Adam Venturez flew from London to Cyrpus where he lost his passport and was met with a series of challenges and costs in order to get home – and now he’s shared advice on how to deal with the scenario
A man who claims he was forced to endure “every travellers’ worst nightmare” has shared advice on what to do should you ever suffer the same misfortune whilst holidaying abroad. Brit, Adam Venturez said he was “stuck” in a foreign country with “no way of getting home” having lost his passport and missed his flight.
The seasoned traveller used the opportunity to inform others on TikTok of the process they should follow in order to get back to the UK. “The first step is to go and report my passport as lost or stolen to the local police,” he began in a video, pointing out that this doesn’t cost a thing.
Adam, who shared his advice from Paphos, Cyrpus, continued: “The next step is to apply for an emergency travel document so I can get home without a passport.”
To do this, he was required to pay £125 via the UK government’s passport website, which states: “An emergency travel document lets you travel from abroad if you need to travel urgently and cannot use your UK passport. It is usually only valid for one single or return journey. You can travel through a maximum of 5 countries.”
Adam warned, however: “It could take up to two days for a few days to register.”
He added: “Usually, the next step would be to book a hotel, Airbnb or just somewhere to stay for the next couple of days.” However, fortunately in his case, he revealed his girlfriend has a property in Cyprus meaning he could “avoid the faff”.
Adam said he received a notification from the government later that night, meanwhile, advising him he could collect his document the following morning.
Indeed, Adam shared a follow-up video the next day whilst travelling to the British High Commission in Nicosia (Cypriot capital).
“They gave me this bright blue British passport that is only valid for one day, which will be taken off me once I get home,” he continued. “I’m impressed they turned this around so quickly in 24 hours so I can now book a flight – and I have found one for £117.”
After arriving at Larnaka International Airport, however, Adam was hit with an unexpected expense that saw him forced to splash out around €50 [£43.25] to check in in person, as he was unable to do so online without his original passport and having missed the deadline to check in online free-of-charge.
You can apply for an emergency travel document if all the following apply:
- you’re a British national
- you’re outside the UK
- you need to travel within 6 weeks
- your UK passport has been lost, stolen, damaged, is full, has recently expired or is with HM Passport Office or a foreign embassy
- you cannot renew or replace your UK passport from abroad before you travel
- you have had a valid UK passport that was issued on or after 1 January 2006
Meanwhile, if you have not had a UK passport that was issued on or after 1 January 2006, you’ll usually need to apply for a UK passport instead of an emergency travel document. Further information can be found here.