If you are interested in traveling the world, you surely you have heard a lot about Embassies and Consulates.

But what is the difference between them, actually?

Which one will help you when you need it? Where should you go to get the visa?

Below you will find the answer to all this questions and more, Let’s check it out?! 👇

What is an Embassy?

It’s important to first understand what each one of them does, so let’s start with the one you’ll least use: the Embassy.

The embassy is where international policy issues between two countries are resolved.

That is, international affairs such as:

• Foreign Trade
• Environment
• Diplomatic disputes
• And so on.

As such, you probably won’t need the embassy at all unless you work for the government on an international issue.

But, it can still help mere mortals…

Services provided in an Embassy

As we have seen, the embassy is more of a political “thing” and you should not need it during a trip.

But if you are in an emergency situation abroad and the Embassy is nearby: yes, they can and will help you.

Although they do not provide any official service to citizens abroad, they can help you with information and even find the agencies that provide the service needed it.

By the way, the name of the organization that assists citizens abroad is…

Consulate: What it is and what it does

While the Embassy takes care of government affairs, the Consulate handles the affairs of citizens in other countries.

For example, if you are in Portugal and need assistance from the British government for any reason, you should look for the Consulate.

In fact, there is usually only one Embassy in each country, and many more consulates.

For example, almost all embassies of other countries in the United Kingdom are in London.

On the other hand, some countries have several consulates throughout the United Kingdom, mainly in London and Manchester.

Since the purpose of the consulate is to act as a bridge between the home country and the citizen inanother place on the planet, it is usually present where there is a greater concentration of these citizens in other countries.

Therefore, the Consulate provides a number of services, as you will see below…

Services provided by the Consulate

The consulate provides several services, both the British one and from other countries.

It basically works like this:

• You are British and you are in another country: Go to the British consulate.
• You are British and you are in the United Kingdom, wanting to go to another country: Go to the consulate of this other country here in the United Kingdom.

In these consulates, both British and from other countries, you will find the following services:

• Passport issuance;
• Visa Issuance;
• Applications;
• Declaration of recognition of the British driver’s license (in the countries where this is allowed);
• Document authentication;
• Presidential elections votes;
• Certificates and declarations of documents in general;
• Military enlistment;
• Legal and psychological guidance in cases of urgency;
• Civil registration in general (marriage, birth, death, powers of attorney, etc.);
• Assistance and information on arrests and extraditions;
• Information and authorizations for medical transfer or body transfer.

These are the most common services at Consulates, but each country has its own list of services and there may be more or fewer options available.

To check what each consulate offers is better to access the website of the consulate itself, here is a list of the most popular (click that you will be redirected):

• U.S. Consulate
• British Consulate
• Consulate of Portugal
• Consulate of Spain
• Consulate of Argentina
•  Consulate of Brazil in the USA
• Consulate of Brazil in Portugal

How to schedule an appointment at the Consulate

Each consulate has its own system for scheduling appointments, which are necessary for all services provided there.

Especially when it comes to visas.

In this case, there are two possible ways to get an appointment:

1. Access the consulate’s website and follow the steps (usually available on the website) and book the appointment, which is usually done via phone call or email.
2. Use the professional scheduling service, which will perform all the scheduling for you, including special deadlines (usually with faster service than via the consulate’s website).

If you opt for a professional appointment, click here and get to know Appoint’s services.

We are a StartUp specialized in scheduling appointments in the most diverse consulates around the world, with operations in dozens of countries.

Click here and contact us, we have a team of experts ready to help you in this process and to schedule a time for you!