consular HANDBOOK
for the use of honorary CONSULS
consular handbook for the use of HONORary consuls
Table of contents
Introduction: competency and tasks of Honorary Consuls – collaboration with career posts 3
A. Principles of consular intervention 4
1. Plurinationality 4
2. European consular assistance 4
B. Belgian nationality, registration, identity cards and passports 5
1. Belgian nationality 5
2. Registration of Belgians abroad and the Belgian National Register 5
2.1. Registration is not compulsory 5
2.2 Consular database 5
2.3. The National Register 6
3. Identity cards and passports 7
3.1. Identity cards 7
3.2 Passports 7
3.3. Emergency Travel Documents (ETD) and temporary passports 8
C. Assistance to Belgians 9
1. Financial assistance to Belgians in difficulty 9
2. Assistance to prisoners of Belgian nationality 10
3. Death of Belgians 10
D. Movement of individuals: visas 11
1. Schengen (short-stay) visas 11
2. Long-stay visas 11
E. Civil status, legalisations and notarial deeds 12
1. Civil status 12
2. Legalisation of official documents 12
2.1. Standard legalisation procedure 13
2.2 The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 (Apostille) 13
2.3. Exemption from legalisation 13
3. Notarial deeds 14
4. Pensions and life certificates 14
F. Administrative and accounting formalities 15
1. Consular fees 15
2. Annual report on consular expenditure (statement of disbursements) 15
3. Quarterly statement of consular activities 15
4. Upkeep of official material 16
G. Annexes 17
ANNEXE 1: Form for requesting assistance 18
ANNEXE 2: Form for acknowledgement of debt : only to be used in Dutch, French or German (all versions follow) 21
ANNEXE 3: Information relative to the death of a compatriot abroad 24
ANNEXE 4: Life certificate 25
ANNEXE 5: Quarterly statement of consular activities 26
Consular handbook for the use of Honorary Consulates
Introduction: competency and tasks of Honorary Consuls – collaboration with career posts
From a consular point of view, Honorary Consuls are competent following their appointment for all consular matters, mainly covering assistance to compatriots in difficulty, issuing of identity cards, passports and temporary passports, and legalisation of documents. Honorary Consuls are not competent for issuing Emergency Travel Documents, which may only be issued by career posts.
Honorary Consuls do not have competency with respect to issuing visas. This last restriction applies to all Honorary Consuls in the service of member countries of the Schengen zone (for more information on Schengen: http://www.diplomatie.be/en/travel/visa/faqDetail.asp?TEXTID=40151 ). Only career posts for these countries are in fact qualified to issue visas providing access to the whole of this free movement zone (see section D below).
In practice, however, the extent of exercise of these competencies in the consular field is dependent on needs and capacities in jurisdiction, workload, distances and means of communication. The career post therefore defines, alongside its Honorary Consuls, the distribution of tasks from an organisational and practical point of view and specifies to what extent Honorary Consuls will be called on for commonplace operations such as passport and identity card applications.
In all cases it is a question of providing fast and efficient service and of avoiding waiting times, mistakes and the same work being carried out twice. In all cases, you will be called upon to intervene for consular problems of a specific, local and urgent nature, and which require rapid on-site intervention or allow provision of improved consular services in this manner.
A. Principles of consular intervention
Consular intervention is justified and necessary if a Belgian interest is involved, whether it is a question of protecting a person of Belgian nationality or of safeguarding or promoting the moral or material interests of Belgian nationals or of Belgium itself.
1. Plurinationality
Individuals who possess two or more nationalities may be considered as a citizen by each of the States of which they hold the nationality. Concerning individuals for whom Belgian nationality is established, you should conduct yourself as you would for Belgians not holding any other citizenship.
In the countries of which the individual also holds the citizenship, the local authorities might refuse the consular assistance.
