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Easy answers about life in Switzerland
  • All themes
  • Travel and emigrate
  • Travelling abroad
  • Passport and identity card
  • Lost or stolen passport or identity card
All themes
  • Travel and emigrate
  • Travelling abroad
  • Passport and identity card
  • Lost or stolen passport or identity card

Lost or stolen passport or identity card

If you lose your ID documents or if they are stolen, you must file a police report to obtain a new passport or ID card.

Good to know

If you are abroad on vacation or on business and your passport or identity card is lost or stolen, file a report with the local police. Then, apply for a new passport or identity card at the Swiss embassy or consulate in the country where you are staying.
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In Switzerland

If your passport is lost or stolen, you need to file a report at the police station. By filing a report, your passport or identity card will automatically be cancelled. Even if you find your passport or identity card, you will no longer be able to use them, and you are required to hand them over to the passport office in your canton.

Abroad

If your Swiss identity documents are lost or stolen while you are abroad, you need to file a report with the local police and notify the Swiss embassy or consulate in the country where you are staying. The embassy or consulate will, in turn, notify the police in Switzerland.
You can then order new identity documents or obtain an emergency passport if you need it right away, for example to return to Switzerland.

In Switzerland

After you have filed a police report, you can choose from one of the options listed on the Ordering a passport or identity card page to obtain a new passport or identity card.

Abroad

After you have filed a police report, you can apply for a new passport or identity card directly at the Swiss consulate or embassy where you filed the report, or order one online:
Keep in mind that you may need to wait up to 30 working days before receiving the new documents.
In cases of urgency – for example, if you cannot otherwise return to Switzerland - you can request a temporary passport.
In cases of urgency, where justified, you can apply for a temporary passport at your cantonal passport office or at a Swiss embassy or consulate in the country where you are located.
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