Two authorities, two jobs. The Swedish Police take the report and give you a case number; only your own country can give you a document to travel on. Here is the order that gets you home fastest, and the traps between the two.
When you need this
- Your bag or pocket has just been emptied in a crowd, on a train or in a café
- You cannot find your passport the night before a flight
- You are an EU citizen and your national ID card was in the stolen wallet
- You have a domestic flight, a ferry or a border crossing in the next few days
- Your insurer or airline is asking for a “police report number”
- You found the passport again after reporting it
Theft is the usual cause. The UK Foreign Office warns that pickpockets in Sweden’s big cities “often target tourists for passports and cash”, and 16,611 pickpocketings were reported in 2025 — a falling number, but concentrated where visitors are. For the wider picture, see how safe Sweden is.
Step 1: Report it to the police — by phone or in person
The Swedish Police want a lost or stolen passport or national ID card reported as soon as possible, by calling 114 14 or visiting a police station.
Many guides tell you to “file a report online”. As a visitor you can’t: Polisen’s online form requires a Swedish personnummer (personal identity number) or samordningsnummer (coordination number). So you report by phone or at a station.
| How | Works for visitors? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Online form on polisen.se | No | Needs a Swedish personal or coordination number |
| 114 14 from a Swedish SIM | Yes | Open around the clock, Swedish or English |
| +46 77 114 14 00 from a foreign mobile | Yes | The short number may not connect from a foreign SIM |
| In person at a police station | Yes | You leave with the case number in hand |
This is not a 112 call. 112 is for danger to life, property or the environment happening right now; a stolen passport is a 114 14 matter. Our guide to Sweden’s emergency numbers explains the difference.
Step 2: Leave with the case number
The report copy is not handed to you by default. Polisen sends it to your Swedish digital mailbox within about 48 hours, or by post to a registered address within about ten working days — and as a visitor you have neither. What your embassy and your insurer need is the diarienummer (case number) that appears at the top of the report.
So write it down before you hang up or leave the station, and ask how you can get a copy. That single number is what unlocks both the embassy process and the travel insurance claim.
Step 3: Contact your own embassy or consulate
The Swedish Police cannot issue a foreign visitor a passport. Only the state that issued your nationality can, through its embassy or consulate. The European Commission puts it plainly for EU travelers: inside the EU, “your first port of call should be your country’s consulate or embassy”.
Find your mission through the Swedish Government’s Stockholm Diplomatic List or your own foreign ministry’s website. Most embassies are in Stockholm; if yours is not, those two sources show which mission handles its citizens in Sweden.
What to bring, in practice:
- The police case number
- A photo or copy of the lost passport’s data page
- Any other ID you still have
- Passport photos to your country’s specification
- Your onward travel booking
Each country runs its own scheme. The UK, for example, issues an Emergency Travel Document to British nationals abroad that is “usually only valid for one single or return journey”, through at most five countries, and cancels the lost passport as part of the application. The US issues a limited-validity emergency passport valid for up to one year and says a police report is not mandatory but helps. Ask your embassy what it needs and what it costs — we don’t publish fees, because they change.
Do not pay a commercial “emergency passport” website. Only the issuing state can produce your travel document.
Traveling before the replacement arrives
A police report is not a travel document. Swedish law places a control duty on airlines and charges them for carrying passengers without valid documents, so a check-in agent will refuse a report alone. Tell your airline and rebook if needed; don’t go to the airport without the replacement.
Flights inside Schengen still need ID. SAS states that travelers within the Schengen area, children included, must be able to identify themselves with a national ID card or passport.
And don’t pop over the border while you wait. Sweden’s temporary internal border controls run to 11 November 2026 and have been renewed every six months. Coming back from Copenhagen or Oslo without a document means facing a check you cannot pass.
The legal backdrop: a visitor from outside the Nordic countries and the Schengen area must hold a passport while staying in Sweden, so replacing it is not optional. When you do leave, non-EU travelers pass through the Entry/Exit System on the new document; the border updates your existing record, and your Schengen days keep counting.
If you are an EU or Nordic citizen
| You are | What still lets you travel | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| EU/EEA citizen | A valid national ID card | Cards with no machine-readable zone stopped being valid on 3 August 2026 |
| Nordic citizen (DK, FI, IS, NO) | No passport needed to stay in Sweden; a Nordic driving licence is usually enough inside the Nordics | Polisen still recommends a passport or national ID card |
| Everyone else | Only a replacement or emergency document from your own state | A police report does not substitute |
EU citizens also have a legal safety net: before turning back an EU citizen who lacks documents, a member state must give “every reasonable opportunity” to obtain them, have them brought, or prove their right of free movement by other means.
