A foreign passport is the main document identifying a person at the time of his stay abroad. And if a tourist loses it, serious problems can arise. Especially if such a nuisance happened not in Russia, but in another country where the person went on vacation or for some other purpose.
Therefore, if you actively use this document, you should know what to do in such a situation: how to restore a foreign passport if lost in Russia or another country in 2021, where you need to go for this, how much it will cost and how long you will have to wait for the result . If you act correctly, you can solve the problem quite quickly and with minimal financial losses.
How to restore a passport lost in Russia
The procedure for restoring a lost document is not much different from the one you need to go through to get a new passport. However, one condition is added: in order for you to reissue the document, you need to receive a certificate confirming its loss. This can be done at local police departments.
Having received the certificate, you should apply for a new document to one of the following structures:
- Department for Migration Issues of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation;
- Multifunctional center for the provision of public services (MFC);
- Go to the State Services website.
The document recovery algorithm in 2021 is as follows:
- Go to the police. Against the backdrop of increasing cases of fraud with documents, contacting the police is a must. Police officers will transmit information about the loss of the international passport to the relevant authorities, and after at least three days it will become invalid. The maximum period during which a document can be deactivated is 7 days.
- After receiving a certificate from the police department, you need to contact the department of the Federal Migration Service (FMS) or the MFC at your place of residence and apply for a new passport.
- Write an application for a new passport and submit documents for this. In particular, you will need a certificate of loss of a foreign passport obtained from the police, photographs 3 by 4 cm, for adult working citizens - a copy of the work book, for those liable for military service - a military ID or a certificate from the military registration and enlistment office (F-32), a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation (original and copy ), receipt of payment of state duty. The FMS inspector may require other documents.
However, it should be borne in mind that this algorithm will only work in the case of an old-style international passport. The biometric document is re-issued only after the applicant undergoes the fingerprinting procedure again. In addition, you need to take a biometric photo again.
Regardless of the circumstances under which the need to restore documents arose, there are no penalties for restoring a foreign passport if lost. When the documents are ready, you can pick them up at the local FMS office where you submitted your application.
Documentation
The procedure for replacing a damaged passport is identical to obtaining a new one. Therefore, the same list of documents and payment of the state fee in full are required. As a replacement, you can issue a passport of any type: old or biometric. The basic list of required papers is the same in both cases.
What is necessary:
- 2 copies of the application form ();
Sample of filling out the Application Form for a foreign passport
- internal civil passport;
- damaged foreign passport;
- 3 pcs. passport photo.
- receipt of payment of the duty;
This is what a receipt for payment of state duty looks like
- military ID (young people under 27 years old);
- for military personnel - permission from the commander.
For a biometric passport you will need everything the same, only two photos are enough. And the size of the state duty will change accordingly.
In individual cases, they may additionally request:
- marriage certificate;
- medical certificate institutions about changing appearance;
- confirmation of the need for urgent registration of a foreign passport or forced long-term stay in another country.
When filling out the application form, it is important to carefully enter personal information. Even a minor mistake can cause the document to be refused, and then the process will drag on for an even longer time.
What to do if you have lost your passport abroad
If the loss was discovered in your home country, this is not such a big problem, since in this case you simply will not be allowed abroad. It’s a completely different matter if you lost your documents while in another state. However, you can solve the problem and return to your home country by following these steps:
- First, contact the police: explain the current situation, write a statement about the missing document. In turn, they should give you a certificate about the loss of your passport.
- Next, take care of obtaining an entry certificate - you will need it when you cross the border, returning to your homeland. In order to receive it, you need to prepare some documents. In particular, you will need: a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation (you can provide a driver's license), two photographs 4x6 cm. If necessary, you may also need other documents (marriage certificate or change of personal data) or testimony of people who know you. The collected package of documents must be taken to the Russian consulate abroad.
- Write an application for a certificate of entry and submit it along with other documents. Instructions for submitting an application are here. If necessary, you can also provide a witness statement.
- Wait until the consulate checks all the papers. The procedure usually takes about two days, after which you will be issued a certificate to enter your home country. Using this document, you can safely cross the border, and it is not at all necessary to leave the country immediately after receiving the START - rest easy, since the certificate is valid for 15 days from the date of receipt.
