Lost passport with valid Schengen visa

Question

I had a Schengen visa issued by Spain which has not expired, but on a passport which I lost. I have been told that the visa is invalid, as the passport is lost. But when I applied for a new Schengen visa from another country's embassy, the VFS staff refused to receive my application. I have a police report, along with a copy of the lost passport and Schengen visa. However, the staff told me that the visa must be first canceled by Spain, because it is still valid. After that I contacted the Spanish embassy, but I have had no answers so far. Does anyone know if Spain can reissue my visa? Is it true that I can't apply for a visa from any other country until this is taken care of?

Answer 1

Perhaps you misunderstood the immigration officer. Your visa is not per se invalidated because your passport has been stolen, but since you don't have the passport with the visa sticker anymore, you need a replacement visa.

The normal procedure is that you contact the embassy or consulate which issued your previous visa. They should be able to place a new visa sticker in your new passport without you having to go through a regular visa application.

Answer 2

Update: I contacted the French Consulate in London, and they were very responsive. They told me that they've marked my stolen visa as lost, and I should have no problem applying for a Schengen visa with another country.

So I'd suggest you to contact your local Spain consulate to report your loss.

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I’m in a similar situation with you except that I’m still waiting for my passport to arrive.

I can confirm that the Schengen visa cannot be re-issued on new passport due to the theft of the old passport according to the France visa center. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Answer 3

After going through the Visa Code and Visa Information System (VIS) text, I see no standard procedure that deals with a lost passport/visa and a visa replacement.

Article 34 (Annulment and revocation) of the Visa Code does allow the visa holder to request that the issued visa be revoked.

3. A visa may be revoked at the request of the visa holder. The competent authorities of the Member States that issued the visa shall be informed of such revocation.

(Based on the wording, you are not required to make this request to the country that issued the visa.)

Since the visa had been lost, it cannot be used.

Therefore the visa holder should first request for the issued visa to be revoked (Reason: loss of passport that contains the visa).

What form this request should be made in is not stated.

A letter, togeather with the police report over the loss of the passport should be sufficient.

The result of this request should be a notification that the visa has been revoked at your request (point 17).

STANDARD FORM FOR NOTIFYING REASONS FOR REFUSAL, ANNULMENT OR REVOCATION OF A VISA
17. □ revocation of the visa was requested by the visa holder

Once the previous visa has been revoked, you must then apply for a new visa.

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If you have lost your passport, but do not yet require a new visa, make the request to the country that issued the visa. When you later make an application, they will see that the previous visa has been revoked at your request.

If you do require a new visa after you have lost your passport, then submit both the request for revocation of the lost visa togeather with the application for a new visa with the country that will be your main destination of your next trip.

Nothing in the Visa Code states that this cannot be done togeather, but is is important to understand that the previous, lost, visa must be revoked before a new visa can be issued.

See also answer to: Difference between Visa Withdrawn, refusal, and rejection