If you’re a Filipino working abroad, knowing how to contact the Philippine government is essential if things go south. As we all know, visiting or working in a foreign country comes with risk. Although some are lucky, others meet unfortunate events. Luckily, the Philippine government established Consulates worldwide to promote and protect the rights and welfare of Filipinos abroad. But what and how does a Consulate function? Read on to learn more about the Philippine Consulate, from its mandate and services.
Like the Embassy, the Consulate represents the Philippine government in a foreign country. If the Embassy is the chief representative, the Consulate is a lower representation of the Philippine government. These two entities are under the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and have distinct functions. The Philippine Embassy is the Philippine government’s representative in official diplomatic relations with the host government. Meanwhile, the Philippine Consulate provides legal services to Filipinos traveling, living, or working abroad.
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What is the Philippine Consulate
The Philippine Consulate represents the government in a foreign country. Unlike the Embassy, the Consulate acts as the Philippine government representative in a foreign country outside its capital or major cities. It helps settle issues related to tourism and the economy of the Philippines. In addition, the Consulate assists in preparing and organizing for the arrival of foreign nationals visiting the country. It also helps establish the country’s military base since not every country has it. The primary function of the Consulate is to administer visas for foreign nationals who wish to enter the Philippines.
Aside from that, the Consulate helps educate the host country residents regarding immigration-related procedures. Filipinos living overseas can also ask for assistance from the Consulate to replace their travel documents. Despite establishing many Philippine Consulates overseas, some are no longer active and operational due to diplomatic post closures. Its closure was due to varying reasons, like political unrest in the country or tourism decline.
Mandated Functions
The government established the Philippine Consulate in various countries worldwide to enact the Philippine foreign policy in areas within its jurisdiction. Furthermore, the Consulate promotes and strengthens the relationships between Filipino communities, the host government, and its citizens. Under its mandate, the Consulate should assist distressed Filipinos and handle economic diplomacy. It also provides Filipinos abroad with various services, such as passports and visa issuance.
The Consulate also provides other legal services, including notarials and civil registrations. Moreover, the Consulate is responsible for promoting the welfare of Filipinos abroad and the Philippine culture. It strengthens the Philippine trade, tourism, and investment and preserves the collaboration and union between members of Filipino communities overseas. The Consulate should also conduct periodic reports on cultural, economic, political, social, scientific, and technological development.
It also represents the Philippine government in local official ceremonies and functions. To fulfill its mandate, the Consulate is staffed with highly skilled and qualified individuals knowledgeable about the properties of the Philippines and the host government and headed by Honorary Consuls.
List of Philippine Consulates Abroad
As of writing, here are the following places with Philippine Consulate and Philippine Consulate General (PCG) worldwide:
- Albania – Tirana
- Angola – Luanda
- Australia – Darwin
- Australia – Melbourne
- Australia – Sydney
- Austria – Innsbruck
- Austria – Salzburg
- Belgium – Gent
- Benin – Cotonou
- Bolivia – Santa Cruz
- Brazil – Manaus
- Brazil – Porto Alegre
- Brazil – Recife
- Brazil – Sao Paulo
- Canada – Toronto
- Canada – Vancouver
- Canada – Winnipeg
- Chile – Valparaiso
- China – Guangzhou
- China – Shanghai
- China – Xiamen
- Costa Rica – San Jose
- Cote d’Ivoire – Abidjan
- Croatia – Zagreb
- Cyprus – Nicosia
- Djibouti – Djibouti Ville
- Dominican Republic – Santo Domingo
- Ecuador – Guayaquil
- Fiji – Suva
- France – Bordeaux
- France – Lyon
- France – Marseille
- France – Strasbourg
- France – Toulouse
- Gambia – Banjul
- Georgia – Tbilisi
- Germany – Frankfurt am Main
- Germany – Munich
- Germany – Stuttgart
- Ghana – Accra
- Greece – Heraklion
- Greece – Piraeus
- Greece – Rhodes
- Greece – Thessaloniki
- Guam – Agana
- Guatemala – Guatemala City
- Guinea – Conakry
- Haiti – Port-au-Prince
- Honduras – San Pedro Sula
- Hong Kong – Hong Kong
- India – Chennai
- India – Kolkata
- India – Mumbai
- Indonesia – Manado
- Indonesia – Surabaya
- Israel – Haifa
- Italy – Cagliari
- Italy – Florence
- Italy – Milan
- Italy – Naples
- Italy – Palermo
- Italy – Turin
- Italy – Venice
- Jamaica – Kingston
- Japan – Nagoya
- Japan – Osaka
- Japan – Sapporo
- Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek
- Luxembourg – Luxembourg Ville
- Maldives – Male
- Malta – Valletta
- Marshal Islands – Majuro
- Mauritius – Port Louis
- Mexico – Guadalajara
- Mexico – Monterrey
- Monaco – Monaco
- Morocco – Casablanca
- Mozambique – Maputo
- Nepal – Kathmandu
- Netherlands – Amsterdam
- Netherlands – Rotterdam
- New Zealand – Auckland
- New Zealand – Christchurch
- Nigeria – Port Harcourt
- Northern Mariana Islands – Saipan
- Pakistan – Karachi
- Pakistan – Lahore
- Palau – Koror
- Paraguay – Asuncion
- Peru – Lima
- Russia – St. Petersburg
- Russia – Vladivostok
- Saudi Arabia – Jeddah
- Senegal – Dakar
- Slovenia – Ljubljana
- South Africa – Cape Town
- Spain – Barcelona
- Spain – Bilbao
- Spain – Malaga
- Spain – Santiago de Compostela
- Spain – Seville
- Spain – Valencia
- Sri Lanka – Colombo
- Switzerland – Geneva
- Switzerland – Zurich
- Tunisia – Tunis
- Turkey – Gaziantep
- Turkey – Izmir
- Turkey – Mersin
- Uganda – Kampala
- Ukraine – Kiev
- United Arab Emirates – Dubai
- United Kingdom – Edinburgh
- United States – Atlanta
- United States – Chicago
- United States – Dallas
- United States – Denver
- United States – Honolulu
- United States – Los Angeles
- United States – Miami
- United States – New Orleans
- United States – New York
- United States – San Diego
- United States – San Francisco
- Uruguay – Montevideo
- Vanuatu – Port Vila
- Venezuela – Caracas
- Yemen – Sana’a
Philippine Consulate Services
Passport
One of the primary services the Philippine Consulate offers is passport issuance. But note that the Philippine passport belongs to the Republic of the Philippines. If requested, surrender it to an authorized representative of the Philippine government. It’s also strictly prohibited to alter, destroy, or add anything to the Philippine passport, rendering it invalid with ensuing penalties.
According to law, a Philippine passport used as collateral will canceled automatically. The applicant should have an appointment and appear personally during the passport application. If applying for passport renewal, Philippine passport holders should renew it at least nine (9) months before the expiry to avoid problems when entering a country or boarding an aircraft.
Travel Document
The Consulate also handles travel documents where they verify or determine documents with the bearer’s description and other personal information. Instead of a passport, the Consulate issues the travel document for one-way direct travel to the Philippines. Therefore, it’s not valid when traveling to other countries or destinations. Also, it’s only issued to Filipino citizens who urgently need to return home even though they didn’t fully comply with the requirements for regular passport issuance.
However, the travel document is only applicable during emergencies, such as the death of immediate family members and serious illnesses. Filipinos who lost their passports are also qualified to apply for a travel document, which is only valid for 30 days from the date of issuance. The applicant should also provide proof of emergency/urgency to secure a travel document.
Dual Citizenship
Also known as the Dual Citizenship Law, the Republic Act No 9225, or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003, proclaims that natural-born Filipino citizens who obtain foreign citizenship through naturalization may qualify to retain or reacquire their Philippine citizenship. To reacquire their Filipino citizenship, the applicant should take an oath of allegiance to the Philippine Republic with a Philippine Consular Officer as a witness. After obtaining Philippine citizenship, Filipinos with dual citizenship can fully enjoy their civil, economic, and political rights.
Notarials
The Philippine Consulate also processes acknowledgment of documents intended for use in the Philippines signed by individuals. Through its Consular officers, the Consulate will provide the document a cover page with ACKNOWLEDGMENT, gold eyelet, and seal. To avail of notarial services, the signatory/signatories should personally appear at the Consulate. However, the Acknowledgment Certificate does not hold the Consulate liable for the document’s contents.
Civil Registry/Consular Mortuary Certificate
Aside from acknowledging documents, the Consulate offers a civil registry certificate. To register the birth, marriage, or death of Filipinos living abroad, report it to the Philippine Consulate, which has jurisdiction over the area where the event occurred. Filipinos can also report these events at the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate General to register with the Philippine Statistics Authority back in the country.
