Lost passport? Consular help, step by step

⚠️ If your life is in danger, call first — Police 110, Ambulance 120, Fire 119. Make sure you are safe; documents and paperwork can wait.

If you lose your passport, are robbed, fall ill, or are questioned, detained, or arrested by the police in China, this guide tells you which number to call, what to do in what order, and who can help — including what to do when there is a language barrier. The emergency numbers (110 / 120 / 119) are the same nationwide and do not change; the procedures below apply across China. For your own embassy or consulate details, rely on your home country's official channels (Section 5 shows you how to find them on the spot).

Note: Chinese terms are kept in brackets so you can show them to people or staff in China when needed.

1Numbers to remember first (nationwide, free, 24 hours)

In one line: Personal safety & police → 110; identity documents & arrest → your embassy/consulate; visa & legal stay → China's Exit-Entry Administration (出入境管理部门).

2What to do when there is a language barrier

China's 110 / 120 / 119 operators mostly speak only Chinese — do not assume English is available. In an emergency, use these ways around the language barrier:

1. Fastest option: ask a Chinese-speaker nearby to call and interpret for you. Hotel front-desk staff, a restaurant or shop assistant, or a passer-by all work — just hand them your phone to speak for you. Hotel front desks are especially reliable — if something happens, go back to your hotel or phone the front desk for help.
2. If you call yourself, prepare three sentences with a translation app first — "Where I am (most important) / What happened / What help I need" — then read the Chinese aloud or play it on speaker to the operator.
3. Stating your location is the top priority. Police and ambulances most need to know where you are. Check your Chinese address or nearest landmark on a map in advance; if you can't say it, show a map screenshot to whoever is helping you.
4. For medical situations, call your travel/medical insurance 24-hour assistance line — they can usually support your language and help arrange a hospital, an interpreter, and payment if needed. Major-city Grade A tertiary hospitals (三甲医院) usually have an international department / foreigners' clinic (国际部 / 外宾门诊) with English service.
5. Official lines with English / interpretation: the immigration service hotline for foreigners 12367 (exit-entry, stay, and visa questions); some cities' government hotline 12345 also offers multiple languages or interpreter transfer.
6. Before your trip, save a few emergency phrases in Chinese on your phone ("请帮我报警" = please call the police for me / "我需要救护车" = I need an ambulance / "我护照丢了" = I lost my passport) and show them when needed.

3Handling common emergencies (applies across China)

① Passport lost or stolen

Your passport is your main identity document in China; your legal stay is shown by your Chinese visa, stay permit, or residence permit. If your passport is lost or stolen, handle it in this order:

1. Report it to the police immediately. Call 110 if it was stolen or you need urgent help; go to the nearest police station (派出所), explain what happened, and ask for a written, officially stamped police report (《报案证明》 / 受案回执).
2. Report the loss to the local Exit-Entry Administration (出入境管理部门). Report the lost passport and ask which document they need you to obtain or which they will issue — usually a Passport Loss Report / Confirmation of Reporting Loss of Passport (《护照报失证明》). Your embassy and your later exit/visa procedures often need this document.
3. Contact your embassy or consulate in China to get an emergency travel document (Emergency Travel Document / temporary passport) so you can return home or continue your trip. Typically bring: the police report, a passport copy or photo page (if available), passport photos, proof of identity, and a means of payment — requirements vary by country.
4. After you receive the new document, return to the Exit-Entry Administration (出入境管理部门) for exit/visa formalities. Your old visa or entry stamp was in the lost passport, so the new document does not show your legal entry and stay; before leaving China you may need a replacement visa, an updated stay/residence permit, or an exit document. Allow at least several working days — in some cases around 10 — and do not wait until your flight date.
5. If you find the old passport later, do not use it. Once reported lost or replaced, it may have been cancelled and may no longer be valid for travel.

Order to remember: Police report (《报案证明》) → loss report at Exit-Entry (《护照报失证明》) → emergency travel document from your embassy → back to Exit-Entry for visa/exit formalities.

② Theft / robbery

1. Call 110, truthfully state the time, place, items, and amount, and ask for a police report (报案证明) (needed for both insurance claims and document replacement).
2. Bank/credit cards: call to report them lost immediately (use the number on the back of the card or your bank's overseas line) and freeze the accounts.
3. Phone: lock or wipe it remotely (Find My iPhone, etc.) and contact your carrier to suspend the line.
4. Out of cash: embassies/consulates do not lend money or pay on your behalf, but can help you contact family back home to send money or point you to emergency transfer channels (e.g. Western Union).
5. Keep all police reports and receipts for an insurance claim after you return home.

