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My passport was stolen yesterday (16 Dec 2018) in Barcelona. As a consequence I missed my flight yesterday night to Stockholm and I am stuck in Spain. I have all the copies of my documents (passport, visa, airline tickets, Police Report etc) with me. I am not sure if the Indian consulate in Barcelona will provide a travel document for me to fly back to Stockholm. I need to immediately get back to Sweden-Stockholm, because I have a return flight next week (23 Dec 2018). Also I try to get a temporary passport from Indian Embassy in Stockholm which is easier for me. I was on a business trip and all my belongings are in Stockholm hotel.

I am stuck and helpless. Not sure if I have to travel to Indian Embassy in Madrid for a duplicate/temporary passport or if I will get a travel document from the Indian consulate in Barcelona. Has anybody faced the same issue? I will update on my progress. Didn't see it coming.

Sorry if this is a duplicate, my brain is just blank.

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  • 1
    Related travel.stackexchange.com/questions/10590/… and travel.stackexchange.com/questions/88936/…
    – RedBaron
    Dec 17, 2018 at 8:42
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    Have you tried contacting Indian consulate at Barcelona before posting here? By all accounts you need to travel to Madrid to get the replacement document (Emergency Certificate) which should be acceptable for intra schengen travel and will enable her to come back to India.
    – RedBaron
    Dec 17, 2018 at 8:44
  • Approached the Barcelona Consulate; they asked me to carry the documents with the Police Report to the Airport and try to use those. Will update if the Airport authorities allow me to fly based on the documents I have. If they dont then I am directed to Indian Embassy Madrid.
    – santosh r
    Dec 17, 2018 at 11:09
  • Did you try to catch your flight yesterday and if so, who refused you to fly? The airline, the airport staff or some other official agency? Strictly speaking, you do need a passport to fly this route, but depending on the airline and the airport, id checks on intra-schengen flights are usually only random or non-existent.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Dec 17, 2018 at 13:53
  • First of all my brain stopped working, second was the delay in getting Police Report. By the time I came out of police station it was too late. My friend who was with me took that plane back to Stockholm and document verification for him was done before boarding. They checked his passport; RyanAir. Passport checks are strict for non-Europeans.
    – santosh r
    Dec 17, 2018 at 18:10

2 Answers 2

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Below is from the Embassy's website. You will need to go to Madrid but there are other things you need to do too, like filing a police report.

i. If your passport is lost or stolen you must immediately report this to your nearest police station (Comisaría) and file a report (denuncia).

ii. After filed a police report, you are required to personally visit Embassy of India, Madrid, for obtaining replacement passport or Emergency Certificate to continue with their travel out of Spain. The procedure with regard to issue of Emergency Certificate & Duplicate Passport are as follows:

PROCEDURE FOR ISSUE OF EMERGENCY CERTIFICATE IN LIEU OF LOST PASSPORT:

In the event of loss of passport in the case of an Indian tourist who wishes to return directly to India, he/she may opt for getting an Emergency Certificate issued (which is a one time travel document valid for only one journey to a destination in India). The journey is possible with a connecting flight without need to leave the airport at intermediate country. Emergency Certificate will be issued on same day. The procedure for issue of an Emergency Certificate is as follows:

Emergency Certificate checklist

PROCEDURE FOR ISSUE OF DUPLICATE PASSPORT IN LIEU OF LOST PASSPORT:

In the event of loss of passport in the case of an Indian tourist who wishes to travel to a country other than India, he/she will be issued a passport. Passports are printed in India. The procedure for issue of a Duplicate Passport is as follows:

Passport application checklist

Please Note:

  • Please bear in mind this facility is applicable only for Indian nationals who are visiting Spain temporarily for purpose of tourism or business.

  • Issue of duplicate passport/one way travel document depends on the confirmation of authencity of the previous passport, nationality and
    clear police verification reports etc. The processing may take longer time in case we have to seek clarification/confirmation from other
    PIOs/Missions.

