Postal

My grown daughter has always been a little too cavalier for me about keeping her passport in a safe place. I should have known what was coming when she asked me last week if I'd seen her passport - FIVE HOURS before leaving for Germany! (It was in the pocket of the coat she'd worn home from Germany two months before.)

So four days into her trip I received the frantic call. It was 1 AM, she was leaving for Amsterdam at 8:30 AM, and she couldn't find the passport she'd been keeping in a zipped jacket pocket. Yes, she was very hysterical.

I told her to go to the US Consulate in Frankfurt (three hours away from her) first thing in the morning. At 11 AM she arrived at the Consulate, only to find no bags could be brought inside. She called and asked my opinion; I said leave the bags as close to the door as possible and go inside. "And act upset and helpless!" I advised.

Two hours later she had a temporary passport and was on her way to Amsterdam.

I just thought this was an interesting lesson for all of us in case this ever happens in our lives. It's good to know the US Consulate is there to help in times like that.

Oh, and her bags were still there when she left.

S_Holmes

Happily it worked out for her. Does she have any idea what happened to the lost passport?

I'm really shocked the bomb squad hadn't been called to the scene if her unattended bags were indeed left close to the door!

LoveItaly

Hi Postal, one never stops being a parent do they? Ever notice even when our kids know "everything" it is us they call when there is a problem.

One thing I do not understand, and probably you don't either. Didn't the US Consulate have somewhere to store the bag, and also someone to search the bag first? I can't imagine one is expected to just leave their bag "outside" of the consulate. Cannot understand for various and obvious reasons.

Mary_B

My husband and I lost our passports in Athens in 2000. We left our bags at our hotel (I know this wasn't an option for your daughter) when we went to the Embassy. It should be noted that you must pay for your passport in CASH and the new passport photos will need to be paid for, also. The Consular that assisted us was very nice, but they will not provide you any financial assistance - they will only assist you in obtaining what you need (ie money) from your own sources. We, luckily, had our driver's licenses for identification, some cash, and our credit cards.

A long story, we ended up getting our passports back at the end of our trip.

lincasanova

re the bags not allowed inside.

many consulates are not set up with the necessary personnel nor apparatus to deal with extra bags, although they do experience the same level of threat as an embassy.

P_M

A lot of worse things can happen besides losing a passport, yet somehow this has always been one of my biggest concerns while traveling. My friends call me paranoid, but I guard my passport like it's a bar of gold. Of course, that doesn't guarantee it'll never disappear.

I am really surprised to learn that bags are not allowed. So you can't even take in a purse? Wow. God forbid, but if I should ever need this info, this has been a valuable lesson. Thanks for posting this.

LoveItaly

It doesn't make sense to me. If you need a driver's license for I.D., credit card etc.including cash then it seems one is allowed to take some personal items into the Consulate.

Guess Postal's daughter also had her luggage etc. But it does seems strange to me that she could leave her luggage outside without security checking it out. I just don't get it.

Grasshopper

Mary B, My travel partner had her passport stollen in Athens in 2000. I thought the whole process of getting a new one was pretty interesting. Interestingly, there was a guy there who was getting one because he "had forgotten his at home". I asked "How did you get this far?" His response was, "That's what everyone keeps asking me."

We weren't allowed to take cameras or extra bags but they had someone at the entrance to check them with.

nytraveler

There's no way he got out of the US and into Greece witout a passport. He probably had his stolen by a chance female "companion" and was embarassed to say so.

Or - he could be lke the idiot on my one and only tour - who managed to somehow drop his travel wallet with passport, plane tickets etc over the side of a canal boat in Amsterdam - and then blame the boat captain for "swerving". (And he was the one at the end of the tour who didn;t know why the guide should get a tip - just for doing her job.)

Postal

You're all right about the security issue as far as the Consulate goes. I asked her if there wasn't a Marine or something on the outside, and she said no, it was just one door in a large building with a sign that said do not bring any bags inside. I don't know if that included purses as she doesn't carry one. I was very surprised that her bags and others were simply left by the door - and even more surprised no one touched any of them!

Mary_B

Obviously, since 9/11, security is A LOT tighter. However, back around 1987-1988, my best friend was flying home to Germany and left her passport at college. She got out of the U.S. and into Germany, but had a heck of a time trying to get back!

I, too, used to be one of those people that feared losing my passport - thinking it would be the end of the world - and it FELT like it when I realized they were gone and had to tell my husband (this was, as luck would have it, the FIRST night we were in Athens and had just arrived earlier that day after a horrendous day of flying - dealys, missed planes, lost luggage, etc). I was, of course, BESIDE myself with grief!

Now, I know what to do and that, as P_M said, a lot of things worse than that can happen. Losing one's passport wasn't that bad, but I'm sure it would have been worse if we didn't have ID or cash and had to try to get someone from back home to fax identification.

J62

I am the same way as others. Concerned, but not necessarily paranoid about losing my passport while overseas. I keep a photocopy of my passport in my suitcase as well as a scanned copy on my yahoo email account. That way I figure from any computer with internet access I can pull it up in a pinch. I figure that if I lose my wallet along w/ passport, a xerox or printout of my passport is better than no ID to speed up a replacement. I might be wrong, but it makes me more comfortable.

Mary_B

What a great suggestion, J62! I will have to scan ours and send them to myself via email! Never thought about that! Ahhhh, the wonders of technology!

Grasshopper

Keeping a scanned copy is a great idea! MaryB, did you have to go to the police and file a report? The embassy to us we had to bring a police report. That was really an adventure!

Mary_B

Grasshopper,
No, the Consular didn't require us to have a police report; although we did file one later that day (and I must say, I didn't mind AT ALL having to speak to those GORGEOUS Greek policemen!).

Traveler863

The State Dept recommends you make 2 copies of your passport. Leave one at home with a family member and one with you kept seperate from original passport. This will speed up the replacement process. I think the scanning idea and keeping it in an easily accessible place, like Yahoo email, is an excellent idea.

P_M

On J62's good advice I have scanned our passports and I will keep a copy in my e-mail. I will still take along hard copies, but if those should disappear it's good to know I don't have to call home and ask someone to fax it to me.

Thanks, J62!!