If you lose your US passport in Cebu ( Philippines) my story

The information below is not to be interpreted as legal advice as I
am simply telling you what I did. Each case is different but if you
are in a similar situation as me, you will probably do better if you
follow the steps below. I would still like to relinquish any legal
resposibility and just provide my personal advice only. Rules change
all the time, you may need some other documents but but this is how
I had to go about it in Nov/Dec 2004.

I arrived in the Philippines on Sept 1/2004 and had two extensions
of stay. When I had my passport stolen on Nov 21 I still had over
one month left on my extension and I chose to do it through the US
Consular Services in Cebu. I was not in a hurry as I still had my
original tourist visa extended so I could afford to take a bit of
time. In Cebu it takes two to three weeks.

If you are on a short visa, maybe the US embassy in Manila can help
better. I have heard they can issue emergency passports. At this
time, their number is:
02-528-6300.

I had my US passport stolen from my sports bag at SM Department
Store as I was going up the escalators. Some thieves created a
diversion by falling in front of me. My bag was picked and I was
left without a passport.

Having it replaced was a mini- ordeal. Mainly because nobody knows
how to do it or what documents are necessary. I, therefore would
like to post here in order that if ,Heaven forbid, it happens to
you, you could replace it as easily as possible.

OK, here we go.

First and foremost, please have a copy of the first page of your
passport stored in safe place and know your passport number. Carry a
copy with you and also that of the visa page at all times while you
are in Cebu. Also, know your incoming flight date and number and the
name of the airline.

1)Once you discover the loss/absence of passport- carefully record
the date/ time and the place of the event.

2)Retrace your steps and look for it. Go back to where you were last
and ask people around if they had seen it.

3)If there is a Security Office or security guards, ask them for
help and make a report with them if possible.

4)Go to the nearest police station and make a police report. At
first a policeman will make an entry into a "police blotter". Then,
he will ask you to go to Cebu City Hall and pay some fees. Go to
Cebu City Hall- main entrance and tell them that you need to pay for
a police report. They will direct you to the appropriate window. I
think it is about P60-70. They will give you revenue stamps and a
receit and you will go back to the police station.

5)The police will now type up a full report and give you two copies-
one on thick paper with revenue stamps on it and one on thin "calk"
paper. Make a few xerox copies of the one on thin paper.

6)Next- go get six 2" x 2" passport photos on white background. Any
decent photo shop will do. I recommend the ones at any big mall.
They will do the job in less than an hour.

I also hope you have a xerox copy of the first page of your old
passport. You will still be able to replace it even if you do not
have a copy, I am sure, but having a copy will facilitate it more.

7)Go and see a lawyer to execute an "Affidavit of Loss" ( you will
need it for the Philippine immigration). Please do not forget to
bring the number or a copy of your old passport to the lawyer as
well as the police report.

This is the lawyer I recommend: Erwin Rommel Heyrosa, Tel Number :
032 345 8899. Mandaue City Hall, City Legal Office, Ground Floor,
Mandaue. He should be available during regular office hours.
The "Affidavit of Loss" will cost you P120 or so to execute. He will
give you three copies.

8) Go to the "US Consular Services". They are located at Water Front
Hotel- in the basement. Walk in through the main door, turn right,
walk all the way to the stairs, go down, turn right and turn right
again. Go all the way to the end.

They provide consular services Monday through Friday from 9:00am-
11:00 am. Be there at about 8:00-8:30 am to get a priority number
from the guard.

Take with you:

a) The photos.
b) The police report on thick paper with revenue stamps on it.
d) P5000 in cash ( at this time) ( about one thousand in small bills-
P100, P50, P20, etc. and some coins). If you have $85 in cash so
much better but they may want exact change. Since the peso
fluctuates in value, you may want to take more just in case.
c) A xerox copy of the fisrt page of your old passport.

You will be given three documents by a Filipino clerk to fill out-

One- application for a new passport. This one is very detailed and
surprisingly enough, on it they ask you if you had been married
before and they want to know the dates of previous marriages and
divorces. I could not remember those and just put the months and the
application went through nonetheless. It helps if you know those.

Two-A semi-blank sheet for a sworn statement on which you will have
to write out a full report of what happened and how you lost your
passport.

Three- A form for a replacement of a lost/stolen passport. On it you
will have to fill out different blanks and explain how the passport
was lost and what steps you took in trying to recover the
lost/stolen passport. That is why it is necessary for you not to
just go home when you discover that the passport was lost but to ask
people around and retrace your steps as well as notify security if
this is in a place where security guards are present.

