copy of my driver's license, the completed forms, and I am getting the picture taken over the weekend. I will also pay all necessary fees for expedited service and am taking everything to a post office on monday, so basically a borderline retarded D.C. area person can assist me. How long should this take and will there be any potential problems as far as getting a new passport?

[GlobalMan]

I don't see any potential issues. In fact you don't need the drivers license or copies- for renewal you just need the old passport and new photos and form DS-82. You can even mail it in if you wanted to (though in your case I would still go in to be sure it is correctly filled out and accepted) . Expedited service should take 3 weeks max.

Once you submit the application you can track the progress of it here:

https://passportstatus.state.gov/opss/OPSS_Status_i.asp

If you don't have one already I would suggest checking the box to get a passport card as well since it is only an additional $30 if you are renewing your passport, comes in handy. You should also consider checking the box for the "large book" passport (no additional cost), given that they will no longer insert additional pages if you fill yours up- you would have to pay for new passport.