Step by step: what to do if your passport is stolen in Vietnam and how to exit the country (in Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon)

You are going to the police to report the crime and get a police report. The stamped police report will allow you to start the process of getting a new passport. Only with a new passport can you get a new visa and leave the country. It will also be vital for your insurance company.

Don’t go to the Embassy first - it wastes time when time is of the essence. I went to the embassy first. It was the wrong move. They cannot help you without the police report.

1. In Vietnam, you can only report crimes at the closest police station to the incident. There are loads of police stations but if you go to one further away, they'll won't help. They also don't seem to know the right one to go to. As soon as it happens, Google the nearest police station - or get someone else to tell you where the nearest police station is - and go straight there
2. Explain what happened. It’s possible that the local police won’t speak good English. But they are police, so they know people only come to them with problems. They just need to work out which one
3. They will ask you to fill out a police report form stating exactly what happened, when it happened and exactly where (find the approximate address on someone’s phone) and sign it
4. They might ask you to hand write another form - I can’t tell you why - with all the same details
5. They need to “investigate” the crime, i.e. log it in their system. In order to get the stamped report, you may have to go away and wait until a more senior officer from a more central station comes to sign and stamp it
6. My experience with the police in Vietnam: In my case, I was met with understanding and empathy. They were caring: let me use the bathroom, plug in my laptop to charge and helped with translations using their mobiles. I’d read comments online saying that some police ask for money at this stage. I didn’t experience this. The theft of my belongings took place at 13:30 on a Saturday. The police handed me a stamped police report at 20:00 that evening. They were great
7. Tip: every new document you receive in this process should be copied. Whilst days seem slip away fast, the evenings will help you to regroup. These are the times to take stock, try to rest, find a local internet cafe, print out photos of your passport and photocopy your police report

B - Go to the Embassy

1. Take your police report and passport photos to the consulate or embassy on the earliest working day possible. Take photocopies of your police report, planned flights and if you have the details or copies of your old passport, that will help
2. Let them know your travel plans. They take it seriously if you’ve got a flight to catch. But they can’t go faster than their systems allow
3. If you’re travelling straight back to your home country, the type of replacement document you require may be different to the one you need if you’re travelling to another country afterwards 
4. The embassy will explain the process ahead. They will most likely ask you to fill out a form to get a new, temporary passport
5. The next step takes time. Since you have no official ID, the embassy will send your request for a new document to your home country for verification. The home country must receive this request, confirm your identify and then your consulate or embassy can proceed. Remember, you’re often in a different time zone from your home country. This can count against you. It certainly did for me. So try to expect that this takes a few days and don't let it get you down even more
6. As you might sense: this all takes time. Getting robbed on a Saturday isn’t the worst thing. It means you can get your police report by the Sunday, head to the embassy on Monday and you have the highest number of consecutive days ahead of you to get your applications through. If you're robbed on a Friday, there’s nothing you can do about it. You’ll have a couple of extra days to try to regroup - do your best to calm down, for your own sake - and then start the process on the Monday
7. If there’s a public holiday in either your visited country, or in your home country, your embassy or consulate will not be open. And they will not process anything on those days. I experienced this and it meant I missed my flights out of the country. That is just super bad luck and nothing can be done, as I found out
8. Pay the embassy’s fee for processing and giving you a new document: I had to pay £65 for my temporary passport which will last a year but lets me fly on to another country, other than home. Bring cash in the local currency. They’ll let you know when and how to pay
9. My new temporary passport was applied for on Monday this week and I got it today, Thursday - 4 days later. That was partly because of a public holiday getting in the way and partly and time zone issue
10. Tip: take a photo of your new document immediately. You may need this passport number for booking new flights and you’re about to give it to the Vietnamese authorities to get a new visa. So take copies of some sort. Thinking about it, your embassy might even do it. But I totally forgot to ask
11. I got frustrated with the German consulate. They suggested everything would go really quickly. But it didn’t. The reality crushed me because I missed my flights to leave and I didn't have enough time that week to get a new Chinese visa either. I was really frustrated with them (but basically with myself for having got into this situation). There’s no point in getting upset at the embassy people. You need them on your side - because there’s a chance they can do things just a little quicker if they feel for you. They can also slow things down, just a little, if they want to