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My friend was in Frankfurt, Germany when he lost his passport and contacted me. The German business visa was of course in it. I actually had no idea what to do in such situations. Although he found the passport later, but i would like to know should a person do under such situation. This answer may differ for different countries, but i would like to know as an Indian citizen travelling to some other country.

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  • I guess, you don't really need the Visa once you have got in to Germany. Of course, to get a new PASSPORT, you simply contact the Indian Embassy, in Germany. ie, the Indian Embassy is the thing that your country (India) owns in Germany. You need only google "indian Embassy in Germany" to find it: indianembassy.de As you can see it is in Berlin. You'd simply phone them and they'd tell you what to do about a lost passport.
    – Fattie
    Sep 13, 2016 at 9:19
  • Then you have the issue of getting the GERMAN paperwork again. Exactly as Henning explains very elegantly below, the Indian people at the Indian Embassy - will of course know exactly how to do this: they will tell you what to do. (Since they do it every day!) Again, you can probably just "not bother" replacing the German visa if, say, you are not coming again. Or, just wait until you get back to India and replace it at your leisure (if you're coming again).
    – Fattie
    Sep 13, 2016 at 9:21
  • @JoeBlow: The Schengen policy is that a visa is not only required when entering the area but is also documentation of your right to stay in the area, and the exit immigration when you leave is supposed to check that you complied with the visa conditions. So I wouldn't assume as blithely that lacking the visa is unproblematic for a traveler in this situation. Sep 13, 2016 at 9:24
  • A quick google search leads to indian embassy, germany and they have all info (point 3)
    – RedBaron
    Sep 13, 2016 at 16:41
  • @HenningMakholm "the exit immigration when you leave is supposed to check that you complied with the visa conditions" That's actually optional for them to do. So he might get away with it
    – Crazydre
    Sep 13, 2016 at 19:17

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Generic answer:

The experts in dealing with this situation are your country's consulate in the foreign country. (If your country has an embassy in the host country, the embassy will usually also act as a consulate, but this is not always true -- be sure to research it in advance. Even if your country has an embassy they may also have consulates that are closer to where you find yourself, particularly in large countries).

Before you leave home, look up the contact details for the relevant consulate(s) and keep them with you, in several different places such that you're unlikely to lose all of them to pickpockets or burglars.

The consulate will be able to arrange for an emergency passport so you can return home. They will usually recommend (and often require) that you go to the host country's police and report the theft of the original passport. Since dealing with these situations is one of the core purposes of a consulate, they will also have the practical experience to know which local bureaucracy is involved in dealing with the loss of the visa.

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  • Side note: If you are an EU citizen (which the original poster isn't), any EU embassy or consulate can help you if there is none of your own country.
    – o.m.
    Sep 13, 2016 at 11:44

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