In this post, I will tell you the story of how I lost my passport in Dubai. And I will explain the exact process of how you can apply for and get a new passport in Dubai. I am an Indian passport holder, but this process is pretty much the same for everyone
Yes, I lost my passport in Dubai. And it was my most most most favorite passport ever. That is because I had stamps from my first ever Europe trip in this passport. Moreover, several passport pages were empty and I cherished the dream of filling up this small booklet with stamps from several different countries around the world. But obviously, life had different plans, and one day I found that I have lost my passport in Dubai.
I am not a travel agent, just a person sharing my experience as it can be helpful for others in a similar situation. I didn’t take any help from any travel agent or any external agency to get my new passport. You can follow these steps and do it yourself.
- Confirm that you have lost it
- Make a police complaint with the Dubai police
- Inform your embassy
- Apply for a new passport at BLS International
- Restamp your visa in your new passport
Lost Passport in Dubai
I lost my passport in Dubai when I had already received a residence visa. The residence visa was stamped inside my passport. So I lost my visa also along with my passport. For several days I searched my belongings for this passport but to no avail. It wasn’t anywhere to be found. Finally, I accepted this fact and started the process of getting a new passport.
In my case, I was working in a foreign country all alone for the first time in my life when I lost my beloved passport. It was a big blow and a really tough time in my life. But if you have lost your passport in Dubai, don’t worry and don’t panic. The process for getting a new one is very simple and straightforward, just a little bit expensive. I have been there and trust me there is nothing to be worried about.
Make a police complaint
The first step after you lose your passport in Dubai is to inform the local police authorities. The process to make a police complaint is very simple. You just have to raise a lost passport complaint via the Dubai Police app. Make the payment of a small fee and raise this complaint.
Once your complaint for a lost passport is raised, you have to just wait until the local police do a simple investigation for it in the public areas around you. After I raised the lost passport complaint via the app, the Dubai police immediately investigated the matter. And then they issued a lost passport report within 24 hours.
Inform your embassy
The next step I did was to inform my embassy. The Indian embassy is located near Karama in Bur Dubai. Several embassies of other countries are also located in the same area. In fact, all embassies are located just next to each other here. Take your police report and your identity proof from India (or your country) and inform your embassy that you have lost your passport. The officials at your embassy will guide you further on how you can now apply for and obtain a new passport for yourself.
Application for a New Passport
Once you have the police report and you have informed your embassy, then the next step is to apply for a new passport.
For Indians who lost passports in Dubai – BLS International is the center that processes all the passport and visa requirements for Indians. Their office is located at Al Khaleej Center near Fahidi (Sharaf DG) metro station. You need to book a prior appointment from their website and keep all the documents ready.
You have to apply online on their website – https://www.blsindiavisa-uae.com/. Take an appointment, and choose the date and time at your convenience.
BLS International Contact Number: +971 04 387 5777
You may contact this number if you have more questions, or for any questions related to passport or visa processing. This center also renews Indian passports that are about to get expired. And they do pretty much everything related to Indian passports.
If you are from any other country, and not Indian passport holder, the process is the same. You need to apply for a new passport at the center that processes passports for your country. You can find all the details about this at your country’s embassy.
Documents needed for New Passport
In my case, I already had the Emirates ID and hence I used it as my identity proof for as long as I didn’t have a passport. I also had attested copies of my lost passport which helped me. The basic documents required for applying for a new passport are –
- Police report for the lost passport in the Arabic & English language
- A photocopy of the lost passport
- Emirates ID
- Passport-size photos. (the photos can be taken at the BLS center itself).
The police report for the lost passport is issued in the Arabic language. But the Indian passport processing center requires an English translation of this Arabic report. This Arabic translation has to be done formally, and legally. So things like Google Translate are not accepted. The formal Arabic translation of any document can be easily made at one of the translation centers located near the embassies in the Karama area in Bur Dubai.
Keep all the documents ready and make sure you have cash because they do not accept cards. They accept only cash payments. In the case of the Indian passport lost in Dubai, it cost me somewhere around 750 dirhams in 2022. Yes, I told you earlier that this will be expensive. And this was the slow option. The faster premium lounge option for BLS is also available at a premium price. But to be honest, this cheaper option was also pretty fast.
Restamp the visa on your new passport
My residence visa was stamped inside the passport which I lost, unfortunately. So I had to restamp the residence visa on my new passport. My company’s PR did this process for me immediately. And thus ended my nightmare of losing my passport in Dubai.
It was indeed a difficult time for me, but the Dubai police authorities, the Indian embassy, my company’s PR, and BLS international passport center helped me through this.
Important Note: In Dubai, your passport is your identity proof. The only other identity proof apart from your passport here is your Emirates ID. Anything else that you use in your home country as identity proof, for example, a PAN card or Aadhar card in India, is useless in this country. Make sure to always keep multiple copies of your passport, if possible keep the attested copies.
My original passport with my adorable stamps from my first ever European trip sadly could never be found again. It was a big blow for me to lose this passport, and for several days I could not even accept this fact. I had really made this passport with an intention of collecting stamps from all over the world. This loss still hurts me even today, but I do tell myself – IT EEZZZ WHAT IT EEZZZ!
