Diplomatic appointment (Honorary & Active), and, passports are now available from several countries in Africa, South America, Europe, and Pacific Islands, at very competitive costs, and, sometime, even, FREE.
Main tasks of Honorary Consuls include the enhancement of bilateral relations in trade, economy, culture and science between the sending country and the country of your citizenship or permanent residence. The Honorary Consulate helps with the economic and trade cooperation and with the expansion of business from the country of citizenship in the country of representation. Another important task is the support of the development of the international relations, the representation and perception of the interests of the country you represent, and give assistance and consular protection for country of representation citizens and institutions. The Honorary Consulate supports the work of the Embassy of the country of representation and informs the sending country on the economic, political, cultural, and social life of the country of citizenship or permanent residence of the Honorary Consul. As an Honorary Consul, it is also your task to contribute to the traditionally friendly and multilateral relations between the countries and their people, and, to represent the interests of the sending country and its citizens. In these strivings, you can always count with the support of the Embassy of the country of representation and its Consulates.
Honorary Consul may expect many benefits and privileges that they are difficult to list. One can travel through diplomatic channels as a VIP-person, often without visas. Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, and, some other brands are giving big discounts for diplomatic persons. The donations involved with diplomatic appointments are much smaller than the yearly-long discounts one can get. Some applicants use diplomatic passport to set up a nice trade with good profits for both ends. An appointment as the Honorary Consul of a foreign country is a source of considerable social prestige among the city’s elite. Your mansion can bear the represented country’s coat of arms.
– Opportunity to meet government officials and be involved in diplomatic circles.
– Diplomatic Immunity – under International Law governed by the Vienna Conventions of 1961-63.
– No tax liability on any income arising from consular activities.
– Usage of Diplomatic channels at airports, no time delaying and annoying customs checks.
– Unlimited entry and exit privileges from host country for business and personal travel.
– Opportunity to use some of the advantages for business purposes that will increase your social status.
– Free Diplomatic vehicle license plates (Special color of the plate).
Other advantages.
The 1961-63 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations outlines the rules of diplomatic law. The Convention codifies the rules for the exchange and treatment of envoys between States, which have been firmly established in customary law for hundreds of years. It has become an almost universally adopted Convention with 179 States party to it.
We often act on behalf of Governments, and Head of States, in order to find and recommend highly qualified individuals who could represent the nation’s interests as member of the diplomatic corps, as Honorary Consul or as representative to specialized agencies of the United Nations. The States are seeking for representatives with the power, the will, and the moral impetus to promote the nation’s interests in accordance to its own values. The candidate shall introduce a modern approach to international relations, motivated by the national interests as its ultimate purpose. Our goal is to support the achievement of foreign policy goals and objectives of several governments through our network of contacts worldwide, advance national interests, and enhance diplomatic relations by seeking diplomatic representatives and by strengthening the relationship between the government’s officials and the diplomatic representatives.
Our network have assisted hundreds of customers in the past 33 years to obtain legal residency, citizenship and diplomatic passport in more than 45 countries.
(NEW VERSION 5.0)
When I first started writing the “ABOVE THE LAW REPORT”, back in 1992, after finishing my College (CUNY), the forces around where the ones dominating the international arena: Mario Cuomo (the Governor of New York), the first black NYC Major, Dinkins, Bush (Sr.), Boris Yeltsin, and Yasser Arafat was still alive and kicking.
Now things in the diplomacy world and Govs have changed, so, see below a summary of them.
The word “Consul” is Latin. In 509 BC, the first Consuls were elected in Rome. Then, the word Consul meant the highest public official in the Roman Republic.
The Consuls were publicly elected through so-called Comitia Centuriata. Together, two Consuls ruled the country for one year periods after the rule of Lucious Tarquinius Superbus. Two Consuls were needed, or so lawmakers thought, to prevent one person’s abuse of absolute power. Back then, being a Consul was a political and administrative post, similar to today’s Presidents and Prime Ministers.
During the time of Caesar and the Roman Empire, Consulship became a ceremonial, powerless office.
In the twelfth century AD, the word Consul was again used, this time to describe civil- servant type officials working abroad for the Italian trading states of Venice, Genoa, and, Florence.
