Lost or Stolen Passport Overseas: What to Do, Step by Step

By The Escape desk · Last verified 4 October 2026

If your Singapore passport is lost or stolen abroad, first report the loss to ICA online with Singpass, and make sure the place of loss is not entered as Singapore. Once reported, the passport is cancelled for good, even if it turns up later. Then choose: to fly home, apply for a Document of Identity (DOI), which costs S$15 and is collected from the nearest Singapore Overseas Mission; to keep travelling, apply for a new passport at the mission, which takes about four to six weeks. A replacement passport costs the normal fee plus a S$50 penalty for a first loss, or S$100 for later ones (fees as of October 2026).

Take a breath. It happens to careful people too, and Singapore’s system for getting you home is quick, cheap and well practised.

Quick facts

• Report the loss to ICA online, from anywhere, within 14 days; sooner is better.
• A reported passport cannot be used again; if found, surrender it within 14 days.
• Document of Identity: S$15, to travel back to Singapore.
• With Singpass, the DOI needs no photos and no local police report.
• New passport overseas: about four to six weeks, S$80 (or local equivalent).
• Replacement penalty: S$50 first loss, S$100 after that, on top of the passport fee.

What to do, step by step

1. Search properly once. Check the hotel safe, the taxi or Grab app’s lost-and-found, and the last shop or counter you used. Once you report it lost, there is no going back.
2. If it was stolen, make a police report with the local police. You will need it for a DOI without Singpass, and your travel insurer will usually want one too.
3. Report the loss to ICA online using Singpass. Enter the real country of loss, not Singapore. You can report for children under 16 as well.
4. Decide: home or onward? If you are heading home, apply for a DOI. If you need to continue to other countries, apply for a new passport at the mission and plan for a four- to six-week wait.
5. Apply for the DOI. With Singpass, apply through ICA’s e-service, pay S$15 by card or PayNow, and choose the mission where you will collect it. Without Singpass, go to the mission with a local police report, two recent passport-sized photos and proof of citizenship such as your NRIC or birth certificate, and pay S$15 or the local equivalent in cash.
6. Tell your airline you are travelling on a DOI, and rebook if needed.
7. Back in Singapore, apply for a new passport with ICA, from one working day after reporting the loss.

Stuck at night or in an emergency? MFA’s 24-hour Duty Office is on +65 6379 8800 or +65 6379 8855. Registering on MFA’s eRegister before you travel helps the mission reach you quickly.

What it costs

Item	Fee (October 2026)	Notes
Document of Identity	S$15	Card or PayNow online; cash at the mission without Singpass
New passport, online	S$70	ICA e-service, where available to you
New passport, counter or overseas mission	S$80	Or local equivalent abroad
Penalty, first lost passport	S$50	Non-refundable, on top of the passport fee
Penalty, each later loss	S$100	Non-refundable, on top of the passport fee

Worked example: Mei loses her passport in Tokyo on the third day of a week’s holiday, her first ever loss. She reports it online to ICA, applies for a DOI with Singpass and pays S$15, collects it at the Singapore Embassy, and flies home as planned. In Singapore she applies for a new passport at the counter: S$80 plus the S$50 penalty, or S$130. Total cost: S$15 + S$130 = S$145, plus any change fee on her flight. MFA notes that people who have lost their passport may not be able to use ICA’s online renewal service, so budget for the counter fee.

How to make a loss less painful

• Keep a photo of your passport’s data page in a secure folder on your phone and in email.
• Make sure Singpass works on your phone overseas before you leave; it makes the DOI far faster.
• Carry two spare passport photos in your wallet, in case you need the non-Singpass route.
• Check whether your travel insurance pays for replacement documents and extra hotel nights.

The WahLiao Verdict

Search once, then act fast: police report if it was stolen, ICA report online, DOI if you are going home. For most holidaymakers the DOI is the right answer, at S$15 it is the cheapest part of the whole episode, and with Singpass you will not even need photos. Save the MFA Duty Office number in your phone today, before you need it.

Questions people ask

I found my passport after reporting it lost. Can I use it?

No. Once reported, it is cancelled even if recovered, and you must surrender it to ICA within 14 days.

Do I need a police report?

Not if you apply for the DOI with Singpass. Without Singpass you need a local police report, and if the passport was stolen you should make one anyway.

Can I keep travelling on a Document of Identity?

The DOI is for getting back to Singapore. To continue your trip, apply for a new passport at a Singapore mission and allow about four to six weeks.

My child’s passport is lost. What changes?

The steps are the same. A parent can report the loss of a passport for a child under 16 online.

Sources: ICA, loss of passport: reporting and penalties; ICA, passport fees; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, what to do when you have lost your passport overseas; Singapore Embassy in Jakarta, MFA Duty Office numbers. The Escape explains; it does not advise.

Read next: MFA’s eRegister and the 24-Hour Consular Line · Travel Insurance in Singapore · Back to The Escape

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