If you lose your passport in the UAE and it carries your residence visa, you face two separate problems that have to be solved in order: replacing the passport through your embassy, and getting your residence visa re-stamped onto the new one. The step that unlocks both is the police report. Report the loss or theft to the police station nearest to where it happened, before contacting anyone else.
This guide sets out the full sequence for a resident who has lost a passport inside the UAE, including the Dubai-specific chain of endorsements that produces the formal lost passport certificate, what your sponsor has to supply, what happens to a residence visa that expired while you were waiting, and what changes if the passport went missing while you were abroad or if the holder is a child.
The First Hour: Report It to the Police
The first action is a police report at the station nearest to where the loss or theft occurred, not at the station nearest your home and not at your embassy. Everything downstream, including the embassy application and the visa re-stamp, is built on that report.
Two categories of applicant need someone else present or on paper at this stage. If the lost passport belongs to a minor, the sponsoring parent must attend to endorse the report. If the passport holder is on an employer’s sponsorship, they must submit a letter in Arabic about the loss, on the sponsoring employer’s letterhead, to the police department of the emirate where the residence visa was issued, and the sponsor must also provide a photocopy of its trade license and establishment card.
If you are on family sponsorship, the requirement is lighter but still involves your sponsor: a letter signed by the sponsor and a photocopy of the sponsor’s passport. In practice this is the step that stalls people, because it depends on someone else’s availability. Ask for the letter the same day, and if you are employer-sponsored, ask HR for the license and establishment card copies at the same time rather than in sequence.
What actually happens if the passport was stolen rather than mislaid
The procedure is identical. The government guidance treats loss and theft the same way and directs both to the nearest police station. The practical difference is that a theft report may take longer at the station because it opens a criminal file, and you should keep the case reference, because a recovered passport is returned through that file rather than through the residency authority.
The Dubai Chain: Turning a Police Report Into a Lost Passport Certificate
In Dubai the procedure is linked with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs and Dubai Courts. The police report must be stamped by the relevant UAE court, by the Public Prosecution, and by GDRFA in the emirate where the visa was issued. Once endorsed, you return it to the station that issued it, and they produce a formal lost passport certificate in Arabic.
| Step | Where | What you come away with |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Report the loss or theft | Police station nearest the incident | A police report, plus a case reference |
| 2. Get the report endorsed | The relevant UAE court, Public Prosecution and GDRFA of the issuing emirate | Three stamps on the same report |
| 3. Return the endorsed report | The station that issued it | A formal lost passport certificate in Arabic |
| 4. Apply for a new passport | Your embassy or consulate in the UAE | A new passport or emergency travel document |
| 5. Re-stamp the residence visa | GDRFA in the emirate that issued the visa | Residence visa transferred to the new passport |
The lost passport certificate is the document your embassy will actually want, and it is issued in Arabic. Some embassies require a legal translation before they will accept it, which is a separate step governed by the rules on legal translation in the UAE. Ask your embassy whether they need one before you commission it, because many accept the Arabic original.
Note that the endorsement chain is specific to Dubai. Other emirates route through their own police and residency authorities, and the number of stamps differs. If your visa was issued in Abu Dhabi or the northern emirates, confirm the local sequence at the police station rather than assuming the Dubai chain applies, since the endorsement has to come from the authority in the emirate that issued the visa.
Getting the New Passport From Your Embassy
With the formal lost passport certificate in hand, you apply to your own embassy or consulate in the UAE. The UAE government’s guidance is explicit that requirements vary and directs applicants to check with their embassy, because this stage is governed entirely by your own country’s rules, not UAE rules.
What differs most between missions is whether they issue a full replacement passport locally or only an emergency travel document. An emergency document is usually valid for a single journey to your home country and will not support a residence visa re-stamp, which matters if you intend to stay. If your embassy issues only emergency documents, ask directly whether the UAE residency authority will accept it for re-stamping, because the answer determines whether you are staying or leaving.
Processing time at this stage is the single biggest variable in the whole process and is outside both your control and the UAE’s. Missions that print passports in the home country can take several weeks. Build that into any travel plan, and do not book flights against an estimated date.
Re-Stamping the Residence Visa
Once the new passport is issued, you return to GDRFA to have the residence visa stamped onto it. GDRFA will issue a residence visa with the same validity period as the old one if it is still valid, or issue a new one if the visa expired while you were inside the UAE.
That second limb is the most reassuring line in the official guidance and the one most people do not know. A residence visa that lapsed during the replacement process does not simply strand you; the authority issues a new one. It does not, however, say that overstay consequences are waived, and the standard overstay fine regime continues to run against the underlying status. Raise the pending passport replacement with GDRFA as early as you can rather than after the visa expires.
The government guidance directs applicants to check with the relevant GDRFA about the application and fees for this step rather than quoting a figure, so treat any re-stamping cost you see quoted elsewhere as unverified until the counter confirms it. If the residence visa is close to expiry anyway, it is worth asking whether combining the re-stamp with a residence visa renewal is possible, since both touch the same file.
Does the Emirates ID need replacing too?
Not because of the passport. The Emirates ID is a separate card with its own replacement service, and losing a passport does not invalidate it. But the two are often lost together, in a stolen bag or wallet, and if that is what happened you should run the lost or damaged Emirates ID replacement in parallel rather than in sequence. You will need the Emirates ID as identification at several points in the passport process, which is a strong argument for starting the card replacement first.
If You Lost the Passport Outside the UAE
The route changes completely. If you lose your passport in the country that issued it, you follow that country’s own replacement process. If you lose it in a third country you are visiting, you contact your passport-issuing country’s embassy or consulate in that country for the reporting and replacement requirements. In neither case does the UAE police report apply, because no UAE police force has jurisdiction over the loss.