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They had three functions: hospes, defensor et protector, and, rector et protector. This meant that not only were they to grant asylum to citizens and friends of their sending States, they were also to further trade and protect the interests of their home State in the States where they worked. The job had considerable prestige, then as now. During the fifteenth century it became commonplace for all nations to use Consuls to further and protect trade interests abroad. Important shipping or trading nations such as Austria, France, England, Portugal and Spain all had Consuls abroad. Almost all Consuls were wealthy merchants based abroad, who represented the interests of their home country as a sideline to their main business.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, industrial and commercial progress called for more Consuls in Europe. Most countries started using Consuls in every community where their own citizens lived or did business. Some sought to avoid the costs of sending hundreds of career diplomats abroad by using local citizens. Thus, the Honorary Consul was born.
Almost all countries, then as now, appointed locally resident foreign citizens abroad as their Consuls. These individuals represent the foreign nation in all local matters, without regular compensation.
From the eighteenth century onwards, countries not only in Europe but nations around the globe started to appoint more and more Honorary Consuls. Increasing numbers of Consuls, as well as flourishing trade and international shipping, called for a standard set of ground rules for Consuls. These ground rules were established in final form with the Vienna Convention of 1870. The latest major revisions of this Vienna Convention on Consular Relations were approved on 23 April 1963.
THIS REPORT WAS WRITTEN BY AN INDIVIDUAL WHO KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT AND WHO HAS HAD A 100 PER CENT SUCCESS RATE IN GETTING CANDIDATES WHO READ THIS REPORT APPOINTED BY REAL UNITED NATIONS MEMBER COUNTRIES.
Read this Report carefully and then prepare your own decision on how to go about it. We are confident that you will receive several interesting offers. Don’t be impatient. Bureaucrats often move very slowly. Some responses were received almost a year after their asking.
A considerable amount of prestige normally goes with the appointment. If Joe Banana, for example, is a Consul, Honorary or career, for Mesopotamia, he might be addressed as The Honorable Joe Banana, Consul General of Mesopotamia. And, as a higher ranking Ambassador, he might be addressed as His Excellency, Joe Banana, Ambassador, Extraordinary and Minister. Plenipotentiary diplomats, as you see, usually have grandiose titles. This is a hangover from the days where most diplomats were aristocrats, and, a diplomatic appointment was considered a great honorific title, at a similar level to admiral or general in the military service.
An Honorary diplomat is normally appointed by countries who cannot afford or do no wish to spend the substantial amounts required to set up an office. Appointing an Honorary Consul saves them the cost of supporting a staff and sending out their own citizens as full time diplomatic representatives abroad.
Off course, the Honorary Consul is expected to put in only a few unpaid hours of non-social business per week. Wining, dining and dancing are the major activities. Smiling and being diplomatic are the major chores.
An Honorary Consul general may serve his sending country in a major city or his jurisdiction may cover a substantial territory; he, or she, may have within this jurisdiction, lower ranking Honorary Consuls, Vice-Consuls and diplomatic Agents. A Consul looks after a smaller city, or, town. The highest ranking foreign diplomat in a receiving country is an Ambassador, who normally serves only in a national capital. Honorary Ambassadors are very rare, but, possible.
However, we will not get bogged down in such interesting possibilities on our first pages. The important thing to remember is that most countries appoint Honorary Consuls. If you like giving parties and having a very active social life, the diplomatic corps or Consular circuit may be your cup of tea.
The largest and most socially active Consular Corps are found in second string cities like Monaco, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Marseilles, Hong Kong, Dubai, and, San Francisco. But wherever there is a yacht harbor or international airport there always seems to be an active Consular Corps. This group is typically composed of about half career diplomats and half honoraries. Virtually any city with over five hundred thousand people, any cosmopolitan town with foreign commerce or any ethnic community will have a large and active Consular Corps. Honorary Consuls can also be appointed to serve in suburbs or small towns.
The visible emoluments of office include a plaque for display on the outside of the building where the office and/or residence is maintained, a flag of the country represented, an official seal for documents, and, usually a diplomatic ID card, and, free Consular Corps license plate for any cars personally owned by the Consul or his wife. Automobile license plates are always issued by the receiving State. Thus the Honorary Consul of Haiti in Nice, France, would drive a car with CC special plates issued by the Foreign Ministry in Paris. An Ambassador gets CD or Diplomatic Corps plates on his automobile.
An Honorary Consul does not escape income taxes on his regular professional income, but if the sending Government pays him anything, if he gets Consular fees for putting his official seal on documents, or, if he earns a fee for performing a marriage ceremony, these income items would be tax free.
