While going on holiday is usually an exciting time of year it can also prove stressful if things go wrong. And among the most stressful things that can happen while preparing for or on a trip is having passport issues.

Your passport is an official travel document issued by a government, identifying your right to travel. Without it, you will not be allowed into countries, including back into your own.

Therefore, losing or having your passport stolen is a serious issue – even more so if it happens while you are abroad. With this in mind, the Government has urged people to do this one thing immediately if they have lost their passport or had it stolen.

Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as just getting a new passport. Firstly you will need to cancel your old one. This is to ensure it can’t be used by someone else.

The Government website says: “You must cancel a lost or stolen passport as soon as possible. This will reduce the risk of anyone else using your passport or your identity. You can report a lost or stolen passport for someone else if they can’t do it themselves.”

You must cancel the old passport before you can apply for a new one. To cancel a lost or stolen passport you should visit this website: gov.uk/report-a-lost-or-stolen-passport.

If this occurs while you are in the UK you can then just apply for a new passport the standard way, which usually takes around three weeks for the new document to arrive. If you are in the UK but need your passport to arrive sooner there is a fast-track service available at a cost of up to £219.50.

If you are abroad without a passport you can apply for an emergency travel document. “An emergency travel document lets you travel from abroad if you need to travel urgently and cannot use your UK passport,” the Government says. “It is usually only valid for one single or return journey. You can travel through a maximum of five countries.”

You are eligible for an emergency travel document if:

• You’re a British national
• You’re outside the UK
• You need to travel within six weeks
• Your UK passport has been lost, stolen, damaged, is full, has recently expired or is with HM Passport Office or a foreign embassy
• You cannot renew or replace your UK passport from abroad before you travel
• You have had a valid UK passport that was issued on or after January 1, 2006.

You must also replace your passport if it is considered damaged. HM Passport Office will consider your passport damaged if:

• You cannot read any of your details
• Any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing
• There are holes, cuts or rips in the cover
• The cover is coming away
• There are stains on the pages (for example, ink or water damage).

The standard online service to replace a passport costs £88.50.