The Consular Services Available For the Citizens
Consular Services or Consular support is an assistance service that is offered by diplomatic agents of a country. This preceding aid is offered to citizens of the respective countries they are living in or travelling in the moment. This service varies from country to country and may be open throughout the week. This support includes everything from helping the citizens in their need to replacing lost documents in support of a medical emergency.
When an emergency arises, it is advised that the distressed citizen must immediately approach and contact the respective embassy of the country they are currently present it. It is crucial, that the citizen must accurately explain his situation with all the details possible, so that the embassy services can advice the best course of action in respect to the citizen’s situation. In most cases, the embassy service can be contacted easily via email or the telephone. Before you begin your journey to your travel destination, it is beneficial to note down and record the important phone numbers of relevant embassies of the country you will be travelling in to ask for aid when the requirement arises.
The other service that the embassy offers is the certification and attestation of documents that are submitted by citizens. Depending on the country that you are currently in, it is advisable to recheck and see what kind of documents are valid, and which need to be registered individually, a national drivers license will not be valid in all countries as compared to an international drivers license..
In many cases, several national embassies also outsource consular services to third-party VISA and Passport services firms like VFS Global and Cox & Kings Global Services. In cases like this, citizens can avail of these services online and enquire about the mentioned outsource consular services. These outsource consular services, mostly official embassies, may help with attestation as well as other relevant questions and requirements that different citizens may have. It is beneficial to check before hand, if your country’s embassy service outsources their consular services first, before you seek another.
Below are some of the consular services that are provided to citizens:
• Provide you with information, advice and consular assistance.
• Issue you with an emergency travel document if you have lost your passport overseas.
Note: It is an Immigration requirement that you report the loss of your passport to the local police and submit a copy of this report.
• Contact your relatives or friends to request them to send you emergency funds for your repatriation or other necessary emergency expenses.
• Notify your next-of-kin in the event you are injured abroad.
• Notify your next-of-kin in the event you are arrested or detained abroad.
• Visit a citizen who has been arrested or imprisoned abroad and monitors that due process under the judicial system of that country is accorded to him or her.
• Help to obtain a list of officially registered local lawyers and translation services, where this is available.
• Help in arranging for the remains and personal belongings of a deceased citizen to be returned to the country of origin.
• Help you during emergencies such as natural disasters or civil disorder in the foreign country.
These services are normally granted on an emergency bases and not when private issues are involved. Therefore it best to ensure that before you leave for your journey, you are well prepared to meet and deal with any crises that may arise on your journey.