Of course a career diplomat in a foreign country is exempt from custom duties, income, sales, VAT and other taxes in the host country. An Honorary Consul can usually take advantage of these benefits, too. In the latter case, the tax benefits and deductions are not strictly allowed by treaty, but are often informally granted.
An active social life. Monthly Consular Corps meetings, and, lots of parties, all the time. Every country has a national day always celebrated by the diplomatic corps. Movie previews, opera premieres, theatre openings. Every week brings a new official bash, all at the taxpayer’s expense when the gatherings are hosted by career diplomats.
Prestige. Your name is known and for some reason you are now a personage, respected and admired. You are profiled in the press and become a regular in the society glossies.
Some minor tax benefits. Granted, they’re minor. But they do exist, and with a little creativity, you could possibly turn tax-free booze and free auto license plates into something bigger.
Business contacts. As a Consul, you will be exposed to many economic opportunities and new contacts, especially in connection with your adopted country.
Accordingly, appointment as an honorary diplomat is suitable mainly for professional people or for independent businessmen who have adequate means and flexible schedules. If the President, King, or, Dictator of a sending country visits in person, the Honorary Consul may well be expected to take a week off to accompany him and help arrange his activities. Without free time and a budget of at least US $10,000 per annum for such entertaining, one should not even begin to think of seeking an appointment for a major city. A smaller town is an entirely different matter. There is little expense when the total Consular Corps is five or ten people. In a backwater village the time required to take care of Consular duties is similarly minimal.
Briefly, only an Ambassador can literally get away with murder. But even then, the sending country can, and usually will, waive diplomatic immunity for a renegade Ambassador who commits a serious crime. If the crime is done on the orders of the sending nation, the diplomat is quickly expelled. He thereafter becomes persona non grata, no longer welcome in the receiving country. Diplomatic relations may be severed for serious offences in, or, insults to, the host country. In short, being a diplomat is not a license to steal, or, misbehave. It is more of a ticket to the inner circle of power elite who have certain rights and privileges not available to the man on the street
If you want an appointment as Honorary Consul, the first step is to check your local telephone book for listings of countries that are already represented in the town where you live or want to be active as Consul. If a country already has a representative, it is less likely to appoint you. However, if the present appointee owes his job to a defeated political administration, the new incumbents may well be anxious to find someone else.
Some countries sell diplomatic appointments and diplomatic passports. But we know you will get your Consular appointment without any bribes, or, donations if you will simply do some campaigning. What do we mean by “campaigning” ?
Normally there is a year or two of correspondence, perhaps a visit or two. Then, after suitable negotiations have been concluded, an impressive scroll or certificate arrives naming you as Consul General.
The first step to secure your position after getting a letter of appointment is to get an EXEQUATUR, a document from your own country. This document recognizes you as an officially appointed representative of a foreign government. Normally, this is obtained for you by the Ambassador of your adopted country in your own capital city. He generally will need a No Criminal Record certificate from the head of police archives in your city of residence. You can speed up the process by mailing your Chief of Police the letter appointing you as Honorary Consul, with your compliments and salutations expressing the wish for an early issuance of your certificate of good conduct. Obviously an underworld character can’t be on the invitation list to lunch with the cream of local society.
You will in turn receive the official roster with names and addresses of all other accredited diplomats in your province or state. Upon receipt of your EXEQUATUR, you will be added to this list. This list is used as the guest list formost official functions given by town Mayors, provincial or state Governors, local universities, military bases and of course the parties given by the individual Consuls, and, the Consular group itself. You will find the main activity of diplomats is socializing. In a typical large city you will be invited to several parties per night. With all that free-flowing booze you could become an alcoholic !
First of all, they recognize that in a crisis, conflicts of loyalties can arise. An Honorary Consul may be a connection between representing and furthering the interests of the country that appointed him, and, at the same time fulfilling his duties as a citizen of his native country usually that country where he was born and where he lives. Consider this recent example from the Gulf crisis. The Kingdom of Denmark lined up with the rest of the United Nations member States to demand a trade embargo of Iraq. Loyal to his own flourishing import-export company, the Danish Honorary Consul in Amman (Jordan), kept shipping out foodstuffs and other goods to Baghdad (Iraq). He ignored his telex buzzing with counter-instructions from the Danish Foreign Ministry in Copenhagen. His cousin, also a Consul from Denmark in another part of Jordan, similarly kept trading with the Iraqis. When it comes to a choice between serving the adopted country that appointed you Consul or lining your own pockets, most Consuls will prefer the latter. Thus, some countries, among them the United States, do not use Honorary Consuls. Needless to say, the US has deep pockets, and, taxpayers do not seem to mind supporting a hundred thousand highly-paid diplomats, at least two thirds of them could be replaced by Honoraries.
