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Diplomatic missions abroadIt is an official representative office set up by a government in another country. There are two main types:
- Embassies and ministriesUsually in the capital of the country where it is stationed; its main task is to deal with issues between countries, such as trade or diplomatic disputes, which will be resolved by the embassy. Most embassies provide consular services, that is, they can also handle consular matters. But there are always exceptions to everything. For example, the United StatesAustraliaCanberraThe embassy does not provide consular services, but inSydney，MelbournewithPerthProvides consular services. This is becauseCanberraAlthough it is the capital, it is not the largest major city.
- Consulate General, Consulate, Honorary Consulate Generally set up in important cities of the host country to provide "consular services" for individuals or business teams. If you need a countryvisa, You should go to the embassy or consulate of the nearest consulate near you. If you accidentally lose your passport overseas, you should go to the nearest embassy or consulate in your country.
Always keep in mind: No matter where you are (outside your home country), if you encounter a problem, please immediately find a nearby mission so that you can get help in time.
register
Most countries have systems that allow overseas diasporas to register themselves so that they can be assisted in time in case of emergency. In most countries, online registration is sufficient, but some countries require you to go to the embassy to register in person. Generally speaking, in addition to going toHigh-risk areasThe government does not recommend registration for general tourists, but recommends registration for overseas Chinese and international students.
Once you register, you will receive a large number of notifications and reminders from the government, so that you can feel "the care of the motherland" everywhere. Although most of the information is boring, some of them may be more interesting or useful. In some cases, these "spam" messages that you don't want to read are very useful. For example, if a war or a plague breaks out, the mission of the ‘Motherland’ is to provide the best communication channels and medical assistance. If you still need services from your home country, then this kind of information is more practical, for example, you can vote in the general election when you are standing overseas, or to help see if your social security has expired.
Similarly, events such as ‘goodwill parties’ may invite overseas Chinese to participate. Diplomats always have decent living conditions, such as fine wine (diplomats can get exemption even in countries where drinking is illegal), chefs, and ample supply of imported food. Of course, this kind of party is generally not related to the diaspora, and is usually set up for diplomats, officials in local government offices, or other VIPs. As for ordinary tourists, they will not be invited, even if they are wealthy businessmen or newspaper reporters. However, some parties can be admitted with legal documents, such as National Day, Christmas or Thanksgiving parties, almost everyone can attend. If you have been overseas for a long time, this kind of gathering is definitely worth a visit. The ambassador in the capital may have packed their guest list, but an uninvited guest is usually welcome.
Consular service
The consulate usually provides several different services, usually including:
- If you lose your passport or your passport is about to expire, they can arrange a replacement, but some countries may take several weeks to issue a passport.
- If you lose your passport and have a residence time limit, you can go to the embassy to apply for travel documents to go home.
- If you need a visa for the country they represent, they can issue a visa.
- If you are married abroad, they can help your spouse get a visa
- If you are engaged, some countries also provide a fiance (wife) visa, such as the United States.
- If you have children abroad, they can help you produce a birth certificate or issue a passport.
- If there is a general election in your home country, they can vote for you. Or at least inform the relevant procedures.
The details may vary from country to country, but most services definitely require a fee.
Travelers ‘should not have too much expectations’ for their home country but the embassy, even though it has something to do with which country you are from and where you are visiting. But please don't expect the embassy to help you free of charge in all situations. The embassy is not obliged to do so.
- If your ship ran aground, they will not buy you a plane ticket to take you home, but they will immediately notify your family to send you money.
- If you become seriously ill, they will make sure you get proper medical assistance. If you pass away, they will contact your family. But again, they will not pay for it.
- If you are imprisoned, they may visit you and provide a list of trusted lawyers who speak your native language, or you can notify your family if you want, but they are unlikely to find a lawyer or an interpreter directly for you. Or pay bail for you. They usually cannot directly intervene in the judicial process of the host country.
- As for whether they will put pressure on the host country or ask to be kind to you is another political issue. If the problem you are accused of may damage your country's image or their image, such as drug use and child molestation, they will not Will take this risk, ordinary people and politicians tend to protect themselves when they encounter this kind of problem.
- Even if they do ask the government of the host country to release you, the host country has no obligation to do so under the protection of international law. For example, in 1994, an American teenager was detained and sentenced to flogging for sabotage in Singapore, and this result occurred under pressure from the US government. In other cases, an American was publicly flogged for smuggling alcohol into Saudi Arabia (religious Muslims cannot drink alcohol), and China and Indonesia have also executed several foreigners who smuggled drugs.
- They are usually very limited in what they can do with citizens of two nationalities (seepassport); The host country may treat them as its own citizens and avoid or restrict consular intervention.
Generally speaking, they can provide information and other advice, but they won't pay you anything.
If someone takes your passport for reasons other than a visa application (such as an employer claiming to "safely store" your passport, or asking for a "passport as a deposit" when renting anything"), this is not allowed under international law Yes, at the very least, your consulate can request the cooperation of the police stationed in the country to recover your passport. If this fails, the consulate can immediately add your passport to the stolen list and arrange for an emergency replacement.
In the event of a civil war or a catastrophe, the embassy may arrange an evacuation flight to evacuate the Chinese.
Complications and variations
There are many complications and changes that only occasionally affect travelers.
