Lost and replaced Vanuatu passport: the first 48 hours and issue of a new one

Lost Vanuatu passport in brief

In brief: on loss or theft, first get a police report, then inform your consultant or agent and prepare an application for a new passport. The ordinary passport is issued by the Vanuatu Immigration and Passport Service, and a machine-readable passport is not extended or restored in the same booklet: a new document with a new number is issued.

Losing the passport does not affect citizenship, but it creates a risk if someone else uses the document. So the report and the application are filed at once, and a passport found after the loss has been reported is not used for travel. Scheduled renewal at the end of the validity period is covered in the article renewing a Vanuatu passport, and how the programme itself works is shown in the review of the Vanuatu citizenship by investment programme.

Passport and certificate: two different documents

In brief: the citizenship certificate confirms the status itself and is issued once by the Citizenship Commission. The passport is a travel document issued by the Immigration and Passport Service, and on loss a new one is issued.

The passport is carried and put at risk on every trip, while the certificate is kept separately: in a safe or a bank safe deposit box. If both documents are in the same folder, one theft deprives the family of both the passport and the main proof of citizenship.

A biometric Vanuatu passport is issued for 10 years, and the new document after a loss gets a new number and a new validity period. The data and security features in the passport itself are described in the article what document a Vanuatu citizen receives.

Loss abroad: the first 48 hours

In brief: in the first hours, file a report with the police of the country you are in; the same day, inform your consultant or agent; within the first day, sort out your return; on the second day, collect the documents for a new passport.

A police report confirms the date and circumstances of the loss and separates the holder from the actions of whoever finds or stole the passport. Most programme participants keep their first citizenship and return home on their main passport. If entry was on the Vanuatu passport, departure is arranged with the migration service of the country you are in.

Offers from intermediaries to buy an “urgent duplicate” are not accepted: Vanuatu passports are issued only by the state. The signs of such schemes are in the article Vanuatu passport scams.

Lost at home

In brief: if the passport goes missing at home, the procedure is the same: a report or a statement of loss, a message to your consultant, an application for a new passport. It is not worth waiting until the next trip, because issuing a new document takes time.

While the replacement is under way, citizenship does not change, and the certificate confirms it at banks and with government bodies. Check straight away where else the lost passport’s details are held: in bank forms, visas, bookings, powers of attorney.

Theft: how it differs from loss

In brief: in case of theft a police report is mandatory, and other stolen documents and cards are checked along with the passport. Someone may try to use a stolen passport, so the report needs the date and a description of the circumstances.

If bank cards, a phone or copies of the certificate went missing along with the passport, the cards are blocked, passwords are changed and the bank is warned about the stolen document. Vanuatu’s Passports Act makes it an offence to use another person’s passport for travel or identification, and the report protects the holder if the stolen document surfaces.

A damaged passport

In brief: a passport is considered damaged if pages have been soaked, the cover is torn, the protective film on the data page has come away or the machine-readable zone cannot be read. A passport like this may be rejected at the border, so it is replaced before travelling.

The holder’s details, photo and signature are printed on the second page of the passport and protected by a film with an ultraviolet pattern. If the film is damaged, the document’s authenticity is harder to verify. You must not correct, glue or tear out pages yourself: the Passports Act classes changes to a passport without lawful authority as an offence. A damaged passport is surrendered when the new one is collected.

How replacement works

In brief: replacement takes place without a trip to the islands: the status is confirmed by the certificate, the application and photographs are prepared, it is filed with the Immigration and Passport Service through an agent, and the new passport arrives by courier.

The new passport gets a new number and a new validity period; it is not a copy of the old document. The issue time depends on how complete the document set is, so trips are not planned for the date immediately after the expected collection. If biometrics are needed for the new passport, the agent sets the city and date.

Document set for a new passport

In brief: for a new passport, the FAQ section of the Citizenship Office website lists a completed form, original documents, two identical recent photographs, a witness over 18 who has known the applicant for at least a year, the fee, and the last passport if there is one.

The witness completes the identity confirmation section by hand, signs the declaration and on the back of one photograph writes the applicant’s full name, the date and their own signature. If the documents from the original application are held by BRIDGES, we assemble most of the set from the archive.

The photographs are identical and recent, and the witness is chosen in advance: they must have known the applicant for at least a year and sign the declaration by hand. These two points most often delay filing when the passport is needed urgently.

Lost citizenship certificate

In brief: losing the certificate does not mean losing citizenship, but it complicates passport renewal, registering children and proving status. A request for a new certificate or a certified extract is sent to the Citizenship Office through an agent, and it takes longer than replacing a passport.

For the request, prepare the Vanuatu passport if it has survived, a copy of the certificate or approval letter, the main passport and an explanation of the circumstances of the loss. That is why copies of the certificate and approval letter are kept in secure storage, and notarised copies are used for day-to-day tasks.

How to prove citizenship until the new passport arrives

In brief: while a new passport is being issued, citizenship is confirmed by the citizenship certificate, its notarised copy with an apostille and a copy of the Commission’s approval letter. For travel these documents do not replace a passport.

A bank, notary or counterparty is usually satisfied with the certificate and the holder’s main passport. If the document is needed in another country, a copy of the certificate is certified and apostilled. The police report and proof of filing an application for a new passport explain why the Vanuatu passport cannot be shown at present.

