Embassies and Consulates

If you find yourself in an emergency while travelling, your country's embassy or consulate may be able to provide advice, support and practical assistance. However, consular services do not replace travel insurance and will not normally pay private expenses such as medical care, accommodation or travel home.

Be Prepared

Before travelling, save the address and telephone number of your country's nearest embassy or consulate. This can save valuable time if you need assistance during your trip.

Embassies

An embassy represents its country in another country and may assist its citizens if, for example, they lose their passport, become victims of crime, suffer a serious accident or illness, or find themselves in another emergency.

Embassies can provide consular advice and assistance and may help you contact authorities or relatives in your home country.

Consulates

Many countries also have consulates in major cities and other locations. They may assist with various consular matters and provide advice to travellers. The services available vary between consulates.

Consulates-general usually have more extensive functions and may provide a wider range of consular services than smaller consulates.

Honorary Consulates

Some countries also have honorary consulates. These are normally headed by an honorary consul and generally have more limited resources, powers and opening hours than an embassy or consulate-general.

Some matters may need to be handled by, or in consultation with, an embassy. Honorary consulates therefore cannot always provide the same range of consular services.

If Your EU Country Is Not Represented

If you are an EU citizen travelling in a country outside the EU and your own EU country has no embassy or consulate effectively able to assist you, you may seek consular assistance from the embassy or consulate of another EU Member State. You are entitled to receive assistance on the same conditions as nationals of the EU country whose embassy or consulate you contact.

What Can an Embassy or Consulate Help With?

  • Provide advice and support in an emergency.
  • Help you contact relatives in your home country.
  • Assist with emergency travel documents where appropriate.
  • Provide advice on accessing or transferring money from home.
  • Provide contact details for doctors, lawyers or interpreters.
  • Provide consular support in cases of serious illness, accidents, crime, arrest, detention or death.
  • In some circumstances, assist with emergency repatriation or other urgent practical arrangements.

What Can They Not Do?

  • Replace travel insurance.
  • Normally pay medical bills, hotel costs, fines or other private expenses.
  • Guarantee payment for medical treatment or repatriation.
  • Replace lost money or valuables.
  • Act as a travel agency, bank or insurance company.
  • Give you special legal privileges or exempt you from the laws of the country you are visiting.

Before You Travel

Check the latest travel advice issued by your country's foreign ministry and find the contact details of its embassy or consulate at your destination. Some countries also offer travel registration services or apps that can provide important information and alerts during your trip.

EU citizens travelling outside the EU can also use the European Union's consular protection service to find embassies and consulates and obtain information about their right to assistance from another EU Member State when their own country is not represented.


Senast uppdaterad 2026-09-06