③ Sudden illness / injury

1. In an emergency, call 120 for an ambulance, or go to the nearest hospital emergency department (急诊). Major-city Grade A tertiary hospitals (三甲医院) often have an international department / foreigners' clinic (国际部 / 外宾门诊), some with English service.
2. Keep all medical records, diagnoses, and payment receipts — essential for an overseas medical insurance claim.
3. Call your travel/medical insurance 24-hour assistance line (note your policy number and the number before you travel). They can help arrange a hospital, payment, and medical evacuation if needed, and can usually support your language.
4. For serious illness or injury — when family needs to come or you need treatment back home — contact your embassy/consulate to help notify family and provide a list of local hospitals/doctors.

④ Detained or arrested by the police — your right to consular access

1. Stay calm, do not resist, and do not sign documents you cannot read. You have the right to communicate through an interpreter.
2. State clearly: "I want to contact my embassy / consulate (我要联系我国大使馆 / 领事馆)." Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, you have the right to have your consulate notified and to receive consular visits.
3. Consular officers can: visit you, check on your situation, confirm you are being treated fairly, provide a list of local lawyers and interpreters, notify your family, and monitor whether due process is followed.
4. Consular officers cannot: bail you out, represent you in court, interfere with China's judicial process or judge your case, or get you out of investigation/trial.
5. In serious cases, the authorities may handle consular notification under the applicable rules, but do not rely only on automatic notification — clearly ask to contact your embassy or consulate. If your personal safety is at risk, calling 110 first is also the right move.

4What an embassy/consulate can and cannot do (clearing up misunderstandings)

They can:

• Reissue a passport or issue an emergency travel document;
• Visit you if detained/arrested, provide a list of lawyers and interpreters, and notify your family;
• Provide a list of hospitals and help notify relatives in case of serious illness or injury;
• Help you contact family to arrange an emergency money transfer;
• Provide consular assistance for births, deaths, and major incidents.

They cannot:

• Lend money or pay medical bills / hotel bills / fines / airfare on your behalf;
• Extend your Chinese visa or issue a stay permit (that is the authority of China's Exit-Entry Administration);
• Exempt you from Chinese law, or appear in court, post bail, or interfere with the justice system for you;
• Book flights or hotels, act as an interpreter or tour escort, or store your luggage.

5How to find your country's embassy/consulate in China, on the spot

The most authoritative and up-to-date source is always your own government — it knows exactly how many missions it has in China, which area each one covers (its consular district), their addresses, phone numbers, and 24-hour emergency lines, all kept current and in your own language.

Find it right now: search " embassy China" on your phone, or open your foreign ministry's website and look for "Embassy & Consulates in China (驻华使领馆)" — you'll see the official page, addresses, phone numbers, and emergency consular hotline.

Which mission to contact (consular districts):

• Most countries have an embassy in Beijing and consulates-general in cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang, Wuhan, and Chongqing, each covering nearby provinces by "consular district".
• Find which district your city falls under, and contact that mission; if your country has no mission in your area, contact the consulate in the nearest mission city, or the embassy in Beijing.
• If you're unsure which district applies, just call your embassy's consular line and ask.

This guide does not copy individual mission directories — precisely so you are never given an outdated address or number. Rely on your home country's official channels for the latest information.

6Before you travel: save your consular info in a few minutes ✅

This is easiest to do before your trip, while you have good internet and a clear head. Save a copy in your phone's notes or the cloud:

1. Your embassy/consulate in China: on your foreign ministry's website, find the mission nearest your destination and note its address, phone number, and 24-hour emergency consular line;
2. Your foreign ministry's global consular emergency hotline (many countries have a single 24h number);
3. A scan of your passport photo page (on your phone / cloud — very useful if you need a replacement);
4. Your travel/medical insurance policy number and 24-hour assistance line;
5. A few emergency phrases in Chinese (call the police / call an ambulance / lost passport);
6. Memorize 110 / 120 / 119 — in China, this is your first line of help in any emergency.

With these ready, if something happens you can reach the right people right away, instead of scrambling to find them in a panic.

Notes

• This guide provides only nationwide procedures and methods; for specific embassy/consulate contact details, rely on the latest information from your home country's official channels.
• China's unified emergency numbers (110 / 120 / 119 / 122) are official nationwide numbers and remain valid long-term.