Published: 24 September 2026

Losing a passport in the UAE is stressful, but the process to fix it is well defined if you follow the steps in the right order. This guide walks through exactly what an expat in Dubai or elsewhere in the UAE needs to do after a passport is lost or stolen: the mandatory police report, the court and GDRFA endorsement chain, getting a new passport from your embassy or consulate, and re-stamping your UAE residence visa so your legal status stays intact.

This is not the same process as replacing a lost Emirates ID. If it is your Emirates ID that is missing rather than your passport, see our separate guide on Emirates ID replacement for a lost or damaged card instead. This article focuses purely on the passport-specific chain: police, courts, embassy, and GDRFA.

What Should I Do First If I Lose My Passport in the UAE?

Report the loss to the police station nearest to where you lost it, immediately, before doing anything else. Under UAE procedure, the police report is the foundation document that every later step depends on: the embassy will not issue a new passport without it, and GDRFA will not re-stamp your visa without it. According to the UAE Government’s official portal, the correct first move if you lose your passport inside the UAE is to report the loss or theft to the police station nearest to where the incident took place, and only then apply for a new passport through your embassy.

If the passport was stolen rather than simply lost, treat it as a criminal matter and report it right away. A delay in reporting a theft can complicate your legal standing later, particularly if someone else misuses the document in the meantime.

What You Need to Bring to the Police Station

The paperwork required depends on how your residence visa is sponsored:

• Employer-sponsored residents: a letter in Arabic on the company’s letterhead confirming the loss, signed by the sponsor, along with a copy of the employer’s trade licence and establishment card.
• Family-sponsored residents (spouse or parent): a letter signed by the sponsor plus a copy of the sponsor’s passport.
• Minors: the sponsoring parent must be present in person to endorse the report.

You should also bring any photocopy of the lost passport’s data page if you have one, plus your Emirates ID, since the police will use it to confirm your identity and residency record.

How Do I Get an Official Police Report for a Lost Passport?

You get it either in person at the police station in the emirate where your residence visa was issued, or through the Dubai Police smart app or e-service using UAE Pass. Dubai Police runs a dedicated “Lost Item Certificate” service that covers lost official documents, including passports, and in 2026 Dubai Police confirmed it has moved this passport-loss reporting workflow onto blockchain infrastructure to speed up verification and cross-agency data sharing.

Two important points on jurisdiction:

1. You must report to the police force in the emirate where your residence visa was originally stamped, not necessarily where you happened to lose the passport. In most cases for Dubai residents, this means Dubai Police.
2. If you lost the passport outside the UAE, in a country you were visiting, the UAE police report does not apply. In that situation you deal directly with your passport-issuing country’s embassy or consulate in the country where the loss happened.

What Happens After the Police Report? The Court and GDRFA Endorsement Chain

In Dubai, the initial police report is not the final document: it has to be endorsed in sequence by the relevant UAE court, the Public Prosecution, and GDRFA before the police station will issue your formal lost-passport certificate. This is the step most expats are not prepared for. Skipping any link in the chain means you have to start over.

The full endorsement sequence works like this:

1. File the initial report at the police station.
2. Take the report to the relevant UAE court (Dubai Courts, for Dubai-issued visas) for official stamping.
3. Submit the stamped report to the Public Prosecution department. This office is typically located near the court, so it does not require a separate trip across the city.
4. Have the report endorsed by GDRFA in the emirate that issued your residence visa.
5. Return the fully endorsed report to the police station that issued it. They will then produce the formal “lost passport certificate,” issued in Arabic.

This lost-passport certificate, not the original report, is the document your embassy or consulate will actually ask you to present. Some embassies accept the Arabic original; others require a certified translation. Confirm which your embassy needs before you commission a translation, since that is an extra cost and delay you may not need.

Does GDRFA Charge a Fee to Re-Stamp My Visa in a New Passport?

Yes. According to GDRFA Dubai’s official “Passport Replacement” service listing, the fee is AED 300 plus 5% VAT, with optional Knowledge Dirham (AED 10) and Innovation Dirham (AED 10) contributions, and the stated processing time is 48 hours. Eligibility requires the passport holder to be physically present in the country, a compliant personal photo (5.4cm x 5.3cm, white background), and, for applicants over 15, a signature and fingerprint on file with their Emirates ID.

