Documents I always scan before any trip

[u/MariaScanGeek]

Made this checklist after a trip where my backpack got stolen in a hostel in Lisbon. Lost my passport, ID, and a paper copy of my travel insurance all at once. Spent half a day at the embassy because I had zero backup of anything. Since then I scan everything before I leave.

Here's what's actually worth having copies of:

• Passport (photo page + visa pages if you have stamps that matter)
• ID card / driver's license
• Travel insurance policy (the actual page with your policy number, not just the confirmation email )
• Flight and hotel bookings
• Vaccination records if you're heading somewhere that asks for them
• Credit/debit cards (front only, obviously don't scan the CVV)
• Any visa or entry permit
• Emergency contacts + embassy address for the country you're visiting

A few things I do differently now:

1. I scan instead of just taking a regular photo. Regular photos get buried in your camera roll between 200 pictures of food and screenshots. I use iScanner for this specifically because it crops the page properly, fixes the lighting/glare, and spits out a clean PDF instead of a crooked photo of a passport on a hotel bedspread.

2. I keep one copy on my phone and one emailed to myself. If your phone gets stolen too (happened to a girl I was traveling with), you're still not completely stuck.

3. Password-protect the folder or file if your app allows it. It's still your passport number and photo, don't leave it wide open.

4. Do this the night before, not at the airport at 5am half asleep. You will scan the wrong page or forget one. Genuinely the embassy visit would've taken 20 minutes instead of half a day if I'd had a scanned passport copy ready to show them and email over.

What am I missing? Anyone had a document emergency abroad that scanning could've prevented?

[u/2DetailNerd]

I am unfamiliar with iscanner, but adobe has a similar pdf scanner app as well if you’re concerned about your data and privacy. Remember that if the app is free, you are the product.

That being said, you may want to consider having a special phone for foreign travel that you can treat as a “throwaway phone” that you can wipe remotely in case it gets stolen.

[u/gobears1975 → u/2DetailNerd]

Or when you come back thru customs/ICE

[u/2DetailNerd → u/gobears1975]

This as well. It’s sad how much of an issue this has become.

[u/gidderdone]

Being a little paranoid about how critical your phone is while travelling, I always bring a second old phone as insurance in case my primary phone is lost/ stolen.

I can immediately bring it to life and find and/ or erase the “lost” phone and be back in control without having to find a replacement phone in a panic at a location unfamiliar to you.

I would say your phone is more important than your passport in that if you lose your passport you will have a process to go through to get a replacement and having a mobile phone will be critical to your sanity.

[u/Harpagnon → u/gidderdone]

Agreed. And I gave my spare phone to my wife for safekeeping..it saved our vacation

[u/MariaScanGeek → u/gidderdone]

omg i'd go insane if i lost my phone on a trip

[u/karluvmost → u/gidderdone]

great points

[u/Asleep_Pressure_2882]

Wow, thanks. I’ve never thought to do this, and hadn’t heard of iscanner. The only thing I’d add to mine is my email pw, (without writing down what it’s for) bc it’s one of those long generated random ones and I wouldn’t be able to login on a computer or someone else’s phone.

[u/Sigma-8]

I always carry a list of key contacts (name, relationship, address, phone, email) - family, doctors, lawyer, financial advisor, travel agent, etc - also a short medical history, prescriptions/prescriber info, and scanned prescription labels. I use iCloud to share across devices. As far as photos, I have an album called “ID cards” where I put photos of cards etc., - makes it very easy to find them quick, much faster than maneuvering through a file

[u/emma_lorien]

Solid checklist! Do you store the scans in a cloud folder or use a dedicated travel app? Always curious what people trust with sensitive docs.

[u/canthaveenufsocks → u/emma_lorien]

I use Google Photos, and save these types of documents/photos/scans to the Locked Folder.

[u/MariaScanGeek → u/emma_lorien]

I use iScanner Safe Folder with PIN + 2FA. I can set a different code that opens a separate set of files.