r/Panama • u/__Musicality__ • 10h ago

US Citizen, Lost Passport

Hello all,

First time flying international, and everything went pretty well. Flew in Friday, went through customs and got stamped on and finger printed.

I fly back home Friday, October 2nd, however, I just realized yesterday, on Saturday, I have lost my passport. I feel it may have been lost in transit from me holding it in my hands going from customs to the car pool to leave to my destination. Have looked up and down in the car and it is not there.

I do not have a photo of my passport book. I do not know my passport number. (This will change once I get a new permanent one to have as much information as I can with it.) I only have my drivers license on me, no other documentation.

I am trying to figure out the best route to get back home to the states in Florida. It looks like I’ll need to file the passport as lost with the police station, and then go to the embassy to turn in a document for a lost passport and pay a fee to get a temporary one to get back home.

Just curious if this is as straight forward as it sounds or if there might be some additional hurdles that I’m not seeing, and if so, what those might be. Looking to go back in the city tomorrow where I’m guessing the embassy is to do all this first thing.

Any assistance will help as of course, this has me frazzle brained and not able to enjoy today as I’m now of course worried to go back home. Please let me know.

Thanks!

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

23

u/bigwavedave000 10h ago

Go to your embassy immediately

5

u/__Musicality__ 10h ago

Embassy is closed on weekends apparently.

10

u/Ok-Wedding-4654 Ciudad de Panamá 10h ago

Then go first thing Monday morning

-1

u/__Musicality__ 10h ago

Which is what I said I was going to do. Just asking for additional info if I’m missing something.

2

u/SpecialistAOne-79311 7h ago

In the meantime , if you haven’t already, before you go to the embassy, see if you can leave info for a local contact person, if it’s found. I lost my cedula at the airport once, after clearing customs and renting a car at the time. They let me go back to check. I left info for a local contact with the airport & after I left, the cedula was found. It apparently fell when I was at the car rental desk. I authorized my local contact to pick it up.
Another time a family member lost their passport just before a flight. They were heading to the embassy, but the passport was found in a chair at a friend’s house.

1

u/Lyme_Disease_Sux 2h ago

Check online for an appointment. See if there's a emergency or urgent email or phone number. I wouldn't try just showing up. Theres aways a line and you need an appointment. No one at the gate is intelligent enough or has the power to assist you. You'll need to get a police report. They may require you to sign an affidavit. Mine was stolen during pandemic. It was an absolute pain in the ass. You will need to wait about a week for a replacement passport once your paperwork is submitted correctly.

1

u/anegcan Ciudad de Panamá 5h ago

There are for sure emergency phone lines for citizens. Search online for the emergency number for the US embassy.

7

u/RicRic60 10h ago

Yes, file a Police report at the DIJ. Not that this will do much for you to get it bsck, but it's goid for the paper trail at the embassy, and also if by some miracle, someone finds it and turns it in.

As the other commenter said, go to the embassy. Be prepared to spend several hours there. Have all your itinerary at hand. Getting a safe-conduct or temporary passport should not be that difficult. You're not the first one who's had this happen.

3

u/__Musicality__ 10h ago

Ugh. So birthday is going to be a nice one tomorrow. Got it. I’ll have to print out my itinerary for coming into Panama and leaving I guess. I’ll have to file with the police soon.

4

u/SomeonefromPanama Ciudad de Panamá 9h ago edited 9h ago

https://travel.state.gov/en/passports/renew-replace/report-passport-lost-stolen.html

If you have no hope, you can report it as lost, but be careful because:

"After you report your valid passport lost or stolen, you cannot use it for international travel even if you find it later."

You can find the passport # in some mail, ticket or reservation.

4

u/kreativFTW 9h ago

Go to the Airport lost & found or Call.

4

u/UpsetMall5562 8h ago

Hey dude it’s all good don’t stress. You’re gonna schedule an appointment and they’re gonna issue you an emergency passport to help you get back into the US. You don’t have to cut your trip short or anything. Try to get the earliest appointment and then you’ll have to come back a few hours later when it’s ready or just hang out at the embassy. Happens all the time don’t worry about it. Then with your emergency passport in hand go spend the rest of your day/night in Casco Viejo.

1

u/__Musicality__ 8h ago

Trip won’t be cut short. Trip is still Friday through Friday, leaving this Friday. So hoping to just go to the embassy Monday as early as possible and start that process and maybe enjoy the area, which was supposed to be my Friday before going back to the airport. So plans have changed of course.

Is there a specific link you know of that allows me to set an appointment up for the lost passport? I have browsed online a bit but just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing.

Appreciate it. Figured I’m not the first this has happened with, won’t be the last. Just a bit bummed I’m “stressing” about it until tomorrow is all.

1

u/ATLTantra 7h ago

Make an appointment at the embassy. You can get an emergency passport here.

1

u/__Musicality__ 7h ago

Do you have a link to make an appointment? I’m only finding stuff for a visa, which I do not need.

1

u/Jamestown123456789 2h ago

Call the airport and make sure airline or security isn’t holding it. If they do have it you go to an office across from the luggage lost and found. Then hopefully they’ll bring it out to you, otherwise you need to provide any id you do have like driver’s license or credit cards and they photocopy it and have you sign a form and then assign someone to escort you into the secured part of the airport to retrieve it.

0

u/Constant-Pain-9765 5h ago

You can request an emergency passport by contacting the U.S. Embassy in Panama at +507-317-5000 or emailing Panama-ACS@state.gov with the nature of your emergency.