What you still have to manage is the UAE residence visa attached to the lost document. GDRFA Dubai publishes guidance for residents who lose a passport while outside the country, and the practical question is whether you can re-enter the UAE on the new passport without the old visa physically in it. Contact GDRFA before you travel back, not on arrival. Residents who have been outside the UAE for an extended period should also check the 180-day absence rule, because a lapsed residence visa is a different problem from a lost passport and the two can compound.
What to Do Before It Happens
The single most useful preparation is a clear scan of the passport photo page, the residence visa page and the Emirates ID, stored somewhere you can reach without the documents themselves. The police station, the embassy and GDRFA will each ask for details you cannot recall from memory: passport number, issue and expiry dates, place of issue, visa file number and UID.
The visa file number and UID matter more than people expect, because they identify your immigration file independently of the passport. They appear on the residence visa page and on any GDRFA correspondence. Keeping them alongside the scans turns a difficult conversation at a counter into a routine one. Our emergency document checklist for UAE expats sets out the full kit and how to store it, and it is worth doing before you need it.
One limitation worth acknowledging: we have not found any official UAE source stating a deadline for reporting a lost passport, or a penalty for reporting it late. The guidance says to report it first, without attaching a time limit. Treat prompt reporting as protective rather than as a legal deadline, and be aware that a passport reported lost cannot be used again even if you find it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first thing to do if I lose my passport in the UAE?
Report the loss or theft to the police station nearest to where the incident took place. That report is the foundation for everything else, including the embassy application and the residence visa re-stamp. Contact your embassy only after the report exists, because most missions will not process a replacement without it.
Can I get my UAE residence visa back on a new passport?
Yes. Once your embassy issues the new passport, you return to GDRFA in the emirate that issued the visa to have it stamped onto the new document. GDRFA issues a visa with the same validity period as the old one if it is still valid, or issues a new one if the visa expired while you were inside the UAE.
What is a lost passport certificate in the UAE?
It is a formal certificate in Arabic issued by the police station after your police report has been endorsed. In Dubai the report must first be stamped by the relevant UAE court, the Public Prosecution and GDRFA in the emirate where the visa was issued. The certificate is the document your embassy will normally require to issue a replacement passport.
Does my employer need to be involved if I lose my passport?
If you are on an employer’s sponsorship, yes. The employer must provide a letter in Arabic about the loss on company letterhead, submitted to the police department of the emirate where the residence visa was issued, plus photocopies of its trade license and establishment card. On family sponsorship, you need a letter signed by your sponsor and a copy of the sponsor’s passport.
How long does it take to replace a lost passport in the UAE?
The UAE-side steps, the police report and the endorsements, are usually a matter of days. The embassy stage is the variable, and it is outside UAE control: missions that print passports in the home country can take several weeks, while those issuing emergency travel documents can be much faster. Do not book flights against an estimated date.
What happens if my residence visa expires while I am waiting for a new passport?
The official guidance states that GDRFA will issue a new residence visa if the old one expired while you were inside the UAE. It does not say that overstay consequences are waived, so raise the pending passport replacement with GDRFA before the visa expires rather than after, and expect the standard overstay rules to apply to the underlying status.
What if my child’s passport is lost?
The sponsoring parent must be present at the police station to endorse the report. After that the process follows the same chain, with the embassy applying its own rules for issuing a minor’s passport, which usually require both parents’ consent and the child’s birth certificate.
I lost my UAE residence passport while abroad. What do I do?
The UAE police report does not apply, because the loss happened outside UAE jurisdiction. Follow the replacement process of your passport-issuing country, through its embassy in the country where you lost it, or through its domestic process if you are home. Contact GDRFA about re-entry and the residence visa before you travel back rather than on arrival.
Do I need to replace my Emirates ID as well?
Not because of the passport alone, since the Emirates ID is a separate card that remains valid. But if both were lost together, run the ID replacement in parallel, and ideally start it first: you will need identification at several points in the passport process, and the replacement card is issued for the same validity period as the lost one.
Is there a fine for losing a passport in the UAE?
We could not find any official UAE source imposing a fine or a reporting deadline for a lost passport itself. Costs arise from the embassy’s replacement fee, any translation, and the GDRFA re-stamping fees, which the government guidance directs applicants to confirm with the relevant GDRFA rather than publishing. Separate overstay fines can apply if the residence visa lapses during the process.
Official Sources
- The Official Portal of the UAE Government – Lost your passport in the UAE
- The Official Portal of the UAE Government – Lost your passport with UAE residence visa on it
- General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai
- Dubai Police – lost items and police reports
- Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP)
Information is current as of August 2026. Limitations are stated rather than smoothed over. The procedure above, including the Dubai endorsement chain, the sponsor letter requirements and the rule that GDRFA issues a new residence visa where the old one expired inside the UAE, is taken from the Government of the UAE portal’s lost passport pages, last updated 16 July 2024 and 30 December 2024 respectively, and read through archived copies because the live pages render client-side and returned no content to us. No fee is quoted for the GDRFA re-stamping step, because the official guidance directs applicants to confirm the application and fees with the relevant GDRFA rather than publishing them, and gdrfad.gov.ae blocks automated access. Dubai Police pages were unreachable from our network, so the emirate-level detail rests on the government portal’s summary. We found no official source stating a reporting deadline or a penalty for a lost passport, and say so rather than repeating a figure from secondary sites. Procedures outside Dubai differ, and the embassy stage is governed by your own country’s rules. This article explains published rules and is not legal advice. Confirm each step with the police station, your embassy and GDRFA as you reach it.