This GDRFA service is available 24/7 through the smart application and website, and in person at multiple centers including the Customer Happiness Centre at Dubai Airport Terminal 3 and the Al Twar Customer Happiness Centre.

Fees for the police report itself and for court/Public Prosecution stamping are set independently by those authorities. Verify current amounts with Dubai Police and Dubai Courts directly, as this guide only confirms figures published on the official GDRFA service page.

How Do I Get a New Passport From My Embassy?

You take the lost-passport certificate to your embassy or consulate in the UAE, where you will either get an emergency travel document (ETD) for a one-way journey home, or a full replacement passport, depending on your nationality and how long you plan to stay in the UAE. Every mission sets its own forms, fees, photo specifications, and appointment process, so check your embassy’s website or call ahead before visiting.

A few things vary significantly by nationality:

• Some missions, such as the US Embassy, only issue a same-day emergency passport for a genuine emergency, not simply because a trip is coming up. Regular replacement passports typically require a minimum processing window, so plan accordingly and confirm the exact timeline with your embassy, since it changes by mission.
• Other missions, including several South Asian consulates in the UAE, issue both emergency certificates and full emergency passports for nationals who have lost their passport, once the police report and lost-passport certificate are presented.
• EU citizens whose home country has no embassy or consulate in the UAE can request an EU Emergency Travel Document from any other EU member state’s mission present in the country; this document is generally valid for a single journey and its validity period is set by the issuing state, so confirm with the issuing mission directly.

The critical distinction to understand: an emergency travel document is usually only valid for a single journey to your home country and will not support a residence visa re-stamp. If you intend to keep living and working in the UAE, you need your embassy to issue a full replacement passport, not just an ETD, so that GDRFA or ICP has a document to stamp your visa into.

What Happens to My UAE Residence Visa While My Passport Is Missing?

Your residence visa status does not automatically cancel just because your passport is lost, but it is tied to the old passport number until you get GDRFA (or ICP outside Dubai) to transfer it into your new passport. Until that transfer happens, you are in a gap period where your legal residency exists on file but is not physically represented in any travel document you are currently holding. This is exactly why GDRFA’s re-stamping step is not optional; it is what reattaches your residency to a document you can actually travel and be identified with.

If your residence visa was close to its renewal date when the passport was lost, the process can overlap with normal renewal timing. For background on how renewal and grace periods work in general, see our guide on UAE residence visa renewal and our guide to visa cancellation grace periods, since overstaying while your passport situation is unresolved can trigger the same fine structure as any other overstay. If your original visa had already expired by the time you resolve the passport issue, GDRFA will typically issue a new residency permit rather than simply continuing the old one, so build a buffer into your timeline rather than assuming automatic continuity.

Do I Need an Exit Permit to Leave the UAE After a Lost Passport?

Yes, if you plan to travel using an emergency travel document rather than a full replacement passport, because your original entry stamp was on the passport you lost. An ETD alone is not sufficient to exit the country; you also need an exit permit, sometimes called an “out pass,” from immigration. Apply for this through the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) if your case sits outside Dubai, or through GDRFA if your visa and case are in Dubai.

If you already have a full replacement passport and GDRFA or ICP has re-stamped your visa into it, you generally do not need a separate exit permit, because your valid residency is now represented in a travel document immigration can read. Always confirm your specific status with GDRFA or ICP before booking travel, since requirements can differ based on how long your passport was missing and whether your visa lapsed in the interim.

Golden Visa holders have a distinct fallback: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFA) allows eligible Golden Visa holders to apply for a “Return Document” through its smart application in the event of a lost or damaged passport. This document is generally valid for a single entry and must be used within a short window of issuance, so check the exact current validity period on MoFA’s website before relying on it.

Step-by-Step Timeline: Police Report to Re-Entry

What Documents Should I Keep Copies Of To Make This Easier?

A scanned copy of your passport’s data page, your Emirates ID, your UAE residence visa page, and your employer’s trade licence and establishment card (if sponsored by an employer) will speed up every step of this process. Store these somewhere separate from your physical passport, such as cloud storage or email to yourself, before anything is lost. This single habit removes the biggest source of delay in the police report and embassy stages, since both ask for exactly this information.