However, it should be borne in mind that the entry certificate does not give the right to cross the borders of third countries, but only of Russia (that is, the country of which you are a citizen). The exception is citizens who have received refugee status abroad. - Upon returning to Russia, it is better to immediately contact the FMS department at your place of residence with an application for a new passport. In this case, it is necessary to provide an entry certificate previously obtained from the consulate. The deadline for this is 3 days from the date of arrival.
Lost abroad
Losing a passport during a trip abroad is not a fatal nuisance. The main thing is to follow the recommendations below.
What to do if you lost your passport abroad?
Don't panic - in every country there is a Russian embassy, which you can contact with the relevant problem. There they will help you understand the current situation, tell you how to correctly draw up a statement to the police, and where to go to submit it. You must write an application - without it you will not be given a certificate of loss.
Where to go?
You need to go to the police to report loss or theft - find out where the nearest law enforcement department is located. Be sure to ask for a certificate of loss. The form must be filled out in the language of the state where the person lost his passport. If you do not know a foreign language well, fill out an application in Russian and seek help from a translator. Consulates also provide similar services.
Submitting documents to the consulate
If a person has lost his international passport, the procedure is as follows - contact the police, submit an application, collect documents. Required papers:
- copies of lost IDs, if any;
- a document to confirm your identity - for example, a driver's license, an ordinary Russian passport;
- photographs 4*6 for issuing a temporary certificate, photo cards must be matte.
When there are no documents to confirm your identity, come to the consulate with two or more compatriots who will say that you are a citizen of the Russian Federation. Persons must have identification documents.
A temporary certificate issued on the basis of a certificate of loss or theft of a foreign passport is valid for 15 days - during this time you need to leave the country. You cannot cross the borders of other states with a certificate - the paper allows you to leave the country of residence for your homeland, there are no other options. In Russia, initiate the recovery procedure according to the standard regulations, which we wrote about above.
On a note! Please note that the certificate issued abroad will need to be given to the institution where you issued your passport. This is done within three days from the moment of return to the Russian Federation. Deadlines must be observed to avoid unnecessary problems.
Price per service
The certificate and temporary certificate are issued free of charge. You will only have to spend money on printing the photo and, possibly, paying the consular fee if the embassy sent a request to Russia. You can check current prices on the official website of the consulate.
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In Russia it will be possible to make a paper document or a biometric one. This takes from 30 days, taking into account a number of factors. You will have to pay the state fee again - 1000 rubles for a child and 2000 rubles for an adult if the passport is paper, 3500 for children over 14 years old and adults if a biometric document is being made.
Deadlines
The temporary permit will be ready within no more than two days after submitting the appropriate application. Rarely does it take more time - if there is a holiday or a day off in the country.
We remind you that the permit is valid for 15 days, after this time it will not be possible to use it.
Two weeks is usually enough to spend your vacation to the end, and not take off on the day you lose your document. The main thing is to meet these deadlines.
How to restore a passport
According to the regulations of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, it is impossible to restore a foreign passport. In order to become the owner of such a document, you need to re-issue it.
When you contact the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, you can receive either a regular old-style passport or a new biometric document.
The procedure for obtaining an old-style passport is noticeably simpler and cheaper, since you do not need to submit fingerprints or take a special biometric photo. Therefore, if you need an urgent document to travel abroad, opt for a regular passport.
A biometric document is more modern and allows you to pass passport control at the border more quickly. Therefore, if you have lost a document, but want to keep up with the times, it is better to issue a new passport.
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Having decided what type of passport you will apply for, you can collect the necessary papers and go with them, for example, to the Main Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The standard package of documents includes:
- certificate of loss of international passport;
- an application form containing the applicant’s personal data and indicating his place of work over the past ten years;
- a copy and original of the internal passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
- work book (if any);
- document confirming payment of state duty;
- for men aged 18 to 27 years - a military ID or a certificate from the military registration and enlistment office;
- photos.
You can also provide photocopies of old documents, although this is not required. To obtain a biometric passport, you need to re-scan your fingerprints and take a new digital photo. More information about how this procedure takes place can be found in the article “Obtaining a foreign passport.”
