Our highest priority is to protect the lives and interests of U. We do this through routine and emergency services to Americans at our embassies and consulates around the world.
We serve our fellow citizens during their most important moments — births, deaths, disasters, arrests, and medical emergencies.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs formulates and implements policy relating to immigration and consular services and ensures responsive and efficient provision of consular services overseas. Consular Affairs CA is the public face of the Department of State for millions of people around the world. CA is responsible for the welfare and protection of U. CA also has a significant domestic presence, most notably the 29 U.
Passport agencies and centers, 26 of which deal directly with the U. These far-reaching consular activities have broad foreign policy and domestic political implications and involve serious legal, humanitarian, and management concerns. Responsibility for these functions is vested within the Department of State in the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs and for their implementation abroad in consular officers assigned to embassies and consulates abroad. For more information, please view our CA Fact Sheet.
The U. The passport allows you access to U. Most importantly, it allows you to re-enter the United States upon your return home. The Department of State issues U. We protect the integrity of the U. We also issue passports for U. Any passports gained through fraudulent means will be declared withdrawn and the persons concerned will be subject to the punishment of relevant laws. The Renewal, Page-Adding and Endorsement of Passports It is suggested that passport holders for public affairs check before leaving the country, whether the validity period of the passport is more than 6 months and whether there are enough visa pages.
If the answer is no, relevant applications should be done in China. Chinese embassies and consulates in foreign countries will not accept any applications for passport renewal, page-adding or endorsement of those public affairs passport holders on short-term visits abroad.
Passport holders for public affairs on assignment abroad may apply for the renewal, page-adding or endorsement of their passports from relevant Chinese embassy or consulate. And such applications will be referred to the original passport issuing authorities in China for approval. Private passport holders should check the validity of their passports and get the passports extended in time so as not to affect their residence or traveling abroad.
Supplementary documents should be submitted when applying for the renewal or endorsement of a passport E. In Case of Loss Passport is an important document of nationality and identity and should be kept properly. Any loss or damage to the passport should be avoided. Once the passport is lost, the bearer should report the loss to the nearest Chinese embassy or consulate or other authorized institutions and apply for replacement of the passport.
The applicant should provide certificates of his nationality and of his lawful staying status, and a detailed written report of the loss of his passport and other materials as required by the authority. He should also fill in application forms and prepare three 2x2 photos. A new passport or Travel Permit shall be issued once the applicant's identity is verified: For a private passport holder who has lawful staying status in a foreign country, a private passport may be issued as replacement; For a passport holder for public affairs who is assigned to work in a foreign country, relevant public affairs passport may be issued as replacement; For other Chinese passport holders traveling abroad on short-term visits, a Travel Permit valid for one journey within one year may be issued to facilitate their return to China.
For trips to the mainland, a pass issued by the Ministry of Public Security or a Travel Permit should be used. The TMD or Bureau equivalent is held accountable for safeguarding official passports while travelers or immediate family members are not in an official travel status.
Travelers and their immediate family members must return official passports to the TMD Travel Office or Bureau equivalent within five 5 days of the end of any official travel to a foreign location. Failure or refusal to return the official passport as required by the custodian will result in the immediate contact to the DoS requesting that necessary steps be taken to obtain the official passport.
The DoS may seek the assistance of the U. Marshals Service, if necessary. An individual who has been trained and certified by the Special Issuance Agency SIA as one authorized to accept passport applications.
This person is trained to apply procedures and practices for the following responsibilities:. Certifying that the Passport Acceptance Agent has personally witnessed the applicant signing his or her application and that the applicant has:. The LOA is a template provided by the SIA which contains pertinent information about the traveler and visiting country.
The LOA also requires the signature of the Approving Official who has the responsibility of verifying that the applicant is a direct-hire civil service employee and requires the passport for authorized official travel outside of the United States.
In some instances, travelers may require an expedited passport issued. In those cases, the LOA must be modified to request that the passport be expedited.
The subject line in the memorandum should include the word "Expedited," and the body of the memorandum should consist of a statement "justifying the need for expediting" with a brief statement supporting the request. When applying for a passport for a temporary change of station TCS assignment, any additional requirements to support the request; and.
If applicable, any immediate family members accompanying the travelers to TCS must also provide appropriate evidence of approval. In accordance with Public Law and 22 C. Pursuant to 22 C. No-fee passports are issued to persons traveling abroad in an official capacity when passports are required.
DOC-sponsored dependents are required to have no-fee passports without regard to age or destination abroad. No-fee passport holders may not use the passport when leaving the U. Holders of Diplomatic or Official Passports are forbidden to use their passports for incidental travel. For bearers of diplomatic and official passports, a tourist regular fee passport must be obtained for incidental travel.
