Lost or Stolen Passport, Wallet or Phone in Cyprus: What to Do

Losing your passport, wallet or phone in Cyprus is a hassle, but most of it can be sorted in a day or two. Block your cards and SIM first so nobody can use them, then report the loss or theft to the police and contact whoever issued each document. If you are in danger or a crime is happening, call 112.

Below we go through each step: the police report, blocking cards and phones, emergency travel documents for British and EU citizens, and replacing Cypriot ID cards, residence documents and driving licences. Phone numbers and fees were checked October 2026.

What should you do first?

Work through this list in order. The first two steps take minutes and stop most of the damage.

1. Block your bank cards by phone or in your banking app.
2. Block your SIM if your phone is gone, and lock or erase the phone remotely if you have set that up.
3. Report the loss or theft to the police and keep the report details.
4. Contact your embassy if your passport is gone and you need to travel.
5. Replace Cypriot documents: ID card, residence card, driving licence.
6. Tell your insurer if you have travel, home or phone insurance.

How do you block your bank cards?

Call your bank straight away or use its app. For Cypriot banks:

Both banks also let you freeze or report a card in their mobile apps. JCC is the card-processing company behind many Cypriot cards and answers lost-card calls when the banks are closed.

For a card from another bank, use the lost or stolen number on that bank's website or app. Then check your recent transactions and tell the bank about anything you did not make.

How do you block your phone and SIM?

Call your mobile provider. It can suspend the SIM so nobody runs up charges or receives your security codes by text.

Calling one provider's short number from another network may be charged, so use a friend's phone or the from-abroad number if you need to.

Your IMEI number. Every phone has a unique IMEI code. Dial *#06# on your phone today and note the number somewhere safe, or find it on the box. If the phone is stolen, give the IMEI to the police. Cyta, for example, asks you to bring the police confirmation to a Cyta shop, after which it blacklists the IMEI so the phone cannot be used on its network.

Cyta can lift the block if you find the phone. If not, you get a new SIM with the same number. For prepaid Cyta SIMs, bring the personal code from your original connection pack.

Also use your phone's own tracking service (Find My on iPhone, Find My Device on Android) to locate, lock or erase it, and change the passwords for your email, banking and social media accounts.

How do you report a loss or theft to the police?

Go to the nearest police station, or the one for the area where it happened. Ask for:

• a written report, or at least the report or reference number and the date;
• the name and number of the officer who took it.

Check that your name, passport number and the list of items are correct before you leave. You will need the report for your embassy, your insurer and some Cypriot authorities. Ireland's foreign ministry, for example, says it will not issue an Irish travel document without one.

Call 112 only for emergencies, such as a robbery in progress or if you are in danger. Visit Cyprus lists 1460 as the police line for complaints.

Online options. In June 2026 the Cyprus Police launched DigiPol, a set of more than 30 online services on the gov.cy portal. They include requests for police reports and declarations of a lost identity card. Check which services you can use; for a stolen passport or wallet, plan to report it at a station in person.

How do you get an emergency travel document as a British citizen?

The British High Commission in Nicosia does not issue full passports, but you can apply for an emergency travel document (ETD) if you are a British national outside the UK, your passport is lost or stolen, you need to travel within 6 weeks, and you have had a UK passport issued on or after 1 January 2006 (others use a separate contact form).

Check before you apply that your airline and every country you travel through accept the ETD. ETDs are only for urgent travel, not for holidays, weddings, family events or job interviews.

If you do not need to travel soon, cancel the lost passport online on GOV.UK and apply for a replacement from Cyprus. Our guide to renewing a UK passport while living in Cyprus explains the overseas application and current fees.

For urgent help, call the British High Commission on +357 22 861100 and choose option 2 for emergencies involving a British national (available 24/7). Counter visits are by appointment only.

What if you are an EU citizen?