Report of Birth
To be recognized as a Filipino citizen and dual citizen, a child born overseas should be reported to the Philippine Consulate given they meet the following conditions:
- For a legitimate child born before January 17, 1973 – the father should be a Filipino citizen at the time the child was born
- For illegitimate children born before January 17, 1973 – the mother should be a Filipino citizen at the time the child was born
- For children born on or after January 17, 1973 – Both/either the mother/father were Filipino citizens when the child was born. Under RA 9225, the child was a derivative dual citizen when the mother/father retained/reacquired dual citizenship.
Report of Marriage
A Filipino citizen who marries a foreign national may report their marriage at the Consulate subject to the Philippine laws of marriage validity.
Judicial Recognition of Foreign Divorce
While there is no divorce in the Philippines, a Filipino spouse can remarry under the country’s law if the alien spouse obtains a valid divorce abroad. Nonetheless, the divorce obtained overseas should be submitted to a Philippine Court, ensuring its validity before the Filipino spouse can remarry. The basis for the annotation of the civil registry depends on the decision of the Philippine Court.
Report of Death/Consular Mortuary Certificate
This service only applies to Filipino citizens who died overseas. The report is not required if the deceased is no longer a Filipino Citizen. Instead, the representative should apply for a Mortuary Certificate, which is issued to transport the remains/cremated remains of a deceased Filipino/Foreign national to the Philippines.
Petition for Correction of Clerical Error
The Philippine Consulate also accepts correction of entries in the civil registry documents. However, petitions are only processed if the civil registry document was registered or reported at the Consulate. This service refers to clerical/typographical error, an evident and harmless mistake in clerical work, such as typing, writing, copying, or transcribing an entry in the civil register, such as:
- A misspelled name, birthplace, and the like can only be changed/corrected using a reference or other existing records.
- Day and month of birth
- Sex/Gender given the correction is not due to sex reassignment
Petition for Change of First Name
As per RA 10172, Filipinos overseas may file a petition at the Philippine Consulate to change their First Name/Nickname in the civil register without obtaining a judicial order, given they meet the following conditions:
- The applicant’s first name/nickname is ridiculous, humiliating, or very difficult to write/pronounce
- The new first name/nickname has been frequently and constantly used by the petitioner and is publicly known in the community by that first name/nickname.
- The petition for change will prevent confusion
Visa
The Consulate also provides a Philippine Visa, an endorsement on a travel document granted by a consular officer stating proper visa examination. It also indicates the bearer is allowed to head to the Philippines and ask permission from the immigration authorities to enter the country. On the contrary, the Philippine Immigration authorities at the port of entry handle the admission of foreign nationals into the country. Therefore, a visa does not guarantee the holder is automatically allowed to enter the Philippines.
Overseas Voting
Filipino registered voters can also exercise their rights to vote abroad through the Philippine Consulate. If not yet registered, the Consulate also accepts applications for overseas voter registration, given they are Filipino citizens at least 18 years of age.
Consular Outreach
Since not every city or state has an Embassy/Consulate, the Consular Outreach Mission provides Filipinos in other areas with services. The Consulate conducts the Consular Outreach Mission in areas under its jurisdiction, providing Filipinos with various services, such as passport, dual citizenship, civil registry, notarial services, and overseas voting.
Assistance-to-Nationals
The Philippine government policy states that the Consulate should promote and protect Filipinos’ rights, interests, and welfare under its jurisdiction. That’s why the Philippine Consulate established the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) section to help distressed Filipinos. Under the ATN Section, the Consulate will perform the following:
- Expedite the repatriation process to the Philippines
- Assist cases of human trafficking
- Handle court cases
- Assist in finding the whereabouts of missing Filipino nationals
- Notify and assist detained or arrested Filipinos in the host country (prison visitation)
- Collaborate with government agencies and non-government organizations (NGOs) concerned with laws and policies related to labor, anti-discrimination, human tracking, etc.
Summary
Although the Philippine Consulate is not the government’s chief representative, it offers beneficial services to all Filipinos abroad. It exists outside the host country’s capital city, making it convenient for all Filipinos to access services, such as passports, visas, civil registries, authentication of documents, and assistance to nationals. The Consulate also processes visas for foreign nationals to facilitate their visit to the Philippines.
Furthermore, the Consulate promotes and protects Filipinos’ interests, welfare, and rights overseas. It also helps build a closer relationship with Filipino communities and the host government, encouraging them to participate in the nation’s development. Therefore, the Philippine Consulate is a vital entity that represents the country and its people.