Lost or stolen passports

If your national identity card or passport is stolen or lost in Spain, you should immediately report it to the law enforcement authorities. Then, go to a Documentation Unit to get a duplicate document, after making an appointment on the web link https://www.citapreviadnie.es or by telephone on the 060 number.

When issuing a document for a lost or stolen document, the validity of the national identity card will be limited to the validity term of the previous document. However, if the document is within the last 90 days of its term of validity, it will be issued for the validity term of a renewal.

In cases of loss or theft of a valid passport, the validity of the first duplicate issued in its place will be limited to the term of validity of the lost passport. In the event of subsequent loss or removal, the validity of duplicates may be limited to six months.

If the lost or stolen passport is in the renewal period, i.e. there is less than one year left until the expiry date, a passport with the validity according to the age of the applicant may be issued.

If your passport is lost or stolen in another EU Member State, you must file a declaration of loss or theft of Spanish documents at the Spanish consular mission at your location. You can apply to the same consulate for a replacement. Find the c ompetent embassy or consulate here.

Your declaration of loss of theft of documents to the consulate does not count as a report. You are recommended to file a report at the nearest local police station, to avoid liabilities deriving from fraudulent use of the document by third parties.

When you have filed your report to the police or your declaration of loss or theft to the consulate, the passport will be cancelled and will no longer be valid at border crossings. If you get the document back later, you must not use it for travel, because it will have been recorded as cancelled on the border authorities’ databases.

File the appropriate report (loss or theft) at a police or Civil Guard station and refer to their country’s consular authorities in Spain for the documentation.

If they are travelling within the Schengen area, border checks are not carried out at internal borders between Schengen States, other than in exceptional circumstances (see Articles 25 to 29 of the Schengen Borders Code ).

If the national of another Member State is going to cross an external border on the way to a third State (outside the Schengen area), they will need a current passport or travel document. Therefore, if their document is lost or stolen, they must refer to their country’s consular authorities in Spain for the documentation.

The same applies as in the case described above. Also consider what documentation the airline or other carrier requires, depending on the booked destination.

Laissez-passer

The Spanish consulate can issue a laissez-passer to Spanish nationals whose passport or identity card is lost or stolen outside Spain, so that they can travel to Spain.

They must apply in person to the consulate for a laissez-passer. Minors and people who do not have legal capacity must attend in person, accompanied by their parents or guardians.

A laissez-passer can be issued within a day, provided that the applicant brings the necessary documents, and that grounds do not exist for not issuing it. A laissez-passer is free of charge and its validity is strictly limited to the time needed to complete a single journey to Spain.

On arrival in Spain, the laissez-passer must be surrendered to the police officers on entry control duty or, failing this, handed in at a police station within a time limit of three working days after arrival.

Find the competent embassy or consulate here.

Temporary passport

When there is a proven and urgent need to obtain a travel document, return to Spain is not envisaged, and it is not possible to wait for  issue of an ordinary passport, the consular office can issue a temporary passport.

It is not appropriate to issue a temporary passport in cases where an ordinary passport has expired and there was sufficient time to anticipate these circumstances.

The requirements for obtaining a temporary passport are the same as for an ordinary passport. A temporary passport is valid for a maximum of 12 months and non-renewable. It does not incorporate the chip which stores biometric data.

Important:

Some countries do not recognise Spanish temporary passports or require them to be used in conjunction with an entry visa, which they would not require for entry to the country on an ordinary passport. Before travel on a temporary passport, you must check with the authorities of your destination country about its validity and any visa requirement.

National identity card (DNI)

Spanish citizens who lose their DNI in Spain have the option of applying for a duplicate, against proof of urgency, and only during the opening hours of the issuing units.

Passport

The same procedure exists for passports. The main airports at Madrid and Barcelona have emergency teams on duty round the clock, who can issue documents (passports only) to allow travel, against proof of an imminent journey.

File the appropriate report (loss or theft) at a police or Civil Guard station and refer to their country’s consular authorities in Spain for the documentation.

Spanish citizens who lose or have their passport stolen must file the appropriate report (loss or theft) at a police station or other State law enforcement branch and must contact their country’s consular authorities in Spain regarding the replacement of their documents.

Although a valid travel document is needed to travel, Spanish citizens can travel on an expired passport to/from countries which have signed and ratified the European Agreement on the movement of persons between the Member States of the Council of Europe, subject to fulfilment of the conditions corresponding to the country of origin, annexed to the Agreement.

Spain permits travel on an expired passport up to five years after expiry, to and from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.

In practice, some airlines refuse boarding to holders of expired documents. Travellers are therefore advised to be in possession of a valid, current travel document.

Another recommendation: always consult the embassy of the destination country before commencing travel.