Stolen Passport in Country Without a US Embassy

Stolen Passport in Country Without a US Embassy - Crop unrecognizable person demonstrating British passport

My passport was stolen in December 2020. There is no US Embassy in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The nearest embassy is in the Bahamas. There is a US Consulate, but it has been closed since 2019. But the Bahamas is a different country, and I cannot travel to the Bahamas. The embassy in the Bahamas told me to take the police report, copy of my stolen passport and go to the airport, and the airline would call (someone) to get permission to let me on the plane. That did not work. American Airlines told me that Customs and Border Protection would not allow me to board. I called the CBP, and they referred me to the State Dept, who referred me to TSA. No one will help. Any suggestions? I have been in the Turks and Caicos for seven months, waiting for the Consulate to reopen. I must get home.

Any suggestions?



Best Answer

You need an emergency travel document. The people who should be getting you this are the American Consulate, and since there isn't one in Turks and Caicos, the Bahamian one should be responsible.

You seem to have taken a very relaxed attitude to this situation. When the action recommended by the Bahamas consulate didn't work, you should have immediately called them again, not waited seven months for a reopening that clearly won't happen. If you didn't do that, they will have assumed you got home successfully or don't really need to leave. Even now, if you don't call them frequently, they will assume that you are content with the current situation. They won't do anything unless you ask them.

You should call the Bahamas consulate every day or two until you get a resolution. Tell them it is urgent (although they may be skeptical since you seem to have been OK staying in the Turks and Caicos for seven months). Don't bother calling airlines, CBP, State department or TSA (unless the consulate tells you to).

Anything else you try, like trying to sneak into the Bahamas, is likely to be illegal and have repercussions down the road. However an option you could try is to apply for a replacement passport in the regular way and have it mailed to a friend in the US (they won't mail it abroad). Then have the friend bring it to you in the Turks and Caicos. This is likely to be tricky in times of Covid, but should be manageable.

Be aware that if you don't apply for a replacement passport soon, you may find that you have to apply for a new passport rather than a replacement, which will be harder.




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Answer 2

Here is a somewhat radical solution, and it might be pricy, but it will be fun. All you need to do is find a fellow American citizen in Turks and Caicos who has a boat.

Pay him to drop you off in the nearest US jurisdiction, which is the western coast of Puerto Rico. It will be a day’s travel each way by powerboat, four days by sail, which is why it will be expensive. Moor in some backwater like Rincon or Playa Buyé. Take a cab to Mayagüez and fly home.

Nobody will question an American-accented white person about his citizenship and of course, there are no passport checks on domestic flights. Technically, you are not even breaking the law, since you have the legal right to enter the US.

(Actually, re-reading the law, it may be technically illegal, but reality is, they are never going to check. If they ask you any questions, just don’t answer them.

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