Countries not using Honorary Consuls feel that since being an Honorary Consul is an unpaid, part-time function, some consuls will neglect their duties, however small these might be. This is certainly true, although many career diplomats have turned into opportunists, alcoholics or misfits.
Finally, it is an undoubted fact that being a Consul, especially in a large city, carries with it the fringe benefits of insider knowledge. In business, getting commercial information from a source no competitors have access to, namely the sending country’s finance, trade and foreign ministries, could be developed into substantial profits. Some diplomats acquire considerable fortunes in questionable deals.
Yet, despite all of these considerations, Honorary Consuls, and, Honorary Consul Generals are today used more than ever. In secondary cities of most countries, Honorary Consuls often outnumber paid diplomats. For smaller third world countries, some ninety to ninety-five per cent of all Consuls are nationals of the receiving state. A small number of Honorary Ambassadors, and, diplomats represent countries at the United Nations in New York City, Geneva, or, other cities.
In rare cases, one can become Roving Consul, a Consul appointed with no specific territory. These free-roving diplomats (also, known as AMBASSADOR AT LARGE), are traveling consuls without portfolio. Sometimes Consuls are assigned a territory without actually living in it. A few Consuls usually resident in Monaco are Monegasque Honorary Consuls to resort towns in Portugal and Spain. Places they visit only for short holidays three or four times a year. Such positions can in rare instances be obtained with some personal campaigning. Appointments to represent the sending country in a specific city, where the Honorary Consul lives or expects to live more, or, less full time, are the norm.
When France withdrew its Embassy from South Vietnam after its military defeat in 1965, it was agreed that Consular ties between Saigon and Paris should continue. When Egypt and Syria broke off diplomatic ties with West Germany due to the latter’s official recognition of Israel in May 1965, no change was made in Consular arrangements.
The United Nations archives tell many similar tales, too numerous to mention here. (For more background on this, you may order documents A/CN 4/166, A/CN 4/SR 757 from the United Nations Library, New York City, NY, USA).
Very seldom have States refused other States the right to establish consular posts within their territories. But it happens sometimes. France in 1928 refused to grant China the right to appoint a Consul General to French-controlled Indo-China. At that time, more than 400,000 Chinese nationals lived in French Indo-China. But, as far as France was concerned, growing Chinese influence was a negative factor. The French feared that the support with the Chinese would threaten Indo-China’s economic dependence upon France. As it turned out, the French had every reason to be afraid, and, despite their valiant efforts to keep it in a French orbit, Indochina eventually became Chinese-dependent Vietnam.
Another example is Tahiti, which has consistently refused to allow the US to reopen the Consulate in Papeete which was shut down in 1948. The French do not want American ecology freaks, and, human rights nuts interfering with atomic tests, and, arbitrary French administration in the Pacific.
Ireland will not open a Consulate in Belfast because to do so would imply recognition of what the Irish regard as Great Britain’s illegal occupation of Northern Ireland for the past five hundred years. Likewise, even after the recent peace accords, Jordan and Egypt refuse to send Ambassadors to Jerusalem. They say that Tel Aviv should be the Israeli capital, because, Jerusalem belongs to Palestine.
You want to become a Consul or get a Diplomatic Passport ? Here’s how to do it.
According to international Law, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Article 1, Clause 1, says: “Heads of Consular posts are appointed by the sending State and are admitted to their functions by the receiving State”.
First, you have to secure an appointment from the country you want to represent as a Consul. The appointment materializes with the notification of appointment. This paper is technically known as the Consular Commission. This document, sometimes, called the Consular Patent, is issued by the sending State. Usually, the original is presented to the receiving State, and, you receive a copy. It is customary for the sending country’s Embassy closest to where you live to perform this function.
Article 11 of the Vienna Convention deals with the Consular Commission, while article 12 covers the EXEQUATUR. The exequatur is the official document issued by the receiving State recognizing you as a new (Honorary) Consul of a foreign power. It recognizes your rights under the Vienna Convention while you are within the receiving State’s borders. In rare cases, some receiving States will not issue the EXEQUATUR even after a Consular Commission has been granted by the sending State. This occurs for instance when the prospective Consul is a convicted criminal in the receiving State.