If your case also involves needing a police clearance record for a visa application elsewhere, our guide on the UAE Good Conduct Certificate explains that separate process, which sometimes comes up alongside a lost-document case if authorities need to confirm your record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to report a lost passport to the police even if I plan to leave the UAE immediately?
Yes. The police report is the mandatory first step regardless of your travel plans, because your embassy will not issue a replacement passport or emergency travel document without it, and you cannot get an exit permit without the underlying report on file.

Can I get my UAE residence visa re-stamped without visiting GDRFA in person?
GDRFA’s Passport Replacement service can be initiated through the smart application and website, but eligibility requires the passport holder’s physical presence in the country as part of the process; confirm with GDRFA whether the specific step you need can be completed fully online or requires an in-person visit to a service center.

How much does GDRFA charge to re-stamp a residence visa into a new passport?
GDRFA Dubai’s official service listing states a fee of AED 300 plus 5% VAT, with optional AED 10 Knowledge Dirham and AED 10 Innovation Dirham contributions, and a processing time of 48 hours. Fees outside Dubai should be verified with ICP directly.

What is the difference between an emergency travel document and a full replacement passport?
An emergency travel document is typically valid for a single one-way journey to your home country and cannot support a residence visa re-stamp. A full replacement passport is a standard passport that GDRFA or ICP can stamp your existing residence visa into, letting you continue living and working in the UAE.

Will I be fined if my residence visa lapses while I am sorting out my lost passport?
Overstay fines apply the same way they would for any other lapsed visa if your original visa expired during the process and was not renewed or re-stamped in time. See our guide on visa renewal grace periods and overstay fines for how that fine structure works, and treat the passport-loss timeline as a reason to start GDRFA re-stamping as early as possible rather than waiting.

Do I need a court stamp and Public Prosecution endorsement in every emirate, or is that specific to Dubai?
The court-and-prosecution endorsement chain described here reflects the Dubai procedure, where the police report must be stamped by the relevant UAE court, Public Prosecution, and GDRFA in sequence. Procedures can differ by emirate, so confirm the exact chain with the police force and immigration authority in the emirate where your visa was issued if you are outside Dubai.

What happens if I lost my passport outside the UAE, in a third country I was visiting?
In that case the UAE police report process does not apply, since no UAE police force has jurisdiction over a loss that happened outside the country. Instead, contact your passport-issuing country’s embassy or consulate in the country where the loss occurred and follow their reporting and replacement process, then handle any UAE visa re-stamping once you are back.

Can I check my visa status online while my passport replacement is in progress?
Yes, you can check your UAE visa status online through the relevant government e-service once you have your file reference or Emirates ID number. See our guide on checking UAE visa status online for how that lookup works.

Is losing my Emirates ID handled through the same process as losing my passport?
No. Emirates ID replacement is a separate, ICP-run process with its own fees and timeline, distinct from the passport-and-visa chain described in this article. See our dedicated guide on replacing a lost or damaged Emirates ID for that process.

Do I need to get my lost-passport certificate attested or translated before my embassy will accept it?
The lost-passport certificate from Dubai Police is issued in Arabic. Some embassies accept the Arabic original, while others require a certified translation, so confirm with your specific embassy before paying for a translation. If your case also involves other documents needing attestation for use abroad, see our guide on certificate attestation in the UAE.

Get Help Sorting Out a Lost Passport in the UAE

Navigating the police report, court endorsement, embassy visit, and GDRFA re-stamping in the right order, and in the right sequence, is where most people lose time. If you want someone to walk through your specific situation, sponsorship type, and visa status with you, reach out on WhatsApp at +971 52 580 2100 and we will help you map out exactly which office to visit next.

Related Reading

• Lost or Damaged Emirates ID Replacement in the UAE (2026)
• UAE Residence Visa Renewal (2026)
• Dubai Visa Renewal Grace Period and Overstay Fines (2026)

Related on the tax and compliance side: see our Qaspro Global guide on UAE Free Zone Office Reinstatement 2026: Physical Presence Rules, Penalties and How to Restore a Suspended License.