If your passport is lost or stolen abroad, you can ask your country's embassy or consulate for an emergency travel document (ETD), a temporary document valid for the journey home. Airlines such as Ryanair accept it when the rest of your paperwork is in order. Here is how to get one, what to bring, when a police report might be enough and what to check before you go back to the airport.
What is an emergency travel document?
An emergency travel document is a temporary document issued by an embassy or consulate to a citizen who is abroad without a passport and cannot wait for a new one. Within the EU there is a common format, and the general rules are similar everywhere:
- it is valid for a single journey, usually back to your country or your country of residence;
- it stops being valid once you reach that destination;
- it is issued by your embassy or consulate, not by the airline or the local police.
If you are an EU citizen and your country has no embassy or consulate where you are, you can ask the embassy or consulate of any other EU country for help, including a travel document. British and Irish citizens should follow the instructions on GOV.UK and on the Department of Foreign Affairs website respectively.
How to get one, step by step
- Report the loss or theft to the local police and keep the report.
- Contact your nearest embassy or consulate, or follow your government's online instructions for lost passports abroad.
- Bring what you have: the police report, passport photos, your flight booking and anything that helps prove who you are, such as a copy of your passport or a driving licence.
- Ask about timing: offices may be closed at weekends and on public holidays.
- Use the document only for the journey it covers and check with the airline that nothing else is needed.
When a police report might be enough, and when it is not
| Situation | Document | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Passport lost outside the EU | Emergency travel document | Valid for the journey home |
| ID lost inside the Schengen area | ETD or, sometimes, the police report | Some airlines accept the report as a commercial policy: ask first |
| Flying with Ryanair | Government-issued temporary document | The only case where it accepts different documents outbound and return |
| No document at all | None | The airline will refuse boarding |
Within the Schengen area some airlines may let you board with just the police report of the loss or theft, but that is the airline's choice, not a right. Ryanair says that if you have lost your passport you will need a valid temporary passport issued by your country's embassy or consulate to return home. For the general rules, read our guide to ID at the airport.
If the flight home goes wrong
If you are refused boarding because your document is not adequate, no compensation is due: Regulation EC 261/2004 treats that as reasonable grounds. But if you travel on a valid document, even a temporary one, and the flight arrives 3 hours or more late, is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice or you are bumped because of overbooking, you may be owed €250, €400 or €600 per passenger. See our cancelled flight compensation page. With DelayFlight24 you can check for free in 2 minutes whether you are owed compensation: you pay nothing upfront and our fee is 25% + VAT only if you get compensated.
Frequently asked questions about temporary travel documents
Can I carry on my holiday with an emergency travel document?
Usually not: it is meant for a single journey, normally back to your country or your country of residence.
Does Ryanair accept an emergency travel document?
Yes, when a government has issued it after a lost or stolen document. It is the only exception to Ryanair's rule of using the same document outbound and return.
Is a police report enough to fly?
It is not a travel document. Within Schengen some airlines might accept it, but confirm with the airline first.
What if my country has no embassy where I am?
EU citizens can go to the embassy or consulate of any other EU country, which can help with a travel document.
Am I compensated if I am refused boarding with a temporary document?
Not if the document is not valid for the destination. If it is valid and you are bumped because of overbooking, you may be owed compensation.
Work out your compensation now
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- Free check, no commitment
- No upfront costs: 25% + VAT only if we win
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Find out more
- Air passenger rights
- Delayed flight: when you can claim compensation
- Cancelled flight: refund and compensation
- Overbooking: what you are owed
- What our service costs
Article updated on 22/10/2026 by the DelayFlight24 editorial team.