Losing your passport in a foreign country can be a really irritating experience. If you lose it in conjunction with your credit cards etc, then you have to also be concerned about identity theft. But people can and do get their passports stolen and lost. So what do you do to avoid it?

The obvious thing is to not lose it in the first place. That means basic personal security. Keeping your passport and credit cards in a “passport wallet” is an idea, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that thieves aren’t smart enough to figure out that the fat dude with the Polo shirt and Omega watch is also carrying a “hidden” wallet around his neck.

In some cases a passport wallet is just a good way to get garrotted.

Remember that most hotels have a safe, so consider leaving your passport there. Don’t ever carry your passport in your hand luggage as this is the item most likely to be stolen. Keep it on your body.

But when and if you do get it stolen, you need to get a police report (your travel insurance will pay for a replacement) and then call your embassy. Your embassy will usually be able to replace your passport pretty quickly, but it will cost you.

If you are in a country in which your government doesn’t have an embassy, then don’t panick. Governments will usually have a standing deal with one of the embassies to take care of foreign citizens. For example, an Australian losing their passport in many African countries will be able to find help at the Canadian or UK embassies. Remember also that the expat embassy crowds are pretty tight knit, so any embassy will be able to point you in the direction of your own embassy if you get lost.

Remember also that most western passports are a valuable commodity in many countries for fraudsters. Some fetch as much as $10,000 on the black market (don’t think of selling yours and claiming it was stolen - the guys at the embassy have seen that trick a hundred times). As many as 20,000 Belgian passports alone have found their way onto the black market. The trade in passports is big business and yes, they want yours too.

Make sure it isn’t the next one on the market.