Consular protection. What to do if you lose your passport abroad

Citizens temporarily abroad, in case of loss of a passport, its damage or expiration of its validity period, apply to the consular office of the Republic of Uzbekistan to obtain a certificate of return to the Republic of Uzbekistan (Regulation on the passport system in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Appendix No. 1 to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for No. UP-4262 dated 05.01.2011. (hereinafter – the Regulation)

• Citizens who left for permanent residence abroad in accordance with the established procedure, but did not register with the consular office of the Republic of Uzbekistan and who lost their passport during their stay in the Republic of Uzbekistan, apply to the collection point at the place of their last permanent residence.
  If the applicant has housing, the internal affairs bodies issue him a temporary residence permit and, together with the interested ministries and departments, document him with a passport.
  If the applicant does not have housing for his temporary registration, the internal affairs bodies, in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, document his passport as an exception. (clause 35-8 of the Regulation)

• In the absence of a consular post of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the host country, a citizen applies to that consular post of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad, the consular district of which includes the country of his stay/ (clause 35-9 of the Regulations)

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If a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan, while abroad, has lost his foreign passport, the first thing he should do is contact the law enforcement agencies at the place of loss (theft) of the passport to obtain a certificate of the loss of the passport or a protocol on contacting the police. On the basis of this document, then you need to get a certificate from the migration police.

After that, the citizen must inform or personally arrive at the consulate of the Republic of Uzbekistan. At the consular post, he will be required to:

• Certificate (protocol) from the police about the loss of a passport
• 2 photos
• Payment of the cost of issuing a certificate of return to the Republic of Uzbekistan (the cost depends on the country of stay)

A return certificate can be issued immediately if a citizen has documents proving his identity (military ID, service ID).

If a citizen who has lost his passport cannot immediately present evidence confirming his identity and belonging to the citizenship of Uzbekistan, the consulate will officially request the necessary data from the competent authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In this case, a certificate of return will only be issued after a response has been received.

The return certificate is valid for 1 month. During this period, a citizen who has received a certificate of return must leave for his homeland.

But (!) Another problem may arise: in accordance with the legislation of some countries, a foreigner can leave the country only with a valid visa or as part of his tourist group. Therefore, to the received certificate of return (identity document), the citizen must issue an exit visa (a document that gives the right to freely leave the territory of the host country).

When the exit visa (as a rule, is given for the period of validity of the certificate of return) is received, the citizen can only return home and issue a new passport at the place of residence.

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Remember (!)

Citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, legal entities can always receive full protection of their rights and interests by consular institutions of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad. A consular officer is obliged to take measures to ensure that citizens and legal entities of the Republic of Uzbekistan enjoy all the rights granted to them by international treaties to which the Republic of Uzbekistan and the host state of the consular post are parties, international customs, as well as the legislation of the host state of the consular post, if such rights do not contradict the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan. (Article 15 of the Consular Charter of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.ZRU-517 dated January 17, 2019)

In addition, consular offices contribute to the development of friendly relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the host states and the expansion of economic, trade, scientific, technical, cultural and other ties with them. (Article 1 of the Consular Charter of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.ZRU-517 dated January 17, 2019)

We wish you the best of luck and no problems, but we recommend that you take a printout of this document with you on your travels!