Appointing an honorary consul in Canada

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About the process

Per Chapter III of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), sending States are required to officially seek Canada’s approval prior to appointing or re-appointing an honorary consul per the process outlined below. Honorary consuls are not self-appointed or self-re-appointed. Only Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada can serve as honorary consuls in Canada.

In these guidelines, the expression “honorary consul” includes an honorary consul general, an honorary consul, an honorary vice-consul or an honorary consular agent. The expression “mission” means embassies and high commissions.

When an application is missing information or documents, or when supporting documentation has not been submitted in the proper format, we’ll return it to the mission along with a notification of non-compliance. If the application is complete, we’ll send a confirmation email.

How to apply

Before missions submit an application for the initial appointment or any subsequent re-appointment of an honorary consul, they must gather all necessary information, documents and statements as set out in this section.

To appoint an honorary consul or to re-appoint one, the country’s mission must email a service request to the Accreditation Unit which includes:

  1. The nominee’s legal name (as it appears in the Canadian passport or on the Permanent Resident card) and date of birth;
  2. Proof of Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status (a copy of the nominee’s Canadian passport biographical page or a copy of the Permanent Residency Card; PDF format);
  3. The nominee’s complete curriculum vitæ (PDF format)
  4. One passport-size photo (JPG format);
  5. The position title and the consular district to be covered;
  6. The civic address of the location where the consular archives will be kept and contact details (email and telephone number);
  7. A criminal record check from a Canadian police service issued in the nominee’s legal name within three months prior to the request;
  8. A signed statement from the nominee that they:
    1. Are not facing criminal or civil proceedings before a tribunal or court in Canada, or in a third country;
    2. Are neither facing disciplinary proceedings before their professional order nor subject to a professional or occupational reprimand/misconduct; and
    3. Are not pursuing employment in government (federal, provincial/territorial, or municipal), in a Crown corporation, or as an elected official, and will not pursue such employment while serving as an honorary consul.
  9. A signed statement from the accredited head of mission (or Ministry of Foreign Affairs) confirming that:
    1. The nominee has been thoroughly vetted, including via open source and social media, and found to be a person of good standing who is neither controversial nor politically active, and whose professional activities will not interfere with the effective discharge of her/his consular functions (keeping in mind the Standard of Conduct provided to heads of mission, copy of which is available upon request‎);
    2. The nominee will be able to build and maintain positive and productive relationships with the diaspora and expatriate community;
    3. The nominee will reside and exercise their professional activities on a full-time basis in the same city where the consular archives are located (“full-time” means at least 184 days per year);
    4. The nominee will maintain consular archives at one address only; and that
    5. Changes to the honorary consul’s contact information, including the address of the location of the consular archives, as well as changes to the honorary consul’s professional/other activities and profile (for example, media stories) that might be incompatible with the Standard of conduct, will be promptly reported to the Office of Protocol (see also section 5 on privileges and immunities).

Mission must not copy nominees on their requests. Requests submitted to other GAC offices (for example, geographic divisions) will delay the process.

Other key considerations before a mission submits an appointment or re-appointment for approval

  • Canada will refuse any request for appointment or re-appointment of an honorary consul where it finds that the foreign country’s request is being made for purposes other than those specified in Article 5 of the VCCR;
  • Canada does not accept the appointment of an honorary consul in the National Capital Region (Ottawa-Gatineau) if the sending State already has an established diplomatic mission;
  • Canada does not accept the appointment of an honorary consul as head of a post if such post is already staffed with a career consular officer; in cases of mix consular posts (headed by a career officer and staffed with an honorary consul), please contact the Office of Protocol before submitting a request;
  • If two or more honorary consuls are appointed in the same city, they must operate and keep the consular archives at the same address as the head of post;
  • An honorary consul must maintain consular archives at one location only (except when travelling in the exercise of consular functions);
  • The Office of Protocol does not generally approve an appointment involving the overlapping of consular districts between honorary consuls of the same rank in different cities; an honorary consul may, in special circumstances, with the Office of Protocol’s consent, exercise functions outside the consular district, per article 6 of the VCCR.

During Global Affairs Canada’s review process

Nominees are asked to refrain from contacting Global Affairs Canada officials to inquire about the status of the review process. The country’s head of mission will be alerted each time the nominee calls or emails the Office of Protocol during the review process. Missions having submitted a complete request can contact the Office of Protocol for a file status update after 3 months.

