Did you know?
Canadian passport holds the eighth highest ranked passport in the world.
Canada regularly features among the countries with the world’s most powerful passports, offering visa-free access, which is seen as a measurement of the freedom of citizens of a country, to 185 destinations.
On a recent trip to Italy which started in Venice, our passports were stolen from my backpack. Yes, I know rookie mistake, but sometimes it happens to the best of us. We were to depart on a cruise in two days, and I was in a panic to get replacement passports as the cruise ship would not let me embark without them.
The first step in applying for new passports was figuring out who to contact and where to get new ones. I would advise always travelling with a cell/internet package (which, luckily, I had) to make those critical inquiries. The second step is to file a police report in the city where your passport was stolen. Eventually, we did make the right connections and travelled from Venice to Rome via high-speed train at 257km to secure our replacements.
The Canadian Consulate was terrific, and we had our passports within 24 hours of arriving in Rome. It is important to note that NOT all countries have consulates that can issue passports. For example, in Italy, only the Rome consulate will issue and neighbouring countries like Malta also use Rome, Italy. Replacement passport applications MUST be made IN PERSON. That means it is MANDATORY to travel to Rome from wherever you are to apply.
These are our temporary passports issued in Rome after the originals were stolen in Venice.
My hands were shaking when I finally received them, and I wanted to cry. Never take for granted these documents, how important they are to keep safe while travelling, and the privileges that come with having a Canadian Passport!
See below some helpful links for contacting a Canadian Consulate in the case of stolen or lost passports:
Contact information for Canadian embassies and consulates abroad, what to do and how to get help in case of emergency when you are travelling in a foreign country, and how to ask us questions and give us feedback.
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE CONTACT INFORMATION
Email:
- sos@international.gc.ca
- Emergency contact form
Telephone:
From outside Canada
- Call the nearest embassy or consulate.
- +1 613 996 8885 (call collect where available)
- Toll-free numbers in some countries
SMS:
+1-613-686-3658 (carrier charges may apply)
WhatsApp:
+1-613-909-8881 (carrier charges may apply)
By Lorie Davis