  • You may need to arrange a new flight to allow you time to obtain a travel document.
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  • I wanted to know if something similar to "Emergency Certificate" will be issued for me to get back to stockholm(NOT INDIA). I read all the above details from the embassy site and couldn't find if a simple ID letter could be issued for cases like mine. I am afraid its not there.
    – santosh r
    Dec 17, 2018 at 11:04
  • @santoshr your case isn't really unique, you will have to follow this process, "You may need to arrange a new flight to allow you time to obtain a travel document." You can always call the embassy on +34 913 09 88 82. Or the Barcelona consulate on +34 936 81 39 12. My answer is what you have to do.
    – BritishSam
    Dec 17, 2018 at 11:18
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    Barcelona Indian consulate asked me to check if the Airport authorities can allow me to fly to Stockholm with the existing document copies and the Police Report. If rejected, they asked me to approach Indian Embassy in Madrid. Will update soon from the airport. Else I have to anyways go to Madrid.
    – santosh r
    Dec 17, 2018 at 11:22
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Summary and solution of the ordeal

After obtaining the Police Report it was too late so went back and booked the same hotel. Rushed to the Barcelona consulate for some ID letters, instead they suggested me to try my luck with the airlines which didn't happen. No airlines allowed me to fly based on the Police Report and the document printouts I had.

Took the afternoon train to Madrid and booked AirBnB near Usera in Madrid. Went to Indian Embassy the next day and after a lot of hassle(since I had no CASH(15-Euros) to pay for the Emergency certificates, for which the Embassy DEMANDED that I give them the same in a written affidavit) got my Emergency Certificates(WHITE PASSPORT valid for a month).

Paid $180 extra and rescheduled my Stockholm Emirates tickets from Madrid (to Bengaluru via Dubai) and flew back to India. Also I was advised to take either direct flights or flights via GULF countries and strictly AVOID via LONDON.

Some friends even suggested train route from Madrid to Stockholm(almost 25+ hrs with ID checks at borders). Multiple trains, random ID checks and almost 500 euros trip was not consoling for me :)

Also initially when asked for an ID to travel back to Sweden, the Indian Embassy said their ID letter to an India lady with a similar case(passport stolen in Barcelona), who wanted to fly to Sweden didn't work. Airlines didn't allow her to fly back to Sweden. This was a day before I went to the Embassy. I am not sure if there are any lucky devils who pulled it off. Document checks are very strict for Indians.

NOTE TO INDIANS: As an Indian we expect people of Indian Embassy to be KIND towards us. But please DON'T make that MISTAKE. They are ruthless in their execution. They will make you realize that you have committed THE BIGGEST CRIME BY LOSING YOUR PASSPORT. I was wandering for 15 euros and a couple of euros for that automated photo-vending machine. ATMs are rare and I was not even sure if my card would work for cash withdrawal. I offered to pay an Indian staff personnel via PayPal in exchange for some cash, but in vain. Finally got help from some restaurant, swiped card for coffee and some cash. Spaniards were helpful and that wiped off all my grudge :0)

REFERENCES LINKS

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  • I rolled back to the good answer, taking out the unsuited parts.
    – Willeke ♦
    Jan 28, 2019 at 11:21
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    Joined "Indians in Barcelona" & "Indians in Spain" Facebook groups. Always helpful if you could trace a friend of a friend of a friend :0) in that city/country. Every country practically has a "Indians in ***" Facebook group. Ask for quick questions and help. People are much better than Indian Embassies/Consulates.
    – santosh r
    Feb 13, 2019 at 10:54
  • Random people on internet often have wrong information. Which is why we here want links to official sources and quotes from them.
    – Willeke ♦
    Feb 13, 2019 at 11:06
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    @Willeke Agreed, mentioned Facebook so you could borrow some cash (and find a place for stay) and not really official work. This is like the worst case scenario when you aint got a dime on you.
    – santosh r
    Feb 13, 2019 at 11:26
  • Facebook is also a place where scammers hang out, and worse people, who offer places to stay and next you know you have to work in a profession you would never have chosen.... forced in prostitution for instance. Never post that you are in need of money in a forum where people come you have never met. Most people are good, but only one has to be bad for your live to be ruined. Getting information to find official help is one thing, 'meeting people' is something completely different.
    – Willeke ♦
    Feb 13, 2019 at 15:44

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