Consular agency
Consular agency is a form of consular representation of a state in a host country.
According to Art. 69 WÜK , each state can decide at its own discretion whether it wants to set up or permit consular agencies to be headed by consular agents who the sending state does not appoint to head the consular post. The conditions under which consular agencies can operate and the privileges and immunities of the consular agencies are determined by mutual agreement between the sending State and the receiving State.
According to Art. 9 WÜK, consular agents are in the rank of consuls general, consuls and vice consuls.
Consular agencies are very rare. In Germany currently (as of July 30, 2012) only Italy in Wolfsburg and the United States of America in Bremen have consular agencies.
In some cases, consular agencies also call themselves commercial providers who procure visas from consulates for a fee. They are not institutions of a host country and do not limit their mediation activities to a certain state, but to a large number of consular representations at a certain location (e.g. in a large city).
Web links
- Text of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (WÜK) of April 24, 1963 ( Federal Law Gazette 1969 II p. 1585 ).
- Information on the representations of foreign countries in Germany (embassies and consulates) Foreign Office; Retrieved July 30, 2012.
