Emergency Passport

Mongolian Visa
We arrived in St Petersburg and checked into our hostel.
It was late in the evening but never too late to be planning.
I asked the receptionist about getting to Moscow so that I could go to the Mongolian Consulate and apply for a Mongolian Visa. She recommended going on the overnight train which would have me arriving in Moscow at 8 am and plenty of time to submit my application and return the same day on the fast train back to SP, that sounded like a great plan.
I left my backpack and other items and only took a small back pack with me on the overnight train as I was to return the following evening.
I arrived in Moscow on time and went to the Mongolian Consulate where I submitted my application. Then I walked back to the train station taking a few photos on the way since I was walking past the Red Square.
When I got to the train station it was about 5 pm and I then attempted to get a ticket back to SP but then found out that to get a ticket I needed a passport and that the electronic copy I had was not acceptable and they needed to see an original copy.
I could not believe that so I went to another counter only to get the same results.
I was stuck in Moscow until I could get my passport back.
Lucky for me the Mongolian Visa and my passport would be ready tomorrow so I would only need to stay one extra night, not too much of an issue I guessed.


How I lost my Passport
I had just received my Mongolian Visa and wanted to rush back to St Petersburg to attend a ballet concert that had already been booked starting at 7:30 pm.
There was a fast train that I could catch that might enable me to get there in time.
I did not have much luggage with me, just my small backpack which pulls closed at the top.
I put my passport with my Russian, Chinese and now Mongolian Visa into my pack and headed for the underground train station so I could get to the main train station to go back to Moscow.
A few minutes after having left the Mongolian Consulate I arrived at the underground station and thought to myself that I should put my passport into my travel wallet that I had with me.
So I reached into my pack but did not feel my passport.
Rather than being in the road of everyone I went to a seat and sat down to find my passport.
But shock horror... I could not find it.
I only had it 5 mins ago and I was positive I had put it into my back pack???
I retraced my steps back to the Mongolian Embassy.
There were no other people waiting in the Embassy and I asked if anyone behind the counter had seen my passport as it was missing.
I had a look around but it was clearly not there.
I told the staff that I would go to the Australian Embassy to report my loss.
The staff were really helpful and said that if I received a new passport then they would issue me with a new visa!

What to do next
The first step was for me to go to the Australian Embassy and report my lost passport.
Lucky for me it was close by the Mongolian Consulate and still open.
I was able to talk with someone and they advised me what to do.
First Step was that had to get an interpreter.
After that go to the police station to report the loss so that a report could be made.
It is only with a police report that the Embassy will issue me with an Emergency Passport.
After being issued a new Emergency passport I would then have to go with the interpreter to the Russian Federation so that I could be issued a new visa so that I could depart the country.
The Australian Embassy gave me a list of contacts that could act as an interpreter.

Interpreter
I sent emails to several contacts listed on the sheet given to me by the Australian Embassy.
No one responded that evening most likely because it was after hours so I thought I would chase a bit harder to speak to someone the following day.
One person replied back saying they were too busy ... not a good sign.
Another agency contacted me and said that they would ask someone to call me.
It was a young woman called Ana that contacted me later in the day and said that she was able to help but could not go to the police station until 11am the next day.
So I had a wasted day but no alternatives but to accept.

Police Stations
I had gone to a police station the previous day when I first lost my passport with the owner of the hostel but the police would not create a report and said that I had to go back to the police station where I lost my passport.
I then went to the underground train police station but it was obviously not the right place and they advised that I had to go with an interpreter to another police station.
The next day arrived and Ana my interpreter met me outside the police station.
The police station was in the basement of a building and like something you would see in the movies.
We went through the metal detectors and then searched to make extra sure we had nothing on us.
There were prison cells on each side of us with occupants.
We were lead into a small office that had old style desks similar to that of an old school room.
All the furniture was really old and I was fascinated to watch one officer cutting some string to length after binding several sheets of paper to make a booklet.
While the rest of Moscow was very modern this police station was like something you might see in a 50 year old movie.


Police Report
Before making my statement I was advised that the police would be more interested in making a report if the case could be closed.
If there was any chance of my passport being stolen the case would be left open until they could find someone to blame, most likely a random person picked up of the street.
If the passport was in my pocket and fell out, then it would be my negligence and the case could be closed.
It was this later version that was documented and the report created and case closed.
I was given my report and we were all happy.
They did not have a photocopier in the station so I took a photo of all the documents with my iPad.

Russian Police Report

Emergency Passport Issued
Armed with the police report I went with my interpreter back to the Australian Embassy so that they could progress my passport application.
They had already created the passport for me because they knew that I needed it quickly to meet my visa expiry date.

Australian Emergency Passport

6 pages and 7 months until expiry

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