If an application for appointment or re-appointment is either refused or raises concerns, appropriate Global Affairs Canada officials will contact the country’s head of mission.

If an application is approved

If an application is approved, the Office of Protocol issues an exequatur, in the form of an email of definitive recognition, and informs the relevant provincial/territorial protocol office(s) of the appointment.

The Office of Protocol also issues a Government of Canada identity card (ID) based on the documents and information submitted by the nominating country in its request. It is normally valid for a period of four years (or shorter, if requested by the country), and its expiry date coincides with the end of the appointment.

In addition to the above, Global Affairs Canada lists the name of the new honorary consular officer on its Foreign Representatives in Canada webpage, along with the address of the consular archives and the honorary consul’s contact information.

Standard of conduct for honorary consuls

Honorary consuls in Canada are expected to:

  • Serve with integrity: they must act at all times in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny. By upholding the highest ethical standards, honorary consuls maintain the confidence of the receiving and sending States, as well as the confidence and trust of the community they serve in Canada.
  • Avoid conflicts of interest: they must avoid and prevent situations that could give rise to conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts.
    A conflict of interest is any situation in which honorary consuls have private interests that could improperly influence, or otherwise interfere with, the effective discharge of their consular functions, or in which honorary consuls use their offices for personal gain. Conflict of interest may be real, apparent or potential.
  • Avoid conflicts of duties: honorary consuls cannot be employed in government at the federal, provincial/territorial or municipal levels, in a Crown corporation, or be an elected official during their appointment period.
    Honorary consuls must refrain from engaging in any political activity, or in any outside activity that impairs or could be seen to impair their ability to perform their duties representing a sending State in an objective or impartial manner. They must ensure that concurrent outside appointments that are part of their official duties, such as membership with a board of directors, are managed appropriately and that any resulting conflicts of duties are resolved.
  • Be aware of their online demeanor: the standard of conduct of honorary consuls should also be applied in the sphere of social media posting and other public online activities. Honorary consuls must be aware that their online pronouncements withstand careful public scrutiny, and, for example, their social media posts, even when personal in nature, can be interpreted through the lens of their official role.
  • Use their Government of Canada Identity Card (ID) appropriately:they must use their ID in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement Governing the Use of the Short Form Definitive Recognition (Exequatur) Document for Honorary Consular Officers
    Notably, the ID card is issued, not for honorary consul’s personal benefit, but to ensure the efficient performance of the consular functions entrusted by the supervising foreign State. The ID card is not to be used for the benefit of another person or on his/her behalf or in the operation of a business or outside the consular district.
    The ID card may not be used for illegal or illicit purposes, nor does it confer any immunity from arrest or detention, or even tax or customs privileges. The ID card is not a travel document and cannot be used at Canadian ports of entry.

The Office of Protocol’s email of approval, which missions must share with the nominee, contains the following statement:

Standard of conduct for foreign honorary consuls

Once appointed, Canada expects a foreign honorary consul to put the obligations of consular services above their own personal interests. They are expected to guard against personal and professional activities that may interfere with the effective and impartial discharge of their consular responsibilities. The purpose of granting functional privileges and immunities to honorary consuls is “not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance of functions by consular posts on behalf of their respective States” as set out in the preamble of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Canada also expects honorary consuls to exhibit the highest standards of conduct in the performance of their duties. This means consistently acting responsibly, with integrity and honesty, and holding themselves accountable for their actions in order to maintain the confidence and trust of the receiving and sending States, as well as the confidence and trust of the communities they serve in Canada.

A document describing the Standard of conduct expected from honorary consuls is attached to the approval email (exequatur), to be shared with the appointed nominees.

The limited privileges and immunities of honorary consuls

Honorary consuls:

  • Are exempt from all dues and taxes on the remuneration and emoluments received from the sending State in respect of the exercise of consular functions;
  • Do not enjoy importation/customs privileges beyond those specified under Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; they are exempt from customs duties and taxes on limited and specific imported goods for the consular post’s official use, such as: office furniture and equipment, flags, coats of arms, signage, books, seals, and official printed material, among other similar supplies (the diplomatic mission is expected to be the importer of record);
  • Do not enjoy a rebate of the GST/HST on personal expenses and official expenses of the post itself;
  • Do not enjoy exemptions of customs/excise taxes on the purchase of alcohol (even if purchased for official events) or tobacco;

Honorary consuls may be eligible for additional courtesies offered by the province in which they operate. To learn more about any such courtesies, contact the relevant provincial office of protocol.