A child’s passport

In brief: every child has their own Vanuatu passport; a child cannot be entered in a parent’s passport. The application for a passport for a child under 18 is completed by a parent: they sign the consent section, and a child aged 10 to 17 signs in the box in the top right-hand corner of the form.

The machine-readable zone of a passport contains the data of only one person, so the ICAO standard requires a separate passport for each. Children’s passport validity is checked before the school year and before every trip, and on loss the procedure is the same as for an adult, plus the birth certificate and a document proving the relationship. Family composition and children’s passports are covered in the article Vanuatu citizenship for the family.

What the Passports Act says

In brief: Vanuatu’s Passports Act classes as offences travelling on a cancelled or someone else’s passport, handing your passport to another person for travel, withholding someone else’s passport against the holder’s will, altering a passport and selling it. The penalty is imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to 5,000,000 vatu, or both.

• A found passport. After the loss has been reported, the old passport is not used for travel.
• Withholding a passport. An intermediary may not hold a client’s passport as security for payment: the law classes withholding a passport against the holder’s will as an offence.
• A demand to surrender the passport. If the chief passport officer demands that the passport be surrendered, the demand is complied with.
• Corrections. Any changes, additions or marks in the passport without lawful authority are prohibited.

The Passports Act describes the obligations of the document holder, and a citizen’s general rights and obligations are collected in the article what the status requires of a citizen.

Typical situations

In brief: in urgent situations two tracks run at the same time: the trip is sorted out on the main passport, and the replacement of the Vanuatu passport is started in parallel.

• The passport went missing three days before departure. A new passport cannot be issued in that time. If the destination allows, travel on the main passport; otherwise postpone the trip. How to choose a document for a trip is covered in the article which passport to fly on.
• The passport is damaged, and a transaction is due in a month. Start the replacement at once and warn the other party. Some tasks requiring proof of citizenship are handled with the certificate and notarised copies.
• The certificate is lost, and passport renewal is coming up. The certificate request and the passport application are prepared in parallel, and the agent says which confirmations will be accepted during the restoration.
• Documents went missing during a move. Work out where the documents were last seen, and file a report with the police of the country where the loss probably occurred.
• An intermediary will not return the passport. Keep a record of the correspondence, demand the document back and contact an agent from the official list on the Citizenship Office website.

Replacement without loss

In brief: a new passport is also issued when the pages run out, the name changes or an error is found in the details. A married surname is entered in the passport on the basis of the marriage certificate.

Frequent travellers run out of pages before the passport expires, and some countries require several blank double pages for a visa. When the name changes after marriage, divorce or for personal reasons, the application is accompanied by a marriage certificate, a divorce decree or a change-of-name document with a translation and apostille. Each issue of a new passport is a good opportunity to check the spelling of the name against other documents. A review is in the article the name in a Vanuatu passport. How scheduled replacement at the end of the validity period works is shown in the case of a new passport in place of an expired one.

Timing and costs

In brief: the government fee for a new passport is paid per invoice, and other costs depend on the situation: translations and apostilles of change-of-name documents, notarised copies, biometrics, courier and support. The issue time depends on how complete the document set is.

The main cause of delays is documents sent after filing. So the set is completed in full before filing, and the photographs and witness are prepared in advance. Offers of an “expediting fee” or a “priority payment” outside the official invoice are not accepted.

A lost passport costs weeks of waiting, and the most expensive things are delay and attempts to resolve the matter through dubious helpers. If a trip is important, it is planned on the main passport until the new Vanuatu passport is received.

After receiving the new passport: what to update

In brief: the new passport gets a new number, so the details are updated everywhere the old one was recorded: in visas, banks, airlines, bookings and powers of attorney.

• Visas. Visas in a lost passport are lost with it. Some countries accept visas in a damaged passport when the old and new passports are presented together; the rule is checked before travel. Where no visa is needed at all is shown in the list of visa-free countries for the Vanuatu passport.
• Banks. If an account was opened with the Vanuatu passport, the bank is given the details of the new document. How banks and border officers view this document is covered in the article how banks and borders treat the passport.
• Airlines. The passport number is updated in loyalty programmes, bookings and fast-track border systems.
• Powers of attorney and contracts. Documents with the old passport number are updated on a scheduled basis, so as not to have to explain the discrepancy at the moment of a transaction.

It is convenient to make a list once of all the places where the passport number is recorded and go through it with each replacement. Home-country obligations regarding a second citizenship, using Russia as an example, are covered in the article dual citizenship of Russia and Vanuatu.

How to reduce the risk of loss

In brief: the certificate is kept separately from the passport, scans of all documents are held in secure storage, notarised copies are used for day-to-day tasks, and when travelling the passport is left in the hotel safe.

• Separate storage. The certificate in a safe or bank safe deposit box, the passport at home, copies separate from the originals.
• Digital archive. Scans of all passport pages, the certificate, the approval letter and certificates.
• Notarised copies. Two certified copies of key documents for banks and transactions.
• When travelling. The passport in the hotel safe, a copy with you, if local rules allow.

How BRIDGES handles document replacement

In brief: BRIDGES keeps the documents from the client’s original application, so replacement starts on the day you contact us. We prepare the application and the document set and handle filing through the agent and delivery of the new passport.

If citizenship was not obtained through BRIDGES, we reconstruct the picture from the client’s documents and handle the replacement or the certificate request in the usual way. The service is described on the page replacing a lost passport, and scheduled renewal on the page passport renewal.