Support for British nationals abroad: A guide www.fco.gov.uk Our Customer Charter This Charter sets out our commitment to providing a high level of service to you and what we ask from you in return. We will: We will do our best to: > Be professional, non-judgemental, polite and > Keep waiting times to a minimum, when you helpful to you whatever your gender, race, age, visit us in person, and advise you of any delay. sexual orientation, marital status, disability, > Provide a private interview room if needed. religion or belief. > Issue you with an emergency travel document > Protect any personal information you give us in or any notarial certificate on the same or next accordance with the Data Protection Act. working day (when we receive the correct fee, > Tell you beforehand if there is a charge for a application form and supporting documents). service we provide. > Contact you within 24 hours of being told you > Deal with your enquiry accurately and are in hospital. efficiently, explaining clearly from the start > Contact you within 24 hours of being told you what help we can give and when you should have been arrested or detained (depending on approach others for advice. local procedures). > Give clear information at our premises and on > Reply to your emails, letters and faxes within our website on how to contact us, and make 20 working days. arrangements for you to contact us in an emergency outside office hours. > Use your feedback, comments and complaints to help us improve our services. What We Ask from You > Treat our staff with respect. If you are abusive, we may refuse to help you. > Be prepared to pay for some services e.g. an emergency travel document. We do not make a profit from these charges; they go towards the costs of providing consular services. > Give us feedback so that we can improve our services. To do so, please speak to a member of staff or visit www.fco.gov.uk/consularfeedback to complete our short customer satisfaction survey or to send us a complaint. …and please follow our tips below for travelling or living overseas: > Buy full travel and medical insurance to help cover any unexpected costs. > Have any necessary vaccinations, pack enough medication to cover any unforeseen extended stays or emergencies and leave your contact details and itinerary with family or friends. > Follow our travel advice www.fco.gov.uk/travel and local advice on what is safe and unsafe, respect local laws and take care of your money and passport (not forgetting to include your emergency contacts on the inside back cover). We have a duty of care to our employees. We will not send staff into a situation where we judge that their safety could be seriously at risk. For more information on the services and support we provide, please speak to a member of staff or visit www.fco.gov.uk/travel Contents Contents Summary 2 If something happens to a relative 19 > Staying safe overseas or partner > How we’re funded > Next of kin and representatives > What kind of help we can provide > Deaths abroad from natural causes > Crisis > Death of a British national abroad in > Our values suspicious circumstances > When our job is over > British nationals in detention or prison > Important notes overseas > Missing people Who we can help 5 > British nationals kidnapped or taken > What about dual nationals? hostage overseas > Where you can find us > International parental child abduction > If something happens to you in a country where the UK is not represented If you are affected by a crisis 23 > Our duty of care to our staff overseas > What is a crisis? Staying safe overseas 7 > Who we can help in a crisis > Before you go > What kind of help and assistance we can > Special considerations provide in a crisis, and what we ask from > When you are there you > If you are going to live abroad > Incidents in which large numbers of British > If you are retiring overseas > nationals may have been killed or injured > Some of the main things to consider > Civil or political unrest when you arrive > Event causing disruption and hardship to > What our Embassies can do for you British nationals > Crisis > Support after a crisis > Support for British nationals who are not If something happens to you 14 ordinarily resident in the UK > If you have anything stolen > Lost or stolen passports Giving us feedback 28 > Financial help Official complaints procedure > Victims of crime overseas > Victims of rape or sexual assault overseas Appendix 29 > British nationals who go into hospital Categories of British nationals overseas > Mental Health > Forced marriage of a British national abroad > British nationals in detention or prison overseas > If you are the subject to a travel ban 1 Support for British nationals abroad: A guide Summary This guide highlights some of the main ways you can help yourself stay safe abroad and what help we can provide if you do get into difficulty. Staying safe overseas them, and keep a separate note of their numbers. (See page 9) > Check our travel website on www.fco.gov.uk/ travel or call 0845 850 2829 (24hrs, 7 days a > Before you go, get a good guidebook and get to week. Networks charges may vary). Keep an eye know your destination. Find out about local laws on news reports of any problems in the area you and customs, and follow them. Be aware of your are visiting. Follow fcotravel on Facebook and personal security and take sensible precautions to Twitter for regular updates from the Foreign & protect yourself. (See page 9) Commonwealth Office (FCO). (See page 7) > Before you travel get comprehensive travel Who we can help insurance or an overseas health plan, which covers We can provide the support set out in this guide1 to any pre-existing medical conditions you have, and people outside the UK who are: ensure it covers all activities you undertake. If you do not take out proper insurance, you will normally > British nationals (whether or not they normally live have to pay the costs of any emergency yourself, in the UK – see page 5); including expensive medical bills. If you choose to > British nationals with another nationality (known go to a country against our travel advice, this may as ‘dual nationals’ – see page 5), although this will seriously restrict any help we can provide and may depend on the circumstances; also mean that your travel insurance is not valid. (See page 7) > In certain circumstances, nationals of other European Union countries and Commonwealth > At least six weeks before you go, check with nationals whose country does not have a local your doctor what vaccinations and other health embassy. (See page 5) precautions you may need to take for your trip. Take any prescribed medicine with you and We cannot provide this support to other countries’ keep it to hand, as well as a copy of the nationals, even if they may have been legally living in prescription. However, be aware that some the UK. medications (including prescription medications) may be illegal in the country you are visiting. How we’re funded (See page 8) Consular assistance provided to British nationals > Make sure your passport is valid and in good overseas is not funded by the UK tax payer. It is condition and that you have any necessary visas. funded by a small premium included in the price of Fill in the emergency contact details in your every British passport, costing the passport holder less passport. (See page 8) than £2 a year. The remainder of our income comes > Leave copies of your passport, insurance policy from the fees we charge for documentary, notarial (plus the insurer’s 24-hour emergency number), and certain assistance services. ticket details, your itinerary and contact details Fees are calculated based on the cost of our global with your family and friends. (See page 8) consular operation so that every British national pays > Take enough money for your trip and some backup funds, such as appropriate travellers cheques, prepaid cash cards or credit cards. Before Note 1: There is no legal right to consular assistance. All assistance provided you leave, find out how you can replace your is at the discretion of the Consular Directorate of the Foreign and travellers cheques and credit cards if you lose Commonwealth Office. 2 Summary the same fee for the service they use no matter where because such support is best provided by they are in the world. The fees are approved by the independent professionals and we do not have the Privy Council and laid before Parliament. funding or the expertise to provide such specialist services. What kind of help we can provide > Carry out searches for missing people; because doing so is the responsibility of the local We offer help which is appropriate to the individual authorities and to search effectively requires the circumstances of each case, including: resources that only local authorities can provide. > Issuing replacement travel documents. > Investigate crimes, get you out of prison, prevent > Providing information about transferring funds. the local authorities from deporting you after your prison sentence, or interfere in criminal or civil > Providing appropriate help if you have suffered court proceedings; rape or serious sexual or physical assault, are a because we cannot interfere in another country’s victim of other crimes, are ill or in hospital. processes, and must respect their systems just as > Providing details of local lawyers, interpreters, we expect them to respect the UK’s laws and legal doctors and funeral directors. processes. > Doing all we properly can to contact you within 24 > Get you better treatment in prison than local hours of being told that you have been detained.