Some smaller or poorer countries have few missions abroad. For example, to getTajikistanVisa, you may need to go toMoscoworLondonAnd other major centers.New YorkThis is also good, because almost every country has an ambassador to the United Nations. On the bright side, in these cases, it is usually possible to apply by mail, but this means that the passport will be mailed for several weeks.
vice versa. If you are in a remote place and need consular assistance, your country may not have an embassy there, so you may need to contact another mission; for example,Not onlyMost of the tourists need to contact them inDelhiOf the embassy. Or, your government may reach an agreement with some friendly country, and that country’s mission in that country will also provide consular services to citizens of your country. Australians may be directed to the Canadian Embassy and vice versa. In some cases, the British Embassy can assist citizens of another Commonwealth country, or EU member states can provide assistance to citizens of another EU member state. There is one more thing to check when planning a journey away from the inaccessible.
The mission of some countries has a system that divides the destination country into regions and requires or even requires people to use the consulate in their region. For example, in China, Canada will tell someone in Wuhan to use the Beijing Embassy and someone in Fuzhou to use the Guangzhou Consulate, although the Shanghai Consulate is more convenient for both. Usually, this does not apply to tourists, only to people living in the country, but it does apply to locals and expats.
oneHonorary ConsulCan be located anywhere and provideVery limited consular services. Normally, foreign governments grant the position to people who have business interests in the location; they may not even be citizens of the country they represent. For travelers, this may be used for notarization services (such as signing legal documents), and if you are in a prison or hospital, they may visit and contact the consulate. However, they usually "do not" authorize the issuance of visas or the issuance of passports.
In addition to embassies and consulates, there are also diplomatic missions that use other names for various reasons:
- The mission from one Commonwealth country to another is the "high-level committee".Deputy High Commission, If only consular services are provided.
- The mission from any country to the United Nations isPermanent mission。
- The mission from Vatican City to any country is called 'Apostolic Nunciature。
- The task of representing a non-sovereign entity (such as a province or a federal state) isdelegation; Its activities are classified as paradiplomacy.
- Countries that lack formal diplomatic recognition around the world can still deploy embassies under other names. TaiwanThere are "Taipei Representative Offices" in many countries.
- If direct diplomatic relations are terminated, the "interest part" of the embassy of a third country may be the only official representative. directAmerica-PersiaDiplomatic relations ended abruptly in 1979;Pakistanit is ... nowWashington DCIranian interestsProtectorate.
In at least 90% of cases, all travellers must know how to find the nearest embassy or consulate-to obtain a visa at a destination in his or her home country, and at the destination to get help for his or her home abroad that.
Diplomatic amnesty
For travelers, the simple rule is: unless you are an employee of your home government and hold a special diplomatic passport, or are someone's family member, diplomatic immunity does not apply to you. If you do have some kind of official diplomatic status, then it becomes a more complicated legal issue, and your employer should be able to provide expert advice.
The diplomatic mission is ininternational lawThe next has a special status.
- The embassy is considered to be completely under the control of the sending country, and local laws do not apply to it. Please note that the official consulate building does not enjoy the same privileges, and local laws still apply.
- In a well-known example, as long as he isEcuadorEmbassy, the British authorities can’t reachJulian Assange。
- Some diplomats are not prosecuted by the host country, whether for espionage or more mundane crimes; the most the host country can do is to expel them from the country. If the two countries start a war, they can practice internships. However, only relatively few senior diplomats can enjoy full diplomatic immunity. Some mission staff may only have weak consular immunity: they cannot be prosecuted for anything done on the job, but they can be used for other things. Honorary consuls are not entitled to any diplomatic or consular immunity.
- existcold warDuring this period, the expulsion of diplomats inconsistent with their status (a euphemism for espionage by the Foreign Affairs Commission) was a common practice by both parties. One day, the British expelled 90 Russian officials in one day.
- The luggage of diplomats or things carried in diplomatic bags are not subject to customs inspection, but of course the intelligence service is very interested in them and often tries various ways to peek.
- Some customs officials completely ignored this restriction; for example, decades ago,IranThe king’s sister searched her luggage at the Paris airport-even though she strongly protested her diplomatic status, several kilograms of heroin were still found. Her diplomatic status prevented her from going to jail, but did not keep the merchandise.
- Some cars have diplomatic license plates, which are usually significantly different in color from other license plates and/or have a specific alphanumeric sequence. For example inOttawa, These license plates are red and white, and have "CD" (from FrenchLegion Diplomacy) As the first two letters. They cannot be stopped for traffic violations, and in some places, some of them blatantly ignore the "no parking" signs. This forNew York CityOf UN diplomats are particularly noteworthy
- Diplomats are usually exempt from host country taxes:LondonSome of the missions insist that the city’s congestion charge is a tax and they refuse to pay.
There is a fairly complex set of rules covering the extended scope of these protective measures. Not all embassy staff have diplomatic privileges, but some staff outside the embassy-for example, in trade missions or aid agencies. Employees of international organizations are protected by a separate, somewhat different set of rules. If a country has military bases abroad,Status of forces agreementorVisit Force AgreementIt may allow its military police to transfer disputes between soldiers at overseas bases to the military courts of their own countries without referring to local laws.
For some people, diplomatic representatives who received a pardon for complaints were still deported or asked to leave the country within a time limit. Years ago, a Russian diplomat killed a man in Ottawa while drunk. All the Canadian authorities could do was kick him out, but he was sentenced to jail when he arrived in Moscow.