International travel can be hectic at the best of times. But now, an added layer of confusion is popping up with some travelers reporting their passports were wrongly flagged as lost or stolen during their journey.
Travelers have been posting about the concerning development on social media, documenting their confusion in vlog-style reports.
Traveler Parker Anderson, for example, recently posted a TikTok video detailing an experience where he said he was detained in Thailand after his passport was flagged as lost. However, Anderson said he safely had the passport in his possession. Nonetheless, Anderson said he was still sent back to the United States.
“This was one of the most traumatizing things to happen in my, and my girlfriend’s lives,” Anderson shared in the video. “We are financially damaged. We are emotionally scarred. It was a horrible experience.”
In a separate instance, another creator, marcyistraveling, detailed a similar experience in which she said her passport was flagged as lost or stolen after landing in Rome. In that case, she said she was allowed to enter Italy and make her way to the embassy to request an emergency passport.
Both creators have said they did not receive a satisfactory answer about how something like this could have occurred.
Reached by Travel + Leisure, a spokesperson for the Department of State confirmed a U.S. passport could be cancelled in error in extremely rare cases.
The spokesperson said that once a passport has been reported lost or stolen, it is no longer considered valid and cannot be used during travel. The spokesperson added travelers who apply online to renew their passport are not able to travel on their previous passport since those are automatically invalidated after the online application is submitted.
However, the spokesperson didn’t comment on the stories of travelers who have run into recent issues.
If faced with a passport emergency, the State Department spokesperson recommended travelers contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. A full list is available online, allowing travelers to search by country.
U.S. citizens with dual citizenship are also required to both enter and leave the U.S. on their U.S. passport.
Last year, the State Department issued more than 27 million passports.
The reports of passport-related issues come as a new bill was introduced aimed at banning dual citizenship in the U.S. If passed, the bill, which was moved to the Senate Judiciary Committee, would require U.S. citizens with dual foreign citizenship to choose between the two.
