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Make a small emergency card that can be read without unlocking your main phone or opening your full document folder. Include verified local help, the appropriate consular contact and a household contact. Keep sensitive medical or identity detail separate unless it is genuinely needed for your own emergency plan.
A backup when a phone is unavailable
The UK’s Foreign travel checklist recommends a backup way to access essential travel and insurance details if a phone is lost. It also advises noting the nearest British consular contact. That consular advice is for British travellers; readers with another nationality should find their own government’s appropriate contact. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Foreign travel checklist.
Prepare two layers of information
Use the card for immediate communication and a private pack for supporting records. Verify emergency numbers from the destination’s official services, rather than copying a social post. Add the date checked, especially for a consular out-of-hours number or an insurer’s overseas assistance line.
| Card entry | What to record | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Local urgent help | Verified emergency service number | An assumed number from home |
| Trusted person | Name, relationship and usable number | Whole family identity file |
| Insurance assistance | Assistance line and policy reference if appropriate | Payment-card details |
| Consular help | Nationality-specific official contact | An unverified social-media agent |
Check that the household can use it
Illustrative exercise: one person loses a phone during a transfer, while the others reach the accommodation. Agree where to meet and which trusted person can relay a message. Write the accommodation’s usable address, including the local script if helpful, on a separate travel card. Explain the plan to children in a way that suits their age; do not put their private documents on a public group chat.
Update at the permanent address
After moving from temporary accommodation, review the meeting place and nearby services. Ask any clinician involved in your care what emergency health information belongs in an accessible record. The card helps someone find the right contact; it does not expand what an embassy, insurer or emergency service is able to do.
Keep the next action in your moving planner. For the country-specific authority, use our destination directory.