At home, with the rest of your important documents in one fixed place, and a scan in a digital vault. When travelling, keep the passport apart from your wallet and the copy apart from the original. The copy and a spare photo come in handy at the consulate if the passport is lost abroad and you need a temporary passport to get home.
At home: with the rest of your documents
A passport does not need a hiding place of its own. Keep it in the same fixed place as birth certificates and insurance policies: in a binder, or in a home safe if you have one. Before a trip you can see at a glance whether it is there, and after you get back you know where it goes. Keep children’s passports together with their parents’.
A scan of the photo and data page goes into a digital vault, so the original and the copy never share the same fate.
Before and during the trip
Start with the expiry date. A Polish passport issued to a child under 12 is valid for 5 years, and from age 12 for 10 years, so younger children’s passports run out more often and it is easy to miss.
On the road, the passport should not live in your wallet or in the same pouch as your bank cards. One theft then takes everything at once. If the country you are visiting does not require you to carry your passport at all times, it can stay in the hotel safe.
Keep the copy apart from the original: a printout in a different bag and a scan you can open on your phone. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises taking a copy of your travel document and a current passport photo abroad, because the photo is needed for a temporary passport application.
The passport is lost abroad
Once you are sure the passport is gone, report the loss to a Polish consulate. The report is free. The rules, for example whether you need an appointment and whether an honorary consul can handle it, differ between posts: check them on the website of the Polish embassy in the country you are in. You can also report the loss online on gov.pl, logging in with a Profil Zaufany (Polish trusted profile) or an e-dowód (Polish electronic ID card). If the passport was stolen, report the theft to the police as well.
Once your identity and citizenship are confirmed, the consul can, at your request, issue a temporary passport (paszport tymczasowy) for the journey back to your place of permanent residence. A copy of the passport does not replace the document, but it gives the consul a number, an issue date and a photo to compare. It matters most when your ID card was lost along with the passport.
A reported passport cannot be recovered
A passport loses its validity on the day it is reported, and the invalidation cannot be reversed. If it turns up in a suitcase pocket the next day, you can no longer travel on it. Before reporting a loss, search your luggage and ask at the hotel reception. If it was stolen, do not wait: the document is in someone else’s hands.
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Put your most important documents in one secure place
Sejf Życia is an encrypted space for documents, access details and instructions for loved ones. Only you decide who gets access, and when.