Most sending states today prefer to avoid this embarrassment by requesting a police good conduct Certificate of the applicant before the Consular Commission is presented.
A preliminary investigation of your background prior to a consular appointment could take years. But around six months is the norm. Remember, you are dealing witii bureaucrats. State employees are slow and unmotivated. Often they have to fill everything out manually, in quintuplicate. Then they must wait patiently while other bureaucrats review and approve their recommendations. It is always less risky for a bureaucrat to do nothing than to apply their official stamps, and, seals to documents that later turn out to have appointed an unworthy candidate.
A candidate for a Consular posting should have no criminal record, at least not in the country he wants to serve (the receiving state), or in the country that appoints him (the sending State). “Minor” crimes, such as drunk driving, do count ! Your criminal record as well as your general reputation should be squeaky clean for you to ensure the appointment. Helpful hint: why not obtain and send with your first Paper Blitz, a photocopy of a letter from your local police attesting to your good character, and, lack of any criminal convictions.
Also, you should be a man of means. Obviously this term is elastic. In Bangladesh, anyone with a car, and, more than a one-room hut is a man of means. In Monte Carlo, or, San Francisco quite a bit more is needed.
You should probably avoid sending out letters to countries already represented in your area by an Embassy or an existing Consul. This would only make you look uninformed, and, will not generate the result you want. If you feel that the present Consul owes his job to a previous ruler, and, that the present administration, or, political party in power is looking for a new candidate only then you should send out your campaign literature to a nation already represented in your area.
The above are duly accredited and enjoy full diplomatic immunity (Ambassador & Counsel). Of lower rank are members of the diplomatic staff. Such members might have almost any sort of title including secretary (1st Secretary, 2nd Secretary, etc.), Attachè, and, Chancellor. Provided they are registered with the foreign service in the receiving State, which is not always the case, they also enjoy diplomatic immunity.
Service staffs such as the Ambassador’s driver, butler, bodyguard or housekeeper, enjoy a limited diplomatic immunity. If for instance, the Ambassador’s driver is drunk while on duty, he’s protected by his immunity. But, if, he drives drunk off-duty, he has no protection from local prosecution.
Article 49 in the Vienna Convention frees the career diplomat from all taxes, duties, etc. The Honorary Consul, in Article 66, is exempted only from taxes, and, duties directly related to his work as a Consul.
If you do not know how to eat with a knife and fork, you will probably not be appointed consul in the first place.
In some western countries, it is not necessary to be an Honorary Consul of a foreign State to acquire a Diplomatic Passport from your home country. It may be enough just to obtain a Lettre de Chancellerie from a foreign embassy. Such a document might be issued by any member of the diplomatic staff or even by a Consul. It should be relatively easy for you to find a person who is willing to issue a Lettre de Chancellerie. In short, it is a document saying that you have been assigned to perform services for the Government. You might, by presenting that letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country of which you are a citizen, be able to obtain a Diplomatic Passport The country which issues the Lettre should, naturally, be considered friendly, and, not too controversial.
Numerous other reasons exist for a State to grant a Diplomatic Passport to a foreigner. The case history of South African singer Miriam Makeba proves that you can hold not only one, but many Diplomatic Passports. Singer Makeba has a dozen different diplomatic passports issued by various states in Black Africa ! These States consider it a national honor for such a famous person to travel on their passport.
This diplomatic agent ad hoc enjoys full diplomatic immunity without being accredited as a diplomat to any country’s Government.
If an international multilateral conference is going to take place in Bordeaux, France, for example, a diplomatic agent ad hoc will receive an official invitation, and, a diplomatic visitor’s visa from the French Government. This visa is usually issued by any French Consulate or Embassy, and, on the spot. After they have seen the invitation.
When is a diplomatic passport a disadvantage ? We can think of only a few rare instances.
If you are on a plane hijacked by fanatic Arabs, we suggest you hide your Israeli, or, American Diplomatic Passport. If terrorists find it, you’d be the catch of the century. Few hostages outside of the Head of State are more valuable than Ambassadors ! Even an Honorary Consul is a prize.
