Hey, it’s me again after the previous lost passport in Singapore!
Okay, not me this time, but my aunt. Unfortunately her passport and IC was pickpocketed at Chatuchak Market. A reminder to everyone to be vigilant about your belongings in Southeast Asian shopping markets!
It was a scary experience especially because of potential language barriers, but we were lucky to get lots of help from the locals and the embassy staff. Here’s a quick summary of what you would need to get back to Malaysia!
- File a police report
- Prepare documents
- Visit the embassy to get a temporary passport (“Emergency Certificate”)
- Use the passport to fly back to Malaysia
1. File a police report
Photo credit: Phansak พิพัฒน์ฯ | Google Maps
This is required as proof of your best efforts to recover the document.
Visit a police station in Bangkok. Most of them can communicate in simple English. Google Translate is your best friend here.
Note: The Thai police we met told us that an English translation is not needed because the police report form we wrote and submitted is already in English. This is not true! An official certified translation is still required. See below.
2. Prepare documents
You’ll need the following documents:
- Original IC (if available) + 2 photocopies (needed)
- Original Passport (if available) + 2 photocopies (needed)
- 2 passport sized photographs in light blue background (we used dark blue and it was ok)
- Original police report in Thai + 2 photocopies
- Certified English translation of police report + 2 photocopies
- Application form (available at the embassy)
- THB 512 application fee
I highly recommend you to make digital copies of your IC and passport (now!) and store them in the cloud e.g. Google Drive, or somewhere secure. We were extremely lucky to be able to retrieve digital copies of my aunt’s IC / passport in a random WhatsApp chat group for a prior travel.
We did the police report translation at a translation office at level 1 of The Embassy Sathon Hotel. Walk into the hotel’s car entrance (purple sign below) to find the translation office. The translation cost was 700 THB – I guess it would’ve been cheaper if done at other parts of the city.
Photo credit: Google Maps
3. Visit the embassy to get a temporary passport (“Emergency Certificate”)
Note that due to renovations, the embassy is currently located at Kronos Sathorn Tower Level 17.
This is not updated on Google Maps!
Do check the Malaysia Embassy website for the latest update.
Cool looking building!
The embassy opens at 8am (or 8.30am during Ramadan period).
The overall process was pretty straightforward. We were warmly received by the staffs Samkid, Aimran, Marwan, and Chanikan, who did their best to help us expedite the process.
4. Use the passport to fly back to Malaysia
My aunt managed to catch her flight back to Malaysia at 1pm with the emergency passport!
The immigration may ask some questions but it’s all part of the process.
Once back in Malaysia, do proceed to replace your IC / passport via the usual government channels.
I’m really glad that the whole process was smooth, and that my aunt was able to get back to Malaysia on her original flight.
Hope this information helps people who encounter similar situations!
xianyou 