Guide on consular services given to Romanian citizens abroad (relevant parts)

Transcription

1 Guide on consular services given to Romanian citizens abroad (relevant parts) Who can we help: Romanian citizens, regardless of their country of residence. Citizens of the member States of the European Union, where their country has no diplomatic office in the country where they are (in clearly specified cases). We cannot provide consular assistance to foreign citizens, even if they have their residence in Romania. Where you can receive consular assistance: The Consular Relations Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Embassies of Romania and its consular offices in countries where you are located; In countries where Romania has no diplomatic mission, you can contact the Honorary Consulates of Romania. However, they can offer you only limited consular assistance, or they can report your problems to the closest Romanian diplomatic mission; In your capacity of European citizen, you can contact the diplomatic mission or consular office of any member State of the European Union for any emergency situation, if there is no diplomatic or consular office of Romania in the country where you are located. What can the Romanian consular officials do: They can provide assistance and protection to the Romanian citizens in an equal manner, regardless of gender, race, age, religion, within the limits set by the norms of international law and legal regulations; They can address your problems in a professional manner and in full conformity with the legislation in force; They process the information provided by you in accordance with the regulations concerning the protection of personal data; They can respond to your requests, verbally and/or in writing, as soon as possible; They can give clear explanations on the basis of the legal provisions in force; They are available to handle your highly severe of emergent problems also outside their work programme; What we can do through Romanian embassies and consulates: In common situations: We can issue, on request, temporary travel documents (temporary travel documents, passports) or assist you with the changing of your expired identity documents; We can issue civil status acts (certificates of birth, marriage or death); We offer notary services (legalization of certain acts that you need abroad); We support you in the process of obtaining judicial and extra-judicial acts from Romania; We offer you assistance to regain/renounce the citizenship. 1

2 In extreme situations (arrests, accidents, natural disasters, etc): We can contact you as soon as possible from the moment we are aware of your situation; We can contact the authorities of the respective countries in order to be informed of your situation; We are making sure that your rights are respected and we take the necessary steps to this end; We can help you to contact your family or the Romanian authorities, if you wish so; We carry out special measures of help in situations of force majeure (natural disasters, accidents, etc); We can provide assistance and support in cases of abduction, disappearance or death of persons close to you; We can put you in contact with specialists who can help you (lawyers, interpreters, doctors, funeral directors) 1. What we cannot do through the Romanian embassies and consulates: We cannot secure the release of an imprisoned person if he/she is convicted; We cannot influence the legal procedures of the country of residence; We cannot help you to enter the country of residence if you do not have valid travel documents, valid entry visa, and we cannot take steps that will interfere with the immigration policy of the country of residence; We cannot do investigations in cases of crimes, we cannot substitute the lawyers in your trial; We cannot pay your bills, debts, or lend you money; We cannot make travel arrangements for you or find you work; We cannot ensure you accommodation; We do not provide translation services; We cannot get you preferential treatment in medical institutions or in arrest situations from the standard rules. (page 13) What you can do if you have a traffic accident abroad: Inform immediately the local police authorities; Try to benefit from the presence and witnesses statements to describe the circumstances in which the accident occurred; Accompany the statement made to the police with a list of items damaged or destroyed; Request the police to issue a report (needed to obtain compensation from the insurance company); Call your insurance company and follow all recommendations (all contracts of insurance issued by an insurance company authorized in Romania include the telephone number of a permanent emergency service); 1 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not responsible for the quality of the services provided by these specialists. 2

3 Fill in the form existing in most of the member States of the European Union where you present your point of view, including the way the accident had produced; Call the emergency number of RTAs in case you are a member of this club. If the accident had only minor consequences (damage to the vehicle): Write down the identification elements of the other vehicle involved in the accident and his/her insurance company; Expect the arrival of the police, if requested by the local law; Keep records of payment until you return to Romania to present them to the insurance company. If the accident had serious consequences (deceased or injured persons): Give first aid and then inform the local police; Contact the Romanian embassy or consulate. What CAN the consular staff of Romania do in cases of traffic accidents abroad: They can issue a travel document, so you can return to Romania, in cases where your passport was lost or destroyed in the accident; They can contact your family to let them know of the accident and send your possible requests; They can recommend you lawyers and local interpreters who can represent you before the authorities, in possible claims or any criminal or civil proceedings related to the incident in which you were involved; They can intervene to ensure the necessary medical assistance and can monitor the evolution of your health. Throughout the evolution of your case, they can intervene in favour of your case only in the limit permitted by the local law, and only with the consent and assistance of local authorities; They cannot make inquiries or investigations in cases of accidents occurred in the territory of a foreign country; only the authorities of that country have jurisdiction to investigate such events; They cannot provide legal representation; They cannot pay your costs of trial or the cost of other types of litigation; They cannot pay your transport costs; They cannot pay your hotel accommodation or your medical expenses and they cannot fulfill you commitments or those of the deceased. What you can do if you fall ill abroad: Contact immediately the nearest medical unit; 3