Before the Iron Curtain rusted, it could sometimes also be a disadvantage to hold a Diplomatic Passport when traveling to East European communist countries. A friend of the author was once Traveling on an Irish passport to Poland in the company of a beautiful blonde holding a Diplomatic Passport issued to her by the Kingdom of Sweden. She was the daughter of the Swedish Consul General in Calais. He obtained his visa to Poland at the Polish embassy in Copenhagen in just a few hours. But the stunning Swedish girlfriend had to wait ten days for her visa. The Embassy was not allowed to issue visas to holders of Dplomatic Passports without prior authorization from Warsaw.
The holder of a Diplomatic Passport issued by the African Republic of Venda (a real place !) has a much more difficult situation to face. This country is not even recognized by the Republic of South Africa. Venda, as well as Transkei, and, Bophuthatswana, may still consider themselves independent States. But all other States of the world consider Venda, Transkei, and, Bophuthatswana as part of the new democratic South Africa. The rest of the world does not recognize them as Sovereign States at all.
Taiwan for the moment is in a similar situation. Only about twenty states of the world recognize Taiwan today as a Sovereign entity. In most countries, the official view on Taiwan is that “Republic of China” as it styles itself does not exist. Red China insists that the island of Taiwan is a part of the People’s Republic of China (ROC).
For years, the US maintained the fiction that Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania had legitimate Governments-In-Exile in Washington DC and in London. They recognized passports issued by these Governments-In-Exile as well as USSR passports issued to travelers from these areas. The USSR was considered an illegal military occupier from 1943 until just recently.
Current politics, more than anything else, determine how the holders of regular or Diplomatic Passports will be treated. Obviously, it is best to hold the Diplomatic Passport of a neutral, well recognized, relatively uncorrupt, generally respected country.
The most respected passports, diplomatic or otherwise, are issued by:
Unfortunately, none of these first rate countries are major appointers of Honorary diplomats. Central America, Caribbean and South American countries are probably your best bet.
If you want to become an Honorary Consul, you must first check to see which countries are already represented in your area. If El Salvador, for instance, already has a Consulate, or, Embassy in London, it will not, or cannot, appoint you Honorary Consul there. You must find a country not represented in your city !
Obviously, it is far more difficult to become Honorary Consul if you are a resident of London than if you are a resident of nearby Brighton.
It for instance, Amnesty International is operating in your city and sponsors a rally to condemn acts committed by the Government you represent, you might be asked by the press to make a statement. This situation can become an embarrassment to you. People might ask you “What sort of gangsters do you represent ?” Some relatives of a victim might try to do you some harm. Consider this possibility very carefully ! It might well be worthwhile to study history and protest group publications. Check out what they have to say about the Government you are thinking of representing. Usually, Amnesty International can be considered a reliable source of information.
If you are resident of a medium sized city and if you find a country willing to appoint you as their Honorary Consul, there is just one final obstacle to overcome. The EXEQUATUR.
Some European countries grant the EXEQUATUR as a routine matter. In countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg, no one has ever been denied or refused his EXEQUATUR. Other countries have different policies. In Germany, for example, the Federal Authorities will check you out very thoroughly before they issue the EXEQUATUR.
In a country like Germany, it is your general reputation that counts. There, it is not enough to have a clean criminal record. If you have been involved in any frauds, or, bankruptcy, if you are considered a slow payer, if your bank manager has not much good to say about your credit, if you spouse has any discrediting events in her past or if you are just considered a shady person, you are disqualified.
According to Article 1, Paragraph 2 of the Vienna Convention of 1963 “A state which refuses to grant an EXEQUATUR is not obliged to give any reason for the refusal”.
When considering the EXEQUATUR, Ministries of Foreign Affairs also take into account your profession. If you are a banker; a lawyer or a businessman with a good reputation, it is a strong merit far better than being a fortune-teller, jockey, chiropractor, pool shark, or, owner of a chain of tattoo shops.
Serious countries might well give the red-carpet treatment to a visiting torturer, fanatic or murderer who has managed to become president or dictator. But in the case of Germany, an EXEQUATUR will not be given to a citizen if convicted for even the most minor offense twenty years earlier. We can understand their position. An Honorary Consulate is an ideal center of operations for a fake or con man. In Germany at least, the Honorary Consul is always a solid, and, respectable citizen.
The US is not as strict as Germany. Many questionable characters have been accepted and are now serving as Honorary Consuls. The barring criteria in the US is “a conviction of felony involving moral turpitude”. A mere bad reputation does not cause the US to turn down a prospective Honorary diplomat.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old.
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