Right to access diplomatic and consular protection

If an Austrian citizen finds themselves in an emergency abroad, the Austrian representative authorities in the country concerned provide them with support and consular protection.

If you require emergency support while you are in a country where Austria does not have any diplomatic representation, you can request protection from the representation of any other EU member state.

Advice

EU representations providing protection in this situation must treat Austrian citizens as if they were citizens of the EU member state concerned.

Consular protection should always cover:

  • Support in the event of a death
  • Support in the event of a serious accident or illness
  • Support if you are arrested or imprisoned
  • Help for victims of violent crime
  • Support for EU citizens in need, including repatriation assistance
  • Issuing a replacement EU travel document so you can get home
  • Providing information/support if you need to raise funds in an emergency
  • Informing next of kin in the event of an accident or death
  • Providing the contact details of doctors, hospitals, legal advisers, translators and interpreters (you are not obliged to engage any of the individuals suggested)
  • Helping to repatriate people who have fallen ill or been injured abroad or to repatriate someone who has died abroad
  • Informing the Austrian authorities if an Austrian citizen has been arrested or imprisoned (if the individual concerned wants the authorities to be informed) and, if possible, arranging to visit them in prison.

Austrian citizens requiring consular support in any of the following countries/territories can also contact the local Swiss diplomatic representations as shown:

  • Greece Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Corfu
  • Tanzania: Embassy of Switzerland, Dar-es-Salaam
  • Guinea-Bissau: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Bissau
  • Sierra Leone: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Freetown
  • Liberia: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Monrovia
  • Costa Rica: Embassy of Switzerland, San Jose
  • Trinidad and Tobago: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Port of Spain
  • Venezuela: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Maracaibo
  • Samoa: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Apia
  • Fiji: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Suva
  • New Zealand: Embassy of Switzerland, Wellington
  • French Polynesia/Tahiti: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Papeete
  • Qatar: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Doha
  • Indonesia: Honorary Consulate of Switzerland, Bali

Further Links

Certified Translation
Last update: 16 February 2023

Responsible for the content: Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs