Losing a passport is a horrible feeling, but it’s fixable. What you do depends on where you are when it happens, and on whether you’re Ugandan or a visitor. The first sections are for Ugandan citizens. If you’re visiting Uganda and your own passport goes missing, skip to the section for visitors near the end.
First, in any case
- Search properly once. Bags, jacket pockets, the car, the hotel safe. Passports turn up more often than you’d think.
- Report it to the police at the nearest station and ask for a police report or letter confirming the loss. Every replacement route below needs it.
- Find your copies. A photo or photocopy of the data page speeds everything up.
- Tell your airline or travel agent if you have a flight booked, and your insurer if you have cover.
Lost or stolen in Uganda
You apply for a replacement through the same online portal as a new passport, passports.go.ug, then pay at the bank, book an appointment and go in for enrolment. According to the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC), you’ll need:
- The printed Appointment Form
- The police report confirming the loss
- Your National ID
- A recommendation letter
- A copy of the lost passport, if you have one
- Payment of the UGX 100,000 lost-passport fine, on top of the normal passport fee
Express processing (UGX 150,000 more) is optional. Pay it if you need the new passport within days. Some missions additionally ask for a sworn statement or affidavit about how the passport was lost, so it’s sensible to have one ready. Our fees post has the full list of amounts.
If your lost passport turns up after you’ve reported it, don’t travel on it. A passport reported lost is normally cancelled, and using it can get you stopped at a border. Ask the passport office what to do with it.
Damaged passports
Water damage, a torn data page, a chip that no longer reads, or a child’s crayon drawings on the visa pages can all make a passport unusable. Airlines and border officers can refuse a damaged passport, even one that’s still in date. To replace it, apply on the portal as usual and bring:
- A written explanation of how the passport was damaged
- The damaged passport itself
- Payment of the UGX 100,000 fine for a mutilated passport, plus the passport fee
Lost or stolen abroad
This is the part people don’t expect. In May 2024 the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that Ugandans who lose their passports abroad must come back to Uganda to replace them. The reason given was fraud: genuine Ugandan passports were being sold and misused, and the ministry wanted each loss investigated properly. So the embassy won’t simply print you a new one.
What it can do is issue an emergency travel document to get you home. The steps are roughly:
- Report the loss to the local police and get a written report.
- Contact the nearest Uganda embassy or high commission. Explain what happened and ask for their requirements.
- Expect to be asked for your National ID or another proof of citizenship, two passport photos on a white background, the police letter and a fee. Each mission sets its own fee and form, so check theirs.
- Travel home on the emergency document, then apply for a replacement passport in Uganda as described above.
If you were in the middle of a trip, remember that onward visas were in the lost passport. You’ll need to apply again for those once you have the new one.
For visitors who lose a passport in Uganda
If you’re on safari with us and your passport disappears, tell your guide straight away. We’ll help you:
- Report it at the nearest police station and get a police report. You’ll need it for your embassy and your insurer.
- Contact your country’s embassy or high commission in Kampala (or the one accredited to Uganda, which may be in Nairobi or Kigali) for an emergency or replacement passport.
- Check with Uganda immigration whether your visa or entry record needs to be linked to the new document before you fly out. Your eVisa approval letter helps here, so keep a copy in your email.
Build a spare day into your plans if this happens close to your flight home. Our safety tips for a Uganda safari include simple ways to keep documents secure on the road.
Practical tips to avoid all this
- Keep a scan of your passport data page, visas and National ID in your email or cloud storage.
- Use the hotel safe, and don’t carry your passport around town unless you need it.
- Keep it in a zip-lock bag on boat trips and in the rainy season.
- Never hand your passport to anyone offering to “sort out” a visa or permit informally.
If you’re dealing with a lost or damaged passport and need to rebook flights, call us. We can look at your tickets, explain the replacement process and help you plan realistic dates.