One scheme you may read about is the EU Emergency Travel Document. It exists for EU citizens whose own country has no embassy in a non-EU country: a single journey home, normally valid for no more than 15 days. Sweden is in the EU, so it is not your route here — go to your own country’s mission. For which documents are valid in the first place, see our passport rules for Sweden.
Mistakes that cost days
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Trying the online police form | 114 14, +46 77 114 14 00 or a police station |
| Dialing 114 14 from a foreign SIM and concluding it’s dead | Use +46 77 114 14 00 |
| Calling 112 for a lost passport | 114 14 — 112 is for emergencies happening now |
| Leaving without the case number, waiting for the post | Write down the diarienummer on the spot |
| Going to the airport with a police report | Wait for the replacement document |
| Asking another EU embassy for an EU emergency document | Your own state’s mission handles it inside the EU |
Found it again? Tell the police and hand it in. A reported document may be blocked, and your own state may already have cancelled it, so ask your embassy before traveling on it.
Prevention for next time: photograph the data page and keep the copy apart from the passport; carry the passport only when you need it, zipped in an inside pocket, or leave it in the hotel safe; save +46 77 114 14 00 before you fly. EU travelers: bring the ID card as well, stored separately. More in our guide to pickpockets and scams.
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Police, non-urgent | 114 14; +46 77 114 14 00 from a foreign mobile; 24/7, Swedish or English |
| Cost of the call | Not free — charged at your own subscription’s rate, roaming may apply |
| Filing the report | No fee published by Polisen |
| Online report | Only with a Swedish personal or coordination number |
| Report copy | Sent to a Swedish digital mailbox (about 48 hours) or posted to an address (about ten working days) — note the case number instead |
| Replacement document | From your own embassy or consulate; fees and times set by your state |
| Finding your embassy | The Stockholm Diplomatic List (Government Offices of Sweden) |
| Internal border checks | In force until 11 November 2026 |
FAQ
What do I do if my passport is stolen in Sweden?
Report it to the Swedish Police first: call 114 14, or +46 77 114 14 00 from a foreign mobile, or go to a police station. Write down the case number. Then contact your own country’s embassy or consulate, which is the only body that can issue you a replacement or emergency travel document. Use the case number for your travel insurance claim.
Can I report a lost passport to the Swedish police online?
Usually not as a visitor. Polisen’s online report form requires a Swedish personal identity number or coordination number, which tourists do not have. Call 114 14, or +46 77 114 14 00 from a foreign phone, or visit a police station. The line is open around the clock and answered in Swedish or English.
Can I fly home with just a police report?
Expect not. Airlines check your travel document and Swedish law penalizes carriers that transport passengers without valid documents, so a check-in agent will normally refuse a police report alone. You need a replacement or emergency travel document from your own state’s embassy or consulate. Contact your airline once you know when the document will be ready.
Can I travel inside Sweden or Schengen without a passport?
Not reliably. SAS requires a passport or national ID card on flights within the Schengen area, and Sweden runs temporary internal border checks until 11 November 2026. EU citizens can use a valid national ID card; Nordic citizens can usually use a Nordic driving licence within the Nordics. Everyone else should stay put until the replacement arrives.
My country has no embassy in Sweden. What now?
Check the Swedish Government’s Stockholm Diplomatic List and your own foreign ministry’s website: they show which mission, in Stockholm or elsewhere, handles its citizens in Sweden. EU citizens should know that the EU Emergency Travel Document from another member state’s embassy applies to unrepresented citizens outside the EU, not inside Sweden.
I’m an EU citizen. Can I travel home on my national ID card?
Yes, if it is valid. EU and EEA citizens may travel within the Union on a valid national ID card instead of a passport. Check the back: a card with no machine-readable zone stopped being a valid travel document on 3 August 2026. If you also lost the card, contact your embassy for an emergency document.
What if I find my passport after reporting it?
Tell the police and hand it in. Once reported, a document may be blocked so nobody can use it, and your own state may already have cancelled it, so it may not be valid for travel. Ask your embassy before you try to travel on it, especially if you have already applied for a replacement.
Related guides
- Sweden’s emergency numbers — when it’s 112 and when it’s 114 14
- Lost wallet in Sweden — if your cards went with the passport
- Passport rules for Sweden — which documents are valid, including ID cards
- Travel insurance for Sweden — the claim your case number unlocks
- Reporting a crime as a visitor — what happens after the report
Facts verified 2026-09-24. Sources: Polismyndigheten, SOS Alarm, Government Offices of Sweden, Your Europe (European Commission), EUR-Lex, utlänningslagen (2005:716), GOV.UK, the U.S. Department of State, SAS and Brå — full register in this topic’s source file. We publish no embassy fees or addresses, because each state sets and changes them. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.