Your own country's embassy or consulate is your first port of call. Each sets its own procedure, fees and documents, so check its website. For example:

• Ireland asks you to make a police report first, then contact the embassy for an emergency travel document.
• The Netherlands asks you to email your documents, phone number and travel plans to the embassy in Nicosia; a laissez-passer is usually ready within 3 working days and a new passport within 10.
• Sweden asks you to report the loss to the Cyprus police, tell the embassy so the passport can be blocked, then apply for a temporary or regular passport.

If your country has no embassy in Cyprus, ask your foreign ministry how to get help. The EU's right to help from another member state's embassy applies outside the EU. Inside the EU, other member states may issue the new EU Emergency Travel Document (in use since 9 December 2025), but they are not obliged to.

Your ID card. If you still have a valid national ID card, it may be enough to travel within the EU. Each country decides whether to let travellers in or out without a valid document, so check with your airline and the authorities of each country you travel through.

How do you replace a Cypriot ID card or passport?

If you are a Cypriot citizen, for example after naturalisation, ID cards and passports are issued by the Civil Registry and Migration Department.

• Report the loss to the police. A lost ID card can also be declared online through DigiPol.
• For a passport, the department asks for the police complaint plus a court affidavit about the loss or theft. Applications are made in person at its central offices in Nicosia. A replacement after loss, theft or damage costs double the normal fee the first time, and double again for each further replacement.
• For an ID card, check the current documents and fee with the department before you go.

How do you replace a residence permit or yellow slip?

Residence documents (MEU1 yellow slip, MEU2 and MEU3 cards, Withdrawal Agreement cards for UK nationals and permits for non-EU citizens) are handled by the Migration Department. Since June 2024 it has sat under the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection, not the Civil Registry and Migration Department.

1. Report the loss to the police and keep the report.
2. Apply for a reissue with the Migration Department. Check its application forms page for the current form and fee before your appointment.
3. Bring your passport, the police report and any copy of the lost card you have.

If you need to travel before the new card arrives, ask the Migration Department what you can travel with. Do not assume a police report alone will get you back into Cyprus. For background on each document, see our guides to the MEU1 yellow slip and UK citizens under the Withdrawal Agreement.

How do you replace a driving licence?

It depends on who issued it.

Drive only once you hold a valid licence again. Our guides to exchanging a driving licence and getting a Cyprus driving licence explain the Road Transport Department process.

Is there a lost property office in Cyprus?

We could not find a central lost property office. In practice:

• Found items are handed in at police stations. Official guidance tells anyone who finds a lost document to return it to the issuing authority, the nearest police station or a Cypriot consulate. Ask at the station for the area where you lost it, and leave your phone number.
• Airports: Larnaca and Paphos airports have a Lost & Found desk in the baggage reclaim area. For items left on a plane, contact it before you leave baggage reclaim, or contact your airline.
• Buses, taxis, shops and hotels: call the operator or business directly, the same day if you can.

Be wary of social media pages offering lost luggage: in 2023 a Facebook page called "Larnaca Airport", selling unclaimed suitcases for €2.99, turned out to be fake and not run by the airport.

If your UK passport turns up after you have reported it, remember that reporting it cancels it, so you cannot travel on it.

How can you make a future loss less painful?

• Keep photos or scans of your passport, ID card, residence card and driving licence in a secure cloud folder.
• Note your phone's IMEI (*#06#) and your banks' lost-card numbers somewhere other than your phone.
• Set up Find My or Find My Device, and a screen lock.
• Do not carry your passport day to day if you have a Cypriot ID card or residence card for identification.
• Check whether your home or travel insurance covers theft of personal belongings and what proof it needs; our guide to home insurance in Cyprus explains typical cover.

What to do next

1. Save your bank's lost-card line, your mobile provider's number and 112 in a note you can reach from another device.
2. British nationals: bookmark the GOV.UK emergency travel document page and read our guide to renewing a UK passport in Cyprus.
3. Check your residence document is up to date: see renewing a residence permit online.
4. Review your mobile and home internet set-up with our guide to phones and internet in Cyprus.
5. For more everyday safety tips, see our health and safety guide for life in Cyprus.