Cases have been brought to our attention recently where travellers, who have previously reported their passport  missing or stolen in their own country, but subsequently found and used it to travel to Portugal, have had it seized by immigration upon arrival.

Once you have declared your travel document as lost or stolen to your national authorities, it is cancelled and considered invalid. The details of the document are passed on to INTERPOL and entered into their stolen or lost travel documents (SLTD) database.

Border officials in INTERPOL’s member countries can screen passenger information directly against the SLTD database.

If you try to travel with an invalid document, entry or boarding is denied. The travel document is seized to prevent its future use and you cannot travel.

If you have reported your passport lost or stolen, but subsequently find it you should report this to the issuing authority and apply for a new one. Do not attempt to travel with a document that you have reported as lost or stolen.