You will go back to the Filipino clerk with the money to make your
payment.

After you fill these three out, you will need to wait for the
American council to arrive if he/she is not there yet. (S)He will
administer an oath and give you a receipt.

Now, you will have to wait for two to three weeks to get the
passport back.

Go there after about 17 days- it should be there.

Once you get a new passport, go to the Philippine Immigration located
in Mandaue. They are open during normal business hours. Any taxi
driver will take you there.

Bring with you:
1)Your new passport.
2)The name of your airline and the flight number INTO the
Philippines.
3)Affidavit of loss- the original.
4)Copy of your old passport.

Explain what happened at the information window and tell them you
had lost your passport and need a stamp to exit the country.
They will most probably guide you inside to see the person in charge
of extensions. Please give him the documents/info above. He will
take you old passport copy and check your records. There will be a
form to fill out and then you will need to sign it. A special stamp
will be put into your new passport enabling you to leave.

I arrived in the Philippines on Sept 1/2004 and had two extensions
of stay. When I had my passport stolen on Nov 21 I still had over
one month left on my extension and I chose to do it through the US
Consular Services in Cebu. I was not in a hurry as I still had my
original tourist visa extended so I could afford to take a bit of
time. In Cebu it takes two to three weeks.

If you are on a short visa, maybe the US embassy in Manila can help
better. I have heard they can issue emergency passports. At this
time, their number is:
02-528-6300.


The whole thing took me three weeks.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, indeed. I now try
and carry only copies of my passport pages and my California DL.
This is usually enough for most activities in the Philippines. I now
always store my passport in a safety deposit box at the hotel.

That's all, folks.

There is a direct entrance. When you come up the drive there is a Y split.
Go left (not right to the hotel) and there is an entrance there at the
bottom of the hill. Make sure you have change for any fees, they will not
provide change normally though we lucked out. :-)

Joel

8) Go to the "US Consular Services". They are located at Water Front
Hotel- in the basement. Walk in through the main door, turn right,
walk all the way to the stairs, go down, turn right and turn right
again. Go all the way to the end.

There is a direct entrance. When you come up the drive there is a Y split.
Go left (not right to the hotel) and there is an entrance there at the
bottom of the hill. Make sure you have change for any fees, they will not
provide change normally though we lucked out. :-)

Joel

8) Go to the "US Consular Services". They are located at Water Front
Hotel- in the basement. Walk in through the main door, turn right,
walk all the way to the stairs, go down, turn right and turn right
again. Go all the way to the end.

After having my wallet disappear in Kiev, Ukraine, I got this pouch which
wraps around your belt then drops down into your pants. Works great. Mostly
I left my passport with relatives, only needed it to get money from western
union, change money and to get ferry or airline tickets. I make copies of
passport and keep one copy, give one to relatives and leave one with US
relatives. Thankfully never had it stolen.

Joel

"ExpatAuthority" wrote in message
m...
The information below is not to be interpreted as legal advice as I
am simply telling you what I did. Each case is different but if you
are in a similar situation as me, you will probably do better if you
follow the steps below. I would still like to relinquish any legal
resposibility and just provide my personal advice only. Rules change
all the time, you may need some other documents but but this is how
I had to go about it in Nov/Dec 2004.

I arrived in the Philippines on Sept 1/2004 and had two extensions
of stay. When I had my passport stolen on Nov 21 I still had over
one month left on my extension and I chose to do it through the US
Consular Services in Cebu. I was not in a hurry as I still had my
original tourist visa extended so I could afford to take a bit of
time. In Cebu it takes two to three weeks.

If you are on a short visa, maybe the US embassy in Manila can help
better. I have heard they can issue emergency passports. At this
time, their number is:
02-528-6300.

I had my US passport stolen from my sports bag at SM Department
Store as I was going up the escalators. Some thieves created a
diversion by falling in front of me. My bag was picked and I was
left without a passport.

Having it replaced was a mini- ordeal. Mainly because nobody knows
how to do it or what documents are necessary. I, therefore would
like to post here in order that if ,Heaven forbid, it happens to
you, you could replace it as easily as possible.

OK, here we go.

First and foremost, please have a copy of the first page of your
passport stored in safe place and know your passport number. Carry a
copy with you and also that of the visa page at all times while you
are in Cebu. Also, know your incoming flight date and number and the
name of the airline.

1)Once you discover the loss/absence of passport- carefully record
the date/ time and the place of the event.

2)Retrace your steps and look for it. Go back to where you were last
and ask people around if they had seen it.