4 Contact the closest Romanian embassy or consulate in case you do not have access to the medical units. The consular staff can recommend you the nearest medical units; Explain the doctor your health situation, any previous diseases, restrictions on certain drugs, etc. Show the physician your medical insurance or travel insurance; If you do not speak the local language, ask for an interpreter or ask to be contacted the closest Romanian embassy or consulate. What CAN the Romanian consular staff do: They can contact your family, if you wish, to inform them about your medical condition and to transmit then your requests; They can recommend you medical units that can provide the necessary services; In case you are hospitalised for a longer period, they can visit you and monitor your health, if you wish to; They can give you assistance in the event that certain formalities are necessary for your transport in Romania in special conditions. They cannot create a more favourable situation for you than that of the citizens of the respective country; They cannot pay your medical expenses, expenses of treatment, medication, or transport expenses for travelling in Romania; They cannot intervene before the insurance company for the purpose of making the claims on your behalf; They cannot ensure housing in areas hold by the embassy or consulate and cannot pay the cost of your hotel accommodation; They cannot fulfil the commitments that you did not honoured because of your illness or accident. What you can do in the event your documents or money were stolen: Inform immediately the local police authorities; Try to benefit from the presence and witnesses statements to describe the facts and the offender; Add to the statement you will bring to the police a list of the items that were stolen or are missing; Request the issue of a report from the police authorities. You will need the police report in order to collect the insurance (if you have an insurance policy); Inform immediately the Romanian embassy or consulate in case your passport or any other Romanian identity document was stolen; In case your money were stolen, inform your family or close relatives and ask for financial help in order to continue your journey or to return to Romania. 4

5 What CAN the consular staff of Romania DO: They can issue a travel document for you to return to Romania (where it was stolen or you lost your passport or identity card); They can contact your family to inform them about your incident and to transmit them your possible requests; They can recommend you lawyers and local interpreters, who can represent you before the authorities in case of criminal or civil proceedings related to the incident. They cannot carry out inquiries or investigations in relation to the incidents that occurred on the territory of a foreign country; They cannot provide you legal representation; They cannot pay your costs of trial or the cost of other legal proceedings; They cannot pay your costs of transport; They cannot pay your hotel accommodation or medical expenses; They cannot issue a document that can replace your driver license. What you can do if you are arrested abroad: You can ask the foreign authorities to respect the following rights you have on the basis of international norms: The right to request that the Romanian embassy or consulate is notified of your arrest or detention; The right to receive consular assistance (within the limits described below); The right to contact your family. This can be done also by the consular staff, but only with your previous consent; The right to receive legal assistance (assigned counsel or counsel engaged by you or your family); The right to receive medical assistance; The right to benefit of translation into the language of the respective country (by an assigned translator or, if possible, an interpreter recommended by the embassy or consulate); The right to correspondence by mail (within the rules laid down by the legislation of the respective country); The right to receive visitors (members of the consular staff or members of your family); The right to be transferred in Romania for the purpose of executing your sentence (only after delivering the sentence of condemnation and only from countries that accept this procedure, based on international agreements and national law) ; The right to receive assistance from non-governmental organizations (the contact details of non-governmental organizations that can provide assistance in the respective countries can be made available by the consular staff). What you can do if a family member is arrested or detained in another country: 5

6 You can ask for details on his/her situation, either directly to the authorities of the respective country, either through the Romanian consular staff from the respective country; You can take steps to hire a lawyer who can provide him/her with the necessary legal representation; You can visit him/her in the place of detention (following the rules prescribed by the national legislation of the respective country); You can support him/her financially (by paying his hospitalization, expertise, or other legal proceedings); You can send him/her written correspondence by mail (within the rules laid down in the national legislation of the respective country); You can help him/her to fulfill the procedures provided by the national law for making the transfer in Romania in view of serving his/her sentence there (insofar as the respective countries agreed to that procedure, and in accordance with the applicable national law). What CAN the consular staff Romania DO if you are arrested abroad: They can insist before the local authorities with the purpose of contacting you, after being informed of your arrest or detention by local authorities; They can visit you at the place of detention; They can refer you to lawyers or interpreters who can be hired to represent you before the local authorities; They can report to the local authorities the possible abuses you identified in the application of the rules on detention or non-observance of your rights; They can report to the local authorities your possible medical diseases that require special attention during the duration of your detention; They can send messages to your family if you wish for. They cannot release you from detention; They cannot influence or intervene in judicial proceedings or decisions of the authorities; They cannot provide legal representation (you need the services of a lawyer for this); They cannot make your treatment more favorable than the treatment conferred to citizens of the respective country in a similar situation; They cannot pay your costs of trial or the costs of the legal procedure in which you are involved (legal representation, expertise, translation); They cannot pay your medical expenses; They cannot carry out inquiries or investigations in the territory of a foreign country; They cannot help you to receive packets (other than written correspondence) sent by your relatives or other persons, if this is not allowed by the local regulations. 6

7 Note on translation: Unofficial translation by Madalina Bianca Moraru 7