The first hour after a lost passport. Get a police report with a reference number; the consulate may not insist, but every insurer wants it within 24 hours. Book the emergency appointment at your consulate online and bring a passport photo (2 x 2 inches for the US), other ID, flight details and the passport copy you keep in Waystop’s Documents. The US issues a limited-validity emergency passport that gets you home. The UK’s emergency travel document costs £125 (since April 2025), is applied for online, takes about two working days and covers up to five countries.
A lost or stolen phone. From any browser, sign in to Find My or Find Hub, mark the phone lost and lock it; do not erase it yet, because erasing ends the tracking. Have your carrier suspend the line. The eSIM problem is that many banks now text a code to a phone you no longer have, so set up an authenticator app with cloud backup before you leave and keep backup codes in a password manager or on paper. An old phone in the suitcase, signed in, turns disaster into an errand.
A stolen card. Freeze it in the app from any device and call the number on the other card, which you kept in a different bag.
Emergency numbers. 112 works across the EU and the UK, 999 too in London. Japan: 110 police, 119 fire and ambulance, and the Japan Visitor Hotline, 050-3816-2787, in English around the clock. Korea: 112 police, 119 ambulance, 1330 for a travel helpline with interpreters. Thailand: 1155 tourist police in English, 191 police, 1669 ambulance. Singapore: 999 police, 995 ambulance. Mexico City and New York: 911.
Travel insurance. Report theft within 24 hours and keep the reference. Keep receipts or card statements for anything you claim, photograph the damage, and call the insurer before paying a hospital where the policy asks. Lost flights and hotels go on the same claim; keep every booking email.
Hospitals and pharmacies. Tokyo: St Luke’s International in Tsukiji. Seoul: Severance Hospital’s International Health Care Center. Bangkok: Bumrungrad International, ambulance 02 011 5222. Singapore: Raffles Hospital. Mexico City: Centro Médico ABC in Observatorio and Santa Fe. In London, emergency room (A&E) treatment is free for visitors; anything beyond it is billed. Across Europe a pharmacy is a green cross, the pharmacist treats most small things, and one per district stays open overnight on a posted schedule.
On the day. Before you fly, put photos of the passport, the insurance policy, both bank numbers and the embassy address in Waystop’s Documents and share them with your traveling companion. Then the first hour is a checklist.