What can you do besides getting another passport about lost passports?

Applying for UK Student Visa and I lost my old, expired passport. What do I say on my app?

• Hope someone out there can help! I'm currently trying to get a Tier 4 General Student visa and need help with the question regarding previous passports. Although the most recent paper/PDF version of the application I've found only asks about passports from the last 10 years, the current online application doesn't specify a timeframe. It simply asks for the whereabouts of my previous passport (choices given: lost, stolen, expired, with me), the passport number (if known) and the city where it was issued (if known). I'm relieved that they included "if known" because I DON'T know the answer to either one, meaning I don't know the number and I don't remember which city I got the passport from. My previous passport was issued 16 years ago and it was lost during a move. Will it harm my chances of getting my visa approved if I enter the following answers: "Lost" for whereabouts; "Unknown - passport was issued 16 years ago" for passport number; and "Unknown - cannot recall" for the city?

• Answer:

  No, it won't harm your chances to get the UK Tier 4 visa. All United States passport are issued centrally; the city of issue is completely irrelevant. The UK visa application forms are applied for worldwide. Some countries issue passports at the town-halls of the place someone is residing. Would you be living in such a country they might want to know in which city you have been issued your previous passport. Place (not city) of issue for American passports is the U.S. State Department..