Lost Passport in Qatar: Police Report, Embassy and Leaving the Country

A lost passport is an emergency if you have a flight, and a different kind of problem if you live here, because your residence permit is tied to the passport. The steps below are what we could verify. The details depend a lot on your nationality, so your embassy's advice comes first.

This guide uses the Singapore embassy's page for Doha, a 2015 Peninsula report quoting the UK embassy, and search summaries of a Bosnian embassy notice and DohaGuides. These are examples, not Qatar's official rules. We could not find a Ministry of Interior page for foreigners who lose a passport. The only official procedure we found covers Qatari citizens, so this page does not describe it.

Step 1: report it to the police

A Bosnian embassy notice, via search summary, says the holder is legally required to report a lost or stolen passport to the Qatari police. Embassies use the police report to declare the passport invalid. Our guide to how to file a police report in Qatar covers the routes.

Step 2: contact your embassy

Embassies set their own rules, fees and photos. As an example, the Singapore embassy in Doha asks for proof of citizenship and two passport photos. It issues a Document of Identity after verifying you, listed at S$15 or QAR 45, in about three working days. A replacement passport takes two to four weeks and costs more. If your embassy's name is not in this list, call it and ask what it needs.

Step 3: can you leave Qatar on the emergency document?

The Peninsula quotes the UK embassy as saying you can leave Qatar on an emergency travel document but cannot re-enter on it, and that residents can leave only on the passport they entered on or the one holding the residence permit. This is from 2015, so check whether it still applies. The Singapore page says you travel with the document and a letter from the embassy.

If you live in Qatar

• Your residence permit may be in the lost passport. If you need a new one linked to a replaced passport, ask the Ministry of Interior how the permit is transferred.
• DohaGuides, via search summary, mentions a Metrash2 "Return Permit" under Leave Notification for lost passports, with a lost-passport certificate and copies of the old and new passports. This is a community page, so check the current requirements.
• Do not hand your passport to an employer or agent to keep. Our guide on whether an employer can keep your passport explains why.

If you are a Qatari citizen

This is a separate process. Wikiprocedure describes a police report, an application at the Nationality and Travel Documents Department or through the Interior Ministry's e-services, and a QR 200 fee. Because it is a community page, check the Ministry of Interior.

How to prevent the problem

• Keep a photo of the passport page and your residence permit in a password-protected place.
• Carry your Qatar ID instead of the passport when you do not need it. Our guide on replacing a lost Qatar ID covers that card.
• Renew early. The UK article says validity transfers to a new passport, up to nine months.

What we could not verify

• A Ministry of Interior procedure for foreign residents.
• Whether the 2015 exit and re-entry rule is unchanged.
• Fees and timelines for any embassy other than the Singapore example.