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What to do if you are robbed abroad

Have you lost your bank cards or passport abroad? Or have you been robbed? If there’s no one there to help you, you can apply for assistance to the Dutch embassy or consulate.

Blocking your bank cards
Have your ATM, debit or credit cards been stolen abroad? Or have you lost them? You need to block them as soon as possible.

Informing the police and getting an official report
If you’ve been robbed, always report the theft to the local police. Ask for written proof that you have done so. You will need this to make an insurance claim.

Assistance from an embassy or consulate
If you’ve been robbed, the local Dutch embassy or consulate will assist you. For example:

•    Has your passport or identity document been stolen abroad? Or have you lost your passport? You can apply to the local Dutch embassy or consulate for a temporary travel document (an emergency passport or laissez-passer).
•    The embassy or consulate can advise you on how your relatives in the Netherlands can transfer money to you.
•    The embassy or consulate will contact local lawyers or interpreters who can give you further assistance.

What the embassy or consulate cannot do
There is a lot of misunderstanding about what a Dutch embassy or consulate can and cannot do. It cannot:

•    lend or give you money to pay the bills of lawyers, hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, etc.;
•    pay your return fare;
•    investigate the offence.