3)If there is a Security Office or security guards, ask them for
help and make a report with them if possible.

4)Go to the nearest police station and make a police report. At
first a policeman will make an entry into a "police blotter". Then,
he will ask you to go to Cebu City Hall and pay some fees. Go to
Cebu City Hall- main entrance and tell them that you need to pay for
a police report. They will direct you to the appropriate window. I
think it is about P60-70. They will give you revenue stamps and a
receit and you will go back to the police station.

5)The police will now type up a full report and give you two copies-
one on thick paper with revenue stamps on it and one on thin "calk"
paper. Make a few xerox copies of the one on thin paper.

6)Next- go get six 2" x 2" passport photos on white background. Any
decent photo shop will do. I recommend the ones at any big mall.
They will do the job in less than an hour.

I also hope you have a xerox copy of the first page of your old
passport. You will still be able to replace it even if you do not
have a copy, I am sure, but having a copy will facilitate it more.

7)Go and see a lawyer to execute an "Affidavit of Loss" ( you will
need it for the Philippine immigration). Please do not forget to
bring the number or a copy of your old passport to the lawyer as
well as the police report.

This is the lawyer I recommend: Erwin Rommel Heyrosa, Tel Number :
032 345 8899. Mandaue City Hall, City Legal Office, Ground Floor,
Mandaue. He should be available during regular office hours.
The "Affidavit of Loss" will cost you P120 or so to execute. He will
give you three copies.

8) Go to the "US Consular Services". They are located at Water Front
Hotel- in the basement. Walk in through the main door, turn right,
walk all the way to the stairs, go down, turn right and turn right
again. Go all the way to the end.

They provide consular services Monday through Friday from 9:00am-
11:00 am. Be there at about 8:00-8:30 am to get a priority number
from the guard.

Take with you:

a) The photos.
b) The police report on thick paper with revenue stamps on it.
d) P5000 in cash ( at this time) ( about one thousand in small bills-
P100, P50, P20, etc. and some coins). If you have $85 in cash so
much better but they may want exact change. Since the peso
fluctuates in value, you may want to take more just in case.
c) A xerox copy of the fisrt page of your old passport.

You will be given three documents by a Filipino clerk to fill out-

One- application for a new passport. This one is very detailed and
surprisingly enough, on it they ask you if you had been married
before and they want to know the dates of previous marriages and
divorces. I could not remember those and just put the months and the
application went through nonetheless. It helps if you know those.

Two-A semi-blank sheet for a sworn statement on which you will have
to write out a full report of what happened and how you lost your
passport.

Three- A form for a replacement of a lost/stolen passport. On it you
will have to fill out different blanks and explain how the passport
was lost and what steps you took in trying to recover the
lost/stolen passport. That is why it is necessary for you not to
just go home when you discover that the passport was lost but to ask
people around and retrace your steps as well as notify security if
this is in a place where security guards are present.

You will go back to the Filipino clerk with the money to make your
payment.

After you fill these three out, you will need to wait for the
American council to arrive if he/she is not there yet. (S)He will
administer an oath and give you a receipt.

Now, you will have to wait for two to three weeks to get the
passport back.

Go there after about 17 days- it should be there.

Once you get a new passport, go to the Philippine Immigration located
in Mandaue. They are open during normal business hours. Any taxi
driver will take you there.

Bring with you:
1)Your new passport.
2)The name of your airline and the flight number INTO the
Philippines.
3)Affidavit of loss- the original.
4)Copy of your old passport.

Explain what happened at the information window and tell them you
had lost your passport and need a stamp to exit the country.
They will most probably guide you inside to see the person in charge
of extensions. Please give him the documents/info above. He will
take you old passport copy and check your records. There will be a
form to fill out and then you will need to sign it. A special stamp
will be put into your new passport enabling you to leave.

I arrived in the Philippines on Sept 1/2004 and had two extensions
of stay. When I had my passport stolen on Nov 21 I still had over
one month left on my extension and I chose to do it through the US
Consular Services in Cebu. I was not in a hurry as I still had my
original tourist visa extended so I could afford to take a bit of
time. In Cebu it takes two to three weeks.

If you are on a short visa, maybe the US embassy in Manila can help
better. I have heard they can issue emergency passports. At this
time, their number is:
02-528-6300.


The whole thing took me three weeks.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, indeed. I now try
and carry only copies of my passport pages and my California DL.
This is usually enough for most activities in the Philippines. I now
always store my passport in a safety deposit box at the hotel.

That's all, folks.