Cost and terms of obtaining a passport
Re-issuing a passport will cost the same as issuing a new document:
- For a biometric document, citizens of the Russian Federation (from 14 years old) must pay 5,000 rubles, for an old-style passport - 2,000 rubles (from August 1, 2021).
- documents for children (persons under 14 years old) will cost: biometric passport - 2500 rubles, old-style passport - 1000 rubles.
It is quite difficult to say exactly how much it costs to restore a passport for various reasons. For example, a certificate for returning to Russia is issued free of charge, but only if the consulate did not make a request for your home country. Otherwise, you will have to pay a consular fee for their services. And these are additional costs.
You can learn more about all the nuances from the article “Cost of a foreign passport.”
Many citizens are also interested in how long it will take to obtain a new passport. The deadlines for processing documents for traveling abroad are established by orders of the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation No. 320 of October 15, 2012 and No. 211 of March 26, 2014. In accordance with them, you must be issued a passport within the following time:
- 3 days - within this period a passport will be issued if there is documentary evidence that a person urgently needs to travel to another country for treatment, visit a seriously ill relative, or attend the funeral of someone close. In this case, the applicant should not have restrictions on traveling outside the country (debts and other aggravating circumstances);
- 30 days - after this amount of time a passport will be issued if you submitted an application requesting the issuance of a new document at your place of registration;
- 120 days - how many days will be required for registration if you submit documents not at your place of residence or registration, but at your place of stay;
- 90 days – if we are talking about persons who have access to state secrets or classified data.
However, all these deadlines are conditional, since they are not always strictly observed. In general, the procedure takes about a month.
You can learn more about how long it will take to prepare documents for traveling abroad from the article “Passport production time.”
The procedure for renewing a foreign passport in 2021
The process of restoring a foreign passport is almost the same as the process of its initial registration. The difference is that in the questionnaire you indicate the reason: to replace what was lost. And supplement the package of documents with the necessary papers. After paying the state fee and collecting papers, you will be able to submit an application for a foreign passport.
The list of documents for obtaining a new passport to replace the lost one is as follows:
- a police certificate about the loss/theft of a passport;
- internal passport;
- photo of the established sample;
- employment history;
- military ID (for persons of military age);
- birth certificate (for the child);
- completed application form.
It often happens that when traveling, people keep all their documents in one place and, along with their foreign passport, lose their national one. In this case, a driver's license, military ID card, or temporary ID card can be presented as proof of identity.
Cost and processing time
There are no penalties for loss of a document. How much it costs to renew a passport depends on the total cost of the following services:
- taking new photographs;
- state duty.
The fee depends on the type of passport, as well as on the age of the recipient. The average state fee varies between 1,000–5,000 rubles. Issuance of a certificate of loss of a document and a certificate of entry is free.
You will learn more about registration costs from the material “Cost of a foreign passport”.
The time it takes to produce a new document depends on where the application is submitted. If you submitted documents at the place of registration, registration will take no more than a month. When a package of documents is provided at the place of actual residence, and not registration, the procedure can take up to 4 months. Returning home and collecting documents at your place of residence will help significantly reduce time costs.
You will learn more about how much time it will take in the article “Passport production time.”
How to recover a lost visa
If there was a visa in your lost passport, this is a serious problem, since the new passport is issued absolutely blank. But this does not mean that it cannot be restored. To do this you need:
- contact the consulate that issued your visa;
- fill out an application for data recovery;
- get a visa.
But this only applies to work and business visas. Other types of visas are rarely reinstated. For example, an American visa is sometimes restored after a person contacts the police, reporting the theft of a foreign passport. However, the tourist will most likely have to apply for a visa stamp again.
When leaving the country if you lose your Schengen visa, you should keep in mind that such types of permits as guest and tourist permits are immediately canceled. You can try to restore the rest.
To do this you need to do the following:
- Renew your passport.
- Collect documents confirming that you have a visa.
- Contact the consulate that previously issued the visa and submit an application for its restoration.
- Conduct an interview with the consul regarding the restoration of the document.
