How can my embassy help me?
Your embassy can help you if you are the victim of a serious crime or if you fall ill abroad. This may include offering contacts with local lawyers and doctors, advice on transferring funds and helping a broker to contact your family back home.

They cannot give you money or rewards, investigate a crime, participate in a lawsuit, or improve your medical care beyond what is available to locals.

If you have been arrested abroad, you need to contact the embassy. They can offer you help, such as a list of English-speaking lawyers and local interpreters (which are not referrals), as well as guides to legal processes in the country.

They cannot intervene in court cases, prevent deportation, pay any expenses, seek your release from prison, or forward correspondence from your friends or family.

However, they can let your loved ones know what happened, try to contact you within 24 hours of your arrest and visit you as soon as possible. They strive to be unbiased and sensitive regardless of the allegations made against you.

Embassies and consulates can also help verify documents for use in the country you are visiting. To register births, deaths and marriages abroad, you will need to talk to your embassy.

Do I have to go to the police station or the embassy?
If you are the victim of a serious crime abroad, you will need to contact your local police, embassy and insurance company. You will need a police report to file an insurance claim as a result of a crime (such as theft).

Your embassy will be able to tell you if you need their help with crimes abroad, so if you think the crime is serious, contact them.

If you have lost something and it is not the result of a crime, you do not need to contact the embassy (unless it is your passport or other legal document).