Losing your passport in Saint Petersburg is a problem with a fixed procedure, not a catastrophe. The sequence is the same for every visitor: report the loss, get a temporary ID, then apply for a new passport. This guide covers Russian citizens who are in the city without local registration; foreign visitors have a different route through their consulate, covered in our guide to losing a passport in Russia as a foreigner.
Step one: report it
If the passport was stolen, go to any police station and file a theft report. You will receive a slip confirming the report, which you later show when applying for a replacement. If the passport was simply lost, a police report is not legally required, but the city administration recommends it: stolen passports are used to open loans, SIM cards and shell companies, and the report fixes the date from which the document is invalid.
Step two: a temporary ID
This is what a visitor actually needs. A temporary identity certificate is issued by any district migration office of the Interior Ministry on the day you apply — you do not need to be registered in Saint Petersburg. Bring one 35 × 45 mm photo. The certificate is accepted for train tickets and domestic flights, and hotels must accept it at check-in.
Step three: the new passport
Apply at the same migration office or through a multifunctional public services centre. The state fee for a passport replacing a lost one is 1,500 roubles — three times the fee for a routine replacement — plus a fine for the loss itself of 100 to 300 roubles or a warning. Under current rules the new passport is issued within five working days regardless of where you apply, so a week-long stay is enough to leave with a new document. If your trip is shorter, leave on the temporary certificate and collect the passport at home.