2. European consular assistance
Member countries of the European Union have specified the principles of European consular assistance: any national of a member country of the European Union may request to receive consular assistance from a career diplomatic or consular post of any other European Union country in a third country where their own country is not represented, that is to say in the event of absence of a career post, absence of honorary consul or said consul not being competent in the area concerned or lack of “accessible” post, for example due to distance or local circumstances.
Honorary Consuls are therefore not part of the European consular cooperation system, but may provide their collaboration provided they are invited by the competent career post. This European assistance concerns at least five cases: death, serious injury or illness, imprisonment or arrest, victims of violent crime, assistance and repatriation of European Union citizens. The above list is not, however, exhaustive.
B. Belgian nationality, registration, identity cards and passports
1. Belgian nationality
Nationality is the key concept in the field of consular assistance. A Belgian (Honorary) Consul may in fact only offer consular assistance to Belgian citizens. Each State has sovereign power in deciding to whom its nationality is attributed or withdrawn, and on what conditions. Moreover, cases of multiple nationality and even statelessness are possible and conflicts may arise between different legislations with respect to nationality.
Only career posts have authority for matters of nationality (and therefore nationality acts). Always contact the career post for matters of nationality
2. Registration of Belgians abroad and the Belgian National Register
2.1. Registration is not compulsory
Belgians having their domicile abroad may register at the career post or Honorary Cnsulate. This registration is never compulsory, but it is recommended. Embassies and consulates may in fact provide more wide-ranging and efficient services to registered compatriots.
The procedure to be followed is quite simple:
· Give the person making the request a registration form (see www.diplomatie.be/fr/services/forms.asp in French or www.diplomatie.be/nl/services/forms.asp in Dutch) and a list of documents to be submitted (see www.diplomatie.be/fr/services/inscription.asp in French) or www.diplomatie.be/nl/services/inscription.asp in Dutch).
· Send all the above (necessary forms and supporting documents) to the career post
· You will also need to communicate to the career post any change regarding the situation of registered Belgians (change of address, marriage, divorce, death, etc.), along with the necessary supporting documents.
In practice, it may be agreed with the career post that the person will have to send the request to register directly to the career post.
2.2 Consular database
The career post will integrate the data in the consular database, which gathers together all data for Belgians registered within its jurisdiction. Once updated, the information is sent to Brussels with a view to integrating the modifications in the National Register (see below).
2.3. The National Register
The National Register is an electronic population register in which is gathered together data provided for by law and which may be consulted by those having received special permission to this effect.
The personal data for each Belgian residing or having resided in Belgium and for each Belgian registered abroad is included in the National Register. Those Belgians abroad who were previously registered in Belgium and who are not registered abroad are often presented in the National Register, but, of course, the data are no longer up-to-date (they may still be registered in Belgium or their civil status may not have been updated). In addition, each registered Belgian has a National Register number, which is unique and allows authorities of communes in Belgium or career posts abroad to locate or update the data for the individual concerned.
Updating and new registrations in the National Register (births, Belgians yet to register, individuals having acquired Belgian nationality, etc.) are carried out in Belgium on the basis of the information transmitted by career posts.
3. Identity cards and passports
You must always check very thoroughly the Belgian nationality and identity of applicants during the handling of applications for identity cards, passports and temporary passports.
In practice, it may be agreed with the career post that the person has to send the identity card or the passport application directly to the career post.
3.1. Identity cards
From 2003, Belgians registered abroad may receive identity cards from the age of 12 onwards. Identity cards are only compulsory for those who are registered[1]. Identity cards are valid for five years for persons of between 12 and 22 years of age, 10 years for persons of between 22 and 75 years of age, and for an unlimited period for persons of over 75 years of age. The production of identity cards is centralised in Belgium.
The required information regarding documents to be provided and the application form can be found at www.diplomatie.be/fr/services/identity.asp in French or www.diplomatie.be/nl/services/identity.asp in Dutch.
You will check the application, enter the data into the consular fees register (see F.1 below) and send the application to the career post, which will perform a final check before forwarding it to Belgium. The identity card will be returned to you via the career post. You will then hand it over to the applicant.
3.2 Passports
Belgians residing within your jurisdiction, whether registered or not, may request that you issue them a passport. A Belgian passport is valid for five years (including for minors) and may subsequently be renewed (not extended). Previously minors could be registered in the passport of their father and/or mother, but from 1999 they are required to own an individual passport. To recap: previously, we also issued Belgian passports valid for one year (or two years for minors) and Belgian passports could be extended subject to certain conditions.
The required information regarding documents to be provided and the application form can be found at www.diplomatie.be/fr/travel/passports.asp in French or www.diplomatie.be/nl/travel/passports.asp in Dutch.
Individuals concerned must submit a police statement if their passport has been lost or stolen.
You will check the application, place the data in the consular fees register (see F.1 below) and send the application to the career post, which will perform a final check before sending it to Belgium. The passport will be returned to you by the career post. You will then hand it over to the applicant.
Passports declared void and passports having expired must be destroyed. If an expired passport contains a valid visa, you may return it to the owner. On each page of the expired passport should be stamped “void”, except for those pages containing a valid visa. In addition, the top right-hand corner of the cover and of the passport pages must be cut off (except for those pages containing a valid visa).
3.3. Emergency Travel Documents (ETD) and temporary passports
Belgians in transit (and consequently not registered in the jurisdiction) requiring a new travel document in order to return to Belgium may obtain an Emergency Travel Document (ETD), valid for a few days, from the career post. You are not competent to issue such documents. Note: Belgians may enter Belgium and the European Union on presentation of their identity card and therefore may not always require an ETD to return to Belgium.
If Belgians in transit require a new passport in order to continue their journey, they may be issued with a temporary passport, valid for a maximum of six months. However, temporary passports are not accepted by all countries (Japan does not accept such documents) as valid travel documents. You will prepare and issue temporary passports, after having obtained authorisation from the career post.
The documents to be provided are the same as for an ordinary passport and the application form is available at www.diplomatie.be/fr/services/forms.asp in French and www.diplomatie.be/nl/services/forms.asp in Dutch.
C. Assistance to Belgians
Help people to find a solution. Sometimes relatively simple things enable difficult situations to be resolved: a telephone call to a bank or credit card company, insurance establishment, family member, etc. Allowing use of your telephone, fax and e-mail does not entail significant costs and is often THE solution to the problem.
For emergencies (death, serious illness, accidents, arrest, etc.), there are European agreements in place in the event that there is no career post in the region: persons concerned may call for European consular assistance and receive help from the diplomatic post of another member country of the European Union and located in the region (see point A, “Principles of consular intervention”, above).
1. Financial assistance to Belgians in difficulty
You may be contacted by Belgians encountering financial problems abroad. You must give them as much assistance as legally possible, and always following consultation with the career post.
Above all try to help the Belgian in question to obtain the required assistance through private channels: family/friends, Western Union type international money transfer (money may be sent throughout the world within just a few hours), claiming on medical and/or travel insurance, arranging of an early return trip with the travel agent, etc.
Do not provide financial assistance without the explicit authorisation of the career post.
If financial assistance is required via the Consulate, the individual concerned must fill in a form for requesting assistance (see Annexe 1) including their personal data together with that of their guarantor in Belgium. You will convey this information as quickly as possible to the career post and wait for its green light.
Persons to whom financial assistance is granted following the approval of the career post must always sign an “acknowledgement of debt” in Dutch or in French(see Annexe 2), of which the original and a certified copy (free of charge for administrative purposes) must be sent to the career post who in turn will send it to Brussels. You will also ensure that the person concerned makes the following handwritten declaration on the form, in Dutch or in French: “Goed voor de som van EUR …” or “Bon pour la somme de EUR …” followed by the sum of money received in euros or the equivalent in euros (at the current official exchange rate) for the sum in local currency.