How do I replace a lost Zimbabwean passport?

Treat a lost passport as both a travel problem and an identity-security incident. Report it promptly, record the passport details if you have them and apply through the Civil Registry Department or the nearest Zimbabwean mission. Do not describe the case as a routine renewal: the missing document must be recorded so it cannot quietly remain in circulation.

Secure the evidence of loss

If the passport was stolen or cannot be found after a careful search, make a police report in the place where it disappeared. Ask for the original report, case number or formal affidavit accepted by local police. Published Zimbabwean mission checklists require a police report or affidavit for lost or stolen passports.

Keep copies of the old biographical page, passport number, visas and entry stamps if available. Tell relevant visa or residence authorities when their records depend on the lost passport. Do not publish a full scan or number on social media while asking for help.

If this applies to your situation, read our guide on replace a lost Zimbabwean passport.

Rebuild the passport application pack

Prepare the original long birth certificate, national ID if you are 16 or older, two compliant colour photographs and the police document. Add a copy of the lost passport if available, plus marriage, divorce, citizenship or name-change evidence relevant to the identity that should appear. When abroad, also carry the residence permit or other local-status document requested by the mission.

If you do not remember the passport number, say so. The Civil Registry can trace the travel-document history from the lawful identity evidence; inventing a number or using an altered copy is dangerous.

Submit the replacement application

1. Contact the authorised passport office or Zimbabwean mission and state clearly that the passport is lost or stolen.
2. Ask whether the police report needs certification, translation or a particular format.
3. Attend personally for document authentication, questions and biometric capture.
4. Complete the official form with the same registered particulars unless a lawful change has already been recorded.
5. Review the captured information and the declaration about the lost document.
6. Pay the approved ordinary or emergency passport fee and keep the official receipt and reference.

The 2024 fee regulations list the passport-category charges rather than a separate universal lost-passport price: US\$150 ordinary or US\$250 emergency, plus the US\$20 QR charge. Ask the office whether another prescribed charge applies to your particular case and confirm any embassy fee separately.

After submitting

Track the application through the official channel. An officer may need additional clearance because an unreturned passport carries fraud and border-security risk. That review is not necessarily a refusal. Respond promptly if asked for a clearer report, earlier passport details or citizenship evidence.

If the old passport is later found, do not attempt to travel with it. Inform the authority handling the replacement and follow its instruction for surrender or cancellation. At collection, inspect the new document and update any visa, residence, airline or employer record that used the old number. Keep the loss report and new issuance receipt together in case a foreign authority asks why the passport number changed.

Official sources

• Zimbabwe Embassy Lusaka Passport Application
• Zimbabwe Embassy Berlin Passport Requirements
• Zimbabwe Consulate Johannesburg Consular Services

Before paying or travelling, confirm the latest fee, accepted payment method and office arrangements with the Civil Registry Department.