Those who have lost their passport abroad know just how much of a headache getting the required travel documents to continue on one’s journey (or even get back home) can be.
Having to navigate lines at the embassy, prove one’s identity and citizenship without documentation and then pay hefty fees to get one’s passport replacement application expedited is not how anyone wants to spend limited time in a beautiful city. That said, accidents do happen — the U.S. State Department estimates that around 300,000 Americans lose their passport abroad every year.
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In some countries, there is also the heightened risk of pickpockets that target not just wallets but also passports. Barcelona regularly comes up among cities with the highest numbers of pickpockets in the world and, over in the United Kingdom, the British Foreign Office is reminding travelers that they must either renew a passport or “apply for an emergency travel document” if separated from theirs.
New advisory: You ‘must renew or apply for emergency travel document’
While citizens of a country will generally not be denied entry when arriving at their border without a passport, not having proper documentation could prevent one from boarding a flight or going further on one’s journey within the foreign country.
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“If your passport is lost or stolen, you must renew your passport or apply for an emergency travel document,” the British government agency writes in the updated “Safety And Security” section of its advisory for Spain. “You cannot use a police report to leave Spain.”
Spanish resorts like Ibiza and Majorca are particularly popular among British holidayers and the Foreign Office estimates that over 15 million of its citizens come to Spain every year.
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These are some of the other things to know before heading to Spain
“Thieves use distraction techniques and often work in teams,” the British Foreign Office writes further while also reminding travelers to “take care of passports, money and personal belongings .... Do not carry all your valuables in one place. Keep a copy of the photo page of your passport somewhere safe.”
Also on the travel advisory website for the country, the Foreign Office warns visitors about the risk of terrorist attacks at many sites and attractions popular with tourists. The U.S. State Department has a similar warning for both Spain and a number of other European countries such as Germany and France.
At the start of May, it also raised its travel advisory rating for the country from one to two (four is the highest level and reserved for active war zones and countries with authoritarian governments) amid heightened terrorist risk and intelligence about possible plots that the German government has been working to prevent. Spain is also a Level Two country over similar concerns around terrorism and street crime even if both countries are very safe to visit on the whole.
“Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Spain,” the State Department writes. “Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.”
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