How helpful is your countries embassies?
 

I'm curious how much help you can expect from the embassies of various countries around the world.

I'll share our recent, less than satisfactory experience with the Canadian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.

For the past two years we have been working in a humanitarian capacity in a small village in Sierra Leone, a village with no courier or mail delivery. We are now on the way back home and have decided to travel overland through West Africa to Europe. I was able to purchase and get insurance for all ECOWAS countries in Sierra Leone and was able to purchase insurance for the remainder of the trip on-line. Naturally these documents need to be delivered in a secure fashion, something which was NOT possible in our work location. As the Dakar Embassy is the first embassy of Canada that we would pass they were the logical place to have these documents sent to.
I sent several e-mails to the Dakar Embassy along with a phone call or two just to confirm that they would receive these documents and turn them over to us when we passed through Dakar. I never received an answer to my e-mails and only an unintelligible answer by phone:helpsmilie:. As I have NO OTHER OPTION I had the documents sent to the Embassy. After arriving in Dakar we called the embassy to get their location so we could pick up these documents. The location given was over a mile from the actual embassy location! Once we finally found the embassy we talked to someone who quickly found the envelope and proceeded to tell us that they would not give it to us!! It either had to be returned to sender or destroyed. Passing it on to us was not possible!?!?doh
After contacting my Member of Parliament we were able to have the documents picked up by courier (NO I could not pick up these documents even though they are addressed to me, a courier HAD to do it).:censored:
Over $70 later and now, hopefully, the documents are coming to us by DHL at the guest house where we are staying.

Not exactly a pleasant experience from the Canadian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.:thumbdown:

What is your experiences, good or bad, with embassies from your country?

I have to tell you that, IMO, no embassy of any country in the world will act as a post office for its' citizens.
Certainly not a UK one; they have far more relevant work to do judging by my slight experience while working within a UK embassy a few years ago.

I agree that they can't be a "post office" receiving postcards and letters from home and the like but this is documents related to and required for travel and as such would fall under their umbrella in my opinion.

In any case a reply by e-mail is the least they could have done.

Good then.

Couldn't the documents have been printed off anywhere with internet and a printer?

You can also have stuff posted to you at a DHL office who will hold on to them for about three weeks I believe.

Police and border customs officers want originals not photocopies or printouts which could be photoshopped.

I had the copies with me but those are not enough.

I disagree. If they were couriering you a new passport, health card or anything government-related, then yes.

Whats the difference between your originals and ones you could print?

UK insurance policies are often emailed, so thats what you get. Ask for them to post a copy they're the same. No watermarks or anything else. Copy away :)

You have a lot of faith in email
 

Just think of your email as being like a nuisance phone call; you've got all these folks beavering away at their own area of responsibility and a "nuisance call" comes in - the delete button is close, and you are ever so busy and, anyway, the email subject matter doesn't lie in your area of work.:innocent:

This is the "green card" for European insurance. I suspect the European police will be stopping me because of the "odd" plates (Sierra Leone) and falsified documents won't be treated lightly.

I thought you had the documents sent to you by courier (DHL) at your guest house.

The only possible way that (dutch) embassies will be of any assistance is if you require a new passport.

Questions regarding anything else will be met with a haughty, nasty, and down-the-nose stare, after which they will consent to explain to you - at length and nauseam - that the purpose of an embassy abroad is to promote Dutch business abroad, hobnob with the expats, other embassies and members of the oldboy network, and certainly not to talk to, much less entertain dusty travelers who are clearly penniless (otherwise you'd've dressed better).

If you require letters of introduction, statements or anything that will pretty much entail them typing for a bit and applying an old-looking stamp on faux-papyrus, they might eventually find the time, but will charge ridiculous amounts of money for said service...

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for embassies. I mean, even :censored: need jobs, and they can do less damage far away from home...

It's an embassy, not a PO Box.

I think you have unrealistic expectations of your country's diplomatic service and don't really understand it.

You clearly expect special treatment 'cos you spent two years working in some shithole for an NGO. A tough lesson in life, but a necessary one - no-one cares.