In addition to the privileges above, honorary consuls enjoy immunity from jurisdiction only in respect of acts performed in the exercise of official consular functions, and from giving testimony concerning matters connected with the exercise of those consular functions. Honorary consuls are not immune from arrest or detention.

Honorary consuls, just like all foreign representatives accredited to Canada, are also expected to pay their traffic fines and parking violations. The Government of Canada’s view is that most instances of driving, including the journey to and from work, are not considered as “official acts” or “consular acts”.

If honorary consuls keep their consular archives at their personal residence or business office, they cannot refer to such residence or business office as a “consulate” or a “consular post” per se because only the consular archives are inviolable. Further the inviolability of consular archives in an honorary consul’s possession is contingent upon them being kept separate from the person’s private and business/professional documents.

Changes to an honorary consul’s location and profile

Missions must promptly notify by email the following changes to the Accreditation Unit:

  • Changes to the honorary consul’s contact information, including the address of the location of the consular archives;
  • Changes to the honorary consular officer’s professional/other activities and profile (for example, media stories) that might be incompatible with the Standard of conduct for foreign honorary consuls; this includes notifying instances where honorary consuls are facing disciplinary proceedings before their professional order or are subject to a professional or occupational reprimand/misconduct.

Honorary consuls whose exequatur expired

Serving honorary consuls must hold a valid exequatur. In order to keep the honorary consul listed on Foreign Representatives in Canada webpage, diplomatic missions must submit a complete service request for re-appointment ideally within 90 days before the expiration of their exequatur (for example, if the exequatur expires on March 31, the mission should submit a request in the period between January 1 and March 31).

The Office of Protocol will withdraw an honorary consul’s exequatur upon expiry of a period of 90 days if the mission has not submitted a complete extension (re-appointment) request. It will also de-list the person from the Foreign Representatives in Canada webpage (for example, if the exequatur expired on March 31 and no complete re-appointment request is received, the person will be de-listed on June 29). In this scenario the Office of Protocol will also send a formal notification to the mission that it has ceased to consider the person as an honorary consul, and it will copy the honorary consul concerned.

Notifying the end of an appointment

The notification of an honorary consular officer’s end of functions must be promptly emailed by the mission to the Accreditation Unit and include:

  • The honorary consul’s name, title and city.
  • The date of end of tenure;
  • An attestation that the ID has been destroyed;
  • An attestation that any consular or special licence plate, when issued, has been surrendered to the provincial ministry of transportation or other provincial authority, as directed by the province; and
  • A confirmation that the consular archives have been returned to the mission or post of supervision.

In instances when a mission does not wish to submit a reappointment application, the mission must also provide a confirmation that it has informed the honorary consul in writing that their country did not seek a renewal of his/her appointment, and that the location where the consular archives were kept can no longer be identified as an honorary consul’s office (for example, on public signage and websites).

Vacant offices, along with the names and titles of former honorary consuls, are removed from the Foreign Representatives in Canada web page.

Privacy: Collection, use and disclosure of personal information

We are only allowed to gather, use and share personal information of honorary consuls, including nominees, where we have an appropriate basis to do under the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act and the Foreign Missions and International Organizations Act and related Schedules. The Office of Protocol collects and processes personal information to fulfill its mandate. Personal information is collected by the Office of Protocol of Global Affairs Canada to:

  • review appointments pursuant to Global Affairs Canada’s approvals process for the appointment of honorary consuls;
  • compile statistics for use in the preparation of reports to the Minister and senior departmental officials, and to assist in the preparation of reports; and
  • offer online services and to update the “Foreign Representatives accredited to Canada” webpage.

“Personal information” is described as any information, regardless of format, related to an identifiable individual. For additional details on the definition of personal information, please refer to section 3 of the Privacy Act. Additional information regarding the collection of personal information is described in the Personal Information Bank - Members of the Diplomatic Corps in Canada web page.

Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints regarding the administration of the Privacy Act and privacy policies may be directed to Global Affairs Canada’s Access to Information and Privacy Division. For more information on this, please read the Access to Information and Privacy web page.