Consular protection is the help that an EU Member State can provide to its citizens in case they need assistance abroad.

Normally, consular protection includes cases such as:

• Need for emergency travel documents;
• Accident or serious illness;
• Help or repatriation in case of emergency;
• Being the victim of a crime;
• Arrest or detention;
• Death.

In Uruguay, there are seven Member State Embassies (Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Romania), in addition to the EU Delegation. All other Member States except Malta have Honorary Consuls.

You can contact your Embassy/ Consulate/ Honorary Consulate resident in the country, so that they can provide you with consular protection.

If your Member State does not have an Embassy/ Consulate/ Honorary Consulate, you can go to another EU Member State to obtain consular protection. Some Member States have specific agreements with other Member States for the consular protection of their citizens.

In fact, any EU citizen abroad, whose Member State does not have local representation, is entitled to receive consular protection from the diplomatic or consular authorities of any other EU Member State. In that case, EU citizens are entitled to benefit from consular protection under the same conditions as nationals of that other Member State.

Please note that the EU Delegation in Uruguay cannot provide direct consular assistance.

As an EU citizen, you can take simple steps to make consular protection more effective, for example:

• Follow the travel advice issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your country.
• When you are abroad, register at your embassy or consulate and/or through the relevant platforms.
• Other tips are: keep an electronic copy of your travel documents, subscribe to travel insurance or save emergency contact details.

For more information on consular protection, visit the web pages dedicated to these matters of the EEAS, the European Commission and the European Council.

Below you will find the contact details of the diplomatic missions of EU Member States in Uruguay, as well as of the EU Delegation: