The terms consulate and Honourary Consulate are both associated with authorities who serve the people of their nation/country, who are present in another country. A consulate is the diplomatic office of one country that resides in another country so that the members or ‘Consuls’ can oversee and help the citizens of their country.
The consul is led by a consul-general, who is appointed by the foreign government by a process defined by them. The consul-general is the highest-ranking member of the Consulate and is assisted by deputy consuls-general to carry out his tasks.
The tasks performed by the consul-general are –
- To assist the citizens of their nation with any issues regarding their residency.
- To help in the issuing of visas and issuing of passports and ID cards for the Nationals who either live in the host country or have come for a visit.
- To help the Nationals with problems of criminal or legal nature or any natural disaster that might occur while the foreign National resides in the host country.
- Primarily, the consul-general help builds international relations between the two countries and promote the interests of the foreign country.
- They take the lead on any initiatives that might be put in place to strengthen ties between the two countries.
- If any critical information is needed to be conveyed to the citizens of the host nation, the consul-general is the one who makes the public appearances.
The consul-general also is given a form of immunity called “consular immunity”. This type of immunity protects the consul general from any offences related to their “consular duties”.
What is Honorary Consulate?
An honorary Consulate is appointed by the government of the foreign country/nation of a state. The people who are selected are commonly the residents/locals of the host nation itself, or the citizens of the foreign government and are referred to as ‘Honorary Consuls’.
The honorary consuls are not given any remuneration by the foreign government, because these representatives are not diplomats by career. They are only to work side by side with the main consul members and assist in small ways.
The honorary consul also is headed by an honorary consul-general, but their functions differ from that of a consul-general.
The roles of an honorary consul-general are –
- Enhance the relations between the two countries in the form of economic and social trade.
- They can assist the citizens of the country with information regarding the foreign nation or the host country.
- They cannot issue visas, but can help in the issuing of passports in some cases or help citizens if they have lost passports or ID cards.
- Can offer help in the arrest of a citizen of their country.
An honorary consul-general does not receive any form of diplomatic immunity or consulate immunity.
Main Differences Between Consulate and Honorary Consulate
- In a Consulate, diplomats are nominated by the government of a state or territory. In the Honorary Consulate, the persons nominated are simply citizens of the host country or foreign nationals.
- The Consulate assists the citizens present in the host countries with issues about their residency. The Honorary Consulate help out the consuls, with things like enhancement of relations between the two countries.
- In the Consulate, the Consul generals have “consular immunity”. While in the Honorary Consulate, the Honorary consul-generals are not given any form of immunity.
- In the Consulate, the consuls are diplomats of the foreign country, so they are paid by the government. The honorary consul members are not diplomats by career, so they are not paid by the government.
- The Consulate members can help citizens with things such as issuing visas and issuing passports. In the Honorary Consulate, can only help build relations between the two countries.
Conclusion
The Consulate and the Honorary Consulate both work together to serve the interests of the citizens of their home country. The two operate on separate levels, but their main aim remains the same. Both are appointed by the foreign governments, but the Consulate consists of members who are official diplomats of the foreign nations.
In contrast, the Honorary consul members are comprised of locals and taxpayers of the host nation. The Consulate works with many more powers as compared to Honorary Consulate such as issuing of visas and passports. And consul-generals have much more power and also “Consulate immunity”, as compared to the Honorary consul-general, making the Consulate a much higher authority.
References
- https://content.sciendo.com/downloadpdf/journals/wrlae/4/1/article-p70.xml
- https://philpapers.org/rec/GRAFOT-5