Traveling abroad during your holidays is synonymous with a change of scenery, discoveries, and enriching encounters. But these moments of pleasure can also turn into a nightmare when you lose or have your identity papers stolen in a country other than your own . What are the steps to take, with whom? Answers to treasure if you find yourself in this situation.
Before this mishap happens, it is better to plan ahead. It is strongly advised to make copies of your identity papers before going abroad, better still, to scan them and be able to access them on the Internet via a computer or a smartphone to prove your identity more easily in the event of loss or theft of his papers.
It is also useful to note the address of the French consulate of the country visited in order to get there easily in the event of a problem. It is also best not to keep all of your identity papers on you, to keep only one in case of control and to leave the others in a safe place during your outings abroad.
The first thing to do following the loss or theft of your identity papers abroad is to inform the local police authorities of the presumed place of theft or loss as soon as possible. This declaration allows you to disengage from any fraudulent use by another person of their identity documents, otherwise you remain responsible for criminal acts committed with your official identity documents.
This declaration must then be registered with the French consulate in the country where you are. The consulate is in fact the one-stop shop for the French administration abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides all the contact details of French consulates by country in its "Advice to travelers" section of its website.
These branches of the French administration abroad are authorized to record the loss or theft of a passport, an identity card or a driving licence. At the end of this registration, the consulate will give you a receipt attesting to the theft or loss of your identity papers which will be necessary in the event of a request for replacement of your papers. In the event of theft or loss of identity papers, the consulate can also provide a laissez-passer to be able to return to France or a passport with a validity limited to one year if you have to go abroad.
If you are temporarily residing abroad or if your stay is long enough, you can request the replacement of your identity papers from the French consulate of the country where the loss or theft took place. You will then have to provide documents (photo ID, proof of address, or even a birth certificate).
The receipt issued by the consulate in the event of loss or theft of identity papers acts as a driving license pending replacement. The deadlines for issuing identity papers range from two to six weeks.
