The UK’s Identity and Passport Service just released the results of a study that looked at replacement passport applications to determine where and how passports are most likely to be lost. Like the US, the UK has citizens applying to replace a lost passport fill out a questionnaire explaining exactly what happened to the missing document.
According to the statistics, one of the most common ways to lose a passport in the UK is to accidentally throw it away, according to a BBC write up of the study. About 10,000 passports a year are taken out with the trash. Bars and clubs are the other major culprits. As you might expect, people in their 20’s seem to be the most prone to these types of accidents: 42.8% of the people who applied to replace a lost passport last year were in that age group.
Meanwhile, the BBC also collected a list of some of the more unusual explanations people gave for their lost passports. Check it out:
- Taxi attacked by gunman on way to airport in Brazil
- Fell out of bag while snowboarding
- Drunk boyfriend (now ex) destroyed it
- Last seen in pocket of a coat donated to tramp
- Wallet stolen at children’s party with passport inside
- Passports stored in safe in Turkish villa, thieves stole safe
- Put in bin by infant daughter; and
- Put on a fire with clothes
No matter what happened to your passport, RushMyPassport can help you get it replaced quickly. Normal passport processing takes about 6 weeks, while the Department of State’s expedited service takes about 3 weeks. We hand-deliver your paperwork to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours. Even better, there’s no need to make an appointment or travel to a passport agency.
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