Service guide
Consular Emergencies Abroad: Lost Passport, Emergency Certificate, Death Abroad
When something goes wrong abroad, the order you do things in matters. This page is designed to be read on a phone, under pressure.
Lost or stolen passport — do this in order
- Report it to the local police and get a written report or reference number.
- Contact the Indian mission for your area. Tell them if you need to travel urgently.
- Gather what proves your identity: a photocopy or photo of the lost passport, Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence, voter ID.
- Choose your document:
- Emergency Certificate (EC) — a one-way travel document to return to India, issued quickly.
- New passport — if you are staying abroad. Expect verification, which takes longer.
- Sort out your visa or residence permit in the host country — it was probably in the lost passport.
Keep a scanned copy of your passport, visa and OCI in secure cloud storage before you travel — it is the single biggest time-saver in this situation.
Death of an Indian national abroad
- Inform the nearest Indian mission immediately; it can guide you through local formalities.
- Typical documents: local death certificate, the deceased’s passport, consent from next of kin, and a no-objection or embalming certificate for transporting remains.
- India runs an online e-Clearance for Afterlife Remains (eCARe) portal used for the transport of mortal remains to India; missions list it on their consular pages.
- Missions can also issue certificates for transporting ashes.
Distress, grievances and welfare
- MADAD — the MEA’s online consular grievance portal for problems such as unpaid wages, stranded workers, custody issues and missing persons.
- Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) — missions can use it to help Indian nationals in distress, for example with emergency accommodation, legal help or air passage in deserving cases.
- Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra and worker-welfare desks in Gulf countries, plus the Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana insurance scheme for emigrant workers.
- Many missions run regular “open house” sessions where you can raise problems in person.
Urgent visa for a family emergency
Foreign nationals, including people of Indian origin without an OCI, who must travel to India because of a family death or medical emergency can ask the mission about an emergency visa. Several missions run out-of-hours lines for exactly this.
Frequently asked questions
Can I fly home on a police report alone?
No. Airlines and Indian immigration need a valid travel document — normally an Emergency Certificate if your passport is lost.
Will the embassy pay for my ticket home?
Missions do not routinely pay for travel, but welfare funds can assist Indian nationals in genuine distress, assessed case by case.