A person may possess a valid regular fee tourist passport and a valid no-fee passport simultaneously. However, a person may not possess two no-fee passports simultaneously, except where the SIA has approved the exceptions. No-fee passports may be used as long as the position or status for which they were issued is maintained. Upon termination of such a position or status, the Passport Acceptance Agent must return the no-fee passports to the SIA within seven 7 calendar days after the passport has expired or after the employee has separated from the Department.
SIA typically destroys the passports; however, they may be canceled and returned for souvenir purposes upon the traveler's request. The SIA is the final determining authority for the issuance of diplomatic passports.
Diplomatic passports with the proper justification can only be issued by the SIA in Washington. Diplomatic passports may require additional processing time.
Diplomatic passports for TDY assignments are issued based on the assignment or the high-level status held by the traveler ex: Secretary of Commerce. They are not issued based on the grade of the traveler. If the DOC traveler is issued a diplomatic passport, each dependent will typically receive a diplomatic passport. Foreign countries may have additional visa requirements specific to diplomatic passport holders which may not apply to official passport holders.
Prompt notification and timely submission of all passport documents are critical in effectively managing the process. Form DS , U. Passport Application. If the employee never held a passport official or personal , or if the last passport issued to the employee was before the age of 16, they are to complete the online version of Form DS Upon completion, the form must be printed on single-sided paper.
The signature must be witnessed by a Passport Acceptance Agent. The first function is focused on protecting the rights of nationals who are subject to the laws of the foreign country where they are located, and reconciling those rights with the minimum protections available in international law.
In the case of arrest and detention, article 36 1 of the Convention provides that consular officers shall be free to communicate with their nationals and have access to them.
For this to occur, competent authorities of the foreign state must inform the consular post at the request of the individual in distress. Article 36 2 states that local laws must enable the rights accorded under article 36 1. Other treaties also inform the norms for consular assistance; for example, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 50 seeks to promote assistance between countries when a child is removed from his or her habitual residence.
The International Transfer of Offenders Act 51 allows Canada to implement treaties with other countries in order for Canadians to finish serving their sentences in Canada and not in a foreign prison. A number of such bilateral treaties have been established. The Consular Services program has a dual mandate: to inform Canadians before their departure about their country of destination, and to assist them, once they are in the foreign country, if any difficulties arise. In , DFATD offered consular services at more than points of service in countries and also provided an after-hours service called the Emergency Watch and Response Centre, based in Ottawa.
Travel advisories are available online from DFATD to provide travellers with up-to-date information on the situation in many countries. Over time DFATD has created a number of publications for specific audiences such as women travelling alone, Canadians teaching English overseas and Canadians imprisoned abroad. International law places no obligation on a state to provide consular services to its nationals. The current Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act 61 — which came into force in — describes the powers of the minister in relation to consular services using slightly different wording than in the previous act.
Consular services include many activities, for which DFATD has established different service standards, such as immediate assistance in the case of an emergency and contact within 24 hours in the case of arrest or detention.
Consular services pertain to the six main areas itemized below:. In , the two most common types of assistance provided to distressed Canadians were related to arrest and detention 1, new arrest and detention cases were opened and deaths due to natural causes 1, Canadians.
The travel advisories provided by the consular service program strongly suggest that dual nationals inform themselves of their rights and obligations before leaving Canada for their other country of nationality.
A person who travels to a country where he or she is a national can expect to be treated like any other citizen of that country. In situations of detention, for example, it is unlikely that Canadian consular services would be able to provide much assistance to a dual citizen. Article 12 of this agreement provides explicit rules for consular services in the case of a dual national.
At paragraph 3, the agreement limits access to Canadian consular services by virtue of the fact that it recognizes the Canadian status of a distressed dual national for the period provided in a visa or lawful visa-free entry only if the dual national entered China on his or her Canadian passport.
In , China ranked fourth with respect to the number of Canadians in distress — — who required consular assistance; in that year, with 98 new cases, China ranked third with respect to the number of Canadians arrested or detained. It is up to Canadian travellers who have another citizenship to verify what this entails. For example, the travel advisory for Venezuela indicates that dual nationals must travel with both their Canadian and their Venezuelan passports; if they are travelling with only their Canadian passport they may be required to have a Venezuelan visa or identity document at the Venezuelan border.
They feature historical background, current information and references, and many anticipate the emergence of the issues they examine. They are prepared by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service, which carries out research for and provides information and analysis to parliamentarians and Senate and House of Commons committees and parliamentary associations in an objective, impartial manner.
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