Returning a visa stamp to a foreign passport is a complex procedure, the result of which largely depends on the validity period of the document:
- if the visa is valid for another month or two, it is better to go through the cancellation procedure, which takes only 3-4 days. To cancel a previous entry permit, you must provide a police certificate, a copy of your visa and a new passport. After this, you can apply for a visa again;
- If the visa is issued for a long period with the possibility of subsequently applying for citizenship, applicants undergo the procedure of “re-sticking” the visa. It is not free, but it will cost no more than $20 (depending on the country whose visa is being re-stamped). But since such operations are rarely successful, it is safer to apply for a visa again.
Types of replacement passports
As previously clarified, there are several reasons for replacing a foreign entry document. Let's look at each of them in more detail.
Replacing a damaged document
The concept of passport damage is quite broad. This includes not only some critical damage, but even minor scratches or bends of sheets. You will have to replace the document if:
- it was wet, accidentally washed;
- dented, stained with food, ink, drinks, etc.;
- torn, even if a small part of the page is torn off;
Example of a torn passport
- painted, added dots, dashes, letters, etc.;
- rubbed, scratched (here it all depends on the degree of damage);
- any other damage that changed/disturbed the appearance of the document.
A damaged passport is replaced according to the standard procedure. You collect documents, taking with you the damaged foreign passport, pay the state fee, write an application for a replacement foreign passport, give a package of documents to receive a foreign passport and wait for the new passport to be ready.
Replacement due to data error
Always check your passport for the correct data entered before signing in the register of a FMS officer stating that the information is accurate and you accept the passport. Sometimes there are cases when, due to inattention, mistakes are made when drawing up a document. This is especially true for foreign passports, where the information is translated into English.
If a mistake is made, the passport is no longer valid and requires replacement. Since this did not happen through the fault of the owner of the document, a replacement with a new one should be done within a few hours, maximum 2-3 days. Also, you are not required to pay the fee or provide documents again. You only need 1 photo to paste into a new document.
Replacement due to expiration date
The replacement procedure follows the usual procedure. But it is highly advisable to draw up a new document in advance, before the deadline. Since when traveling abroad, it is quite possible that customs officers will not let you through due to government requirements for the validity period of a foreigner’s passport.
Also, a passport is not issued in 1 day or a week. It often takes more than a month, which can disrupt a planned trip.
If your passport is no longer valid, you can keep it as a souvenir and calmly apply for a new one. If it is still valid, but you do not want to part with it, you can write a statement to the Main Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs about your intention.
Replacement of a passport for a minor
Questions often arise regarding the replacement of a child’s international passport when he or she reaches 14 and 18 years of age. Officially, the law does not require replacing the document, since the child’s data is not subject to changes.
But the child’s appearance can play a significant role. Children change their appearance very quickly, so if a customs officer considers that the photo does not correspond to reality, he may not allow the minor to cross the border. Therefore, it is better to replace your passport if there is such a problem.
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It is also important to have the child’s personal signature on the foreign document. The fact is that children under 14 years old do not put anything in the “signature” column in their passport, but only a dash. And upon reaching 14 years of age, they must sign the document. If a child goes to one of the countries where there are strict rules regarding the entry of foreigners, he may not be allowed through at the border due to the lack of a signature in the passport.
Replacement when there are no blank pages
A foreign passport may be considered invalid if there are no pages available for stamps/visas. Then a new document with the same conditions and terms is also required.
If you still have valid visas in your damaged passport, you can either transfer them to a new one or request a second passport. Since 2021, the law does not limit this possibility in any way.
Example of an application for a second passport
Replacement of the document when changing appearance or surname is also required. The registration process is no different from the previous ones. The only additional thing you need to provide when changing your last name is a marriage certificate, as a basis for making changes to your personal data.
If the appearance has changed beyond recognition, for example, there has been plastic surgery on the face, then additional confirmation from a medical institution is provided.
Expiration of passport abroad
There are cases when Russian citizens have safely left the country, and already in another state they discover that their passport is expired or will soon expire. In this situation, and always when traveling abroad, make it a habit to make scans or photocopies of your documents.
To continue to legally stay in another state and subsequently return to your homeland, you need to take 3 photos, take your existing passports and go to the Russian Embassy. There, request the issuance of a temporary document. After 2 days, they will issue a certificate that will allow you to return to your homeland.
It is valid for only 15 days, during which time you need to arrive in Russia. Upon arrival home, you must provide the certificate within three days to the FMS department where the international passport was issued.
