Identify what is missing before requesting a replacement
Your wallet or bag has disappeared. First make an exact list of the documents lost: passport, study permit, bank card, student card or other identification. Note which copies you still have. Replacement involves several organizations; one report does not resolve every procedure.
If you lost a study permit, IRCC’s official help page states that an application and a fee are required to obtain a replacement copy. For a foreign passport, find the issuing authority’s instructions. Do not follow Canadian passport forms if another country issued your document.
Prepare a factual incident record
Record the date, likely location, known circumstances and documents concerned. Describe what you know; do not describe a loss as theft unless you have that information. Record document numbers from a copy kept in a secure place.
For each organization contacted, keep the date, channel used and case reference. If a report to the authorities is required, ask for instructions suited to the location of the incident and keep the evidence. Do not assume that notifying the university replaces a report required by the document’s issuer.
If payment cards are involved, contact your bank through its official contact details to find out what action to take. Avoid links in messages offering to recover your documents for a payment. Someone who knows your name or student number is not, for that reason alone, an authorized contact.
Find the right contacts
The Global Affairs Canada directory lists foreign representatives accredited to Canada. It can help you find a mission or consular post; then check its official website and the relevant jurisdiction. Requirements for a passport, temporary document and loss report depend on the issuing country.
Ask three concrete questions: which procedure applies to my document, which evidence must I gather, and what option exists if travel is approaching? Also ask what happens to a document reported lost if you find it. Do not assume that finding it automatically cancels the report or that it remains usable.
Your institution’s international office can help you identify procedures and the academic consequences of a delay. It issues neither passports nor permits. If you must miss an activity, inform the relevant service with the necessary information, without unnecessarily distributing identity copies to the entire teaching team.
Distinguish replacement, extension and your stay in Canada
Use the application page for replacing an immigration document to access current instructions. Read the guide and check the applicable document list before submitting anything. A request for a copy should not be treated as an extension process simply on intuition.
Record your document’s expiry date and processes already underway separately. If a deadline is approaching or your situation is uncertain, have the issue checked by IRCC or a person authorized to provide immigration advice. Physical loss, validity and conditions of stay are questions to examine separately.
Fictional situation: a student has a copy of her lost permit, but her passport is still at home. She checks the permit replacement process and the deadlines that apply to her. She does not start a passport application simply because both documents are used in some administrative procedures.
Reassess planned travel
List the documents needed to leave Canada, enter your destination and return. The official page on students’ arrival in Canada helps you find entry requirements to check. Do not assume that a replacement receipt or photographic copy is sufficient for travel.
Ask the relevant authorities what is required with your new passport and travel documents. Clarify consequences for a visa or authorization linked to the previous document. Also check booking change conditions, then decide using confirmed information.
Reorganize your documents after replacement
Check the information on the document received and report errors through the prescribed process. Store confirmations and update secure copies. Ask which services must be informed of a changed number or document.
Finally, prepare an emergency list accessible without your phone: bank, passport issuer, institution and a trusted person. Keep copies in a protected space separate from originals. This organization makes a future discussion easier; it never replaces the official document an organization requests.