> Consular Assistance to distressed citizens

Around China
The Embassy of Ireland will provide as much consular assistance to you as possible no matter where you are in China. Practicalities dictate that much of this assistance will be provided over the phone. Irish citizens living in Taiwan should contact the Embassy in Beijing to clarify their situation.

If you lose your passport
If you require urgent medical treatment
If you have been the victim of a theft or assault
If you have been arrested or imprisoned
When an Irish citizen dies in China
If you need help accessing funds
If you need to be repatriated to Ireland

If you lose your passport

lf you lose your passport in China you should immediately report the loss to the local police, known as the Public Security Bureau and then to the Embassy.

You must ask the Police for a written statement that you have reported the loss. You will require this to obtain a new passport.
If you are visiting China, the Embassy will normally issue you with an emergency travel document. You will need to satisfy the Embassy of both your Irish citizenship and your identity. If you have no remaining documentary evidence of this, you may wish to have a friend or relative in Ireland send copies of documents (e.g. a birth certificate or driving licence). As it is necessary to check with the office  which issued your original passport, it can take a few days to issue an emergency travel document, especially if the replacement is for a child.
You will also need to get a replacement visa from the Public Security Bureau in order to exit China.

If you require urgent medical treatment

The Embassy can:
Offer general advice on the local medical services
Provide a list of local English-speaking doctors
Assist in liaising with doctors or hospitals
Assist in arranging interpretation, if necessary
Advise relatives or friends about accidents or illnesses
Assist in arranging repatriation to Ireland

However, the Embassy cannot:

Pay medical or hospital bills
Provide medical advice
Pursue insurance companies about payment of or refund of the cost of medical treatment
Pursue claims for compensation relating to negligence, injury or any other matter
Pay for visits by relatives

If you have been the victim of a crime as indicated above

The Embassy can:

Inform family or friends of your situation
Help you to transfer funds from home if this is necessary
Provide a list of English-speaking lawyers
Assist in liaising with the local police
Assist families in arranging repatriation to Ireland

However, the Embassy cannot:

Give legal advice
Intervene in court proceedings
Investigate a crime
Pay legal costs

If you have been arrested or imprisoned

One of the most important functions of Irish Embassies and Consulates is to ensure that the rights of Irish citizens who are arrested or imprisoned abroad are fully respected.  We would warn that the punishment for drug-related offences in China (and Mongolia) is particularly severe and enforcement is taken very seriously, regardless of one’s nationality.  
If you are arrested, in many cases the local authorities will only contact the Irish Embassy or Consulate if you specifically ask them to do so.

When the Embassy is informed of the arrest or imprisonment of an Irish citizen, we will respond immediately and provide all possible consular assistance.

The Embassy can:

Visit you or arrange for you to be visited
If necessary, provide you with a list of local English-speaking lawyers
Advise you about the prison system and about your entitlement to visits, mail and other facilities
Bring details of any medical condition you may have to the attention of prison officials
Pursue with the prison authorities on your behalf complaints about ill-treatment or discrimination
Pass messages to and from your family (only with your permission)

However, the Embassy cannot:

Secure better treatment for Irish citizens than local or other nationals receive
Give nor pay for legal advice
Interfere with or influence the local judicial system
Provide any financial assistance while you are in prison
Pay bail bonds nor fines
The Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas (ICPO) is a voluntary agency that provides assistance to Irish prisoners overseas and to their families in Ireland. The ICPO can be contacted at

Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas
Columba Centre
St Patrick's College
Maynooth
Co Kildare
Tel: 00 353 1 505 3000
Fax: 00 353 1 601 6401
Email: icpo@iol.ie

When an Irish citizen dies in China

If an Irish citizen dies while residing or visiting China, the Embassy will provide all possible assistance in dealing with the formalities that arise in these situations.

The Embassy can:

Arrange to have the next of kin/relatives in Ireland of the deceased informed by the Garda Síochána
Assist relatives to appoint a local undertaker
Assist with procuring documents such as death certificates or medical or police reports
Assist relatives to communicate with the Police and other Authorities

However, the Embassy cannot:

Investigate the circumstances of the death
Pay expenses relating to local burial or cremation
Pay the cost of repatriating the remains
Pay for relatives to travel to where the death occurred or to accompany the remains to Ireland

If you need help accessing funds

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Irish citizens travelling abroad sometimes experience financial difficulties. Such situations can usually be resolved easily and quickly by transferring money from Ireland through well-known commercial agencies. Advice about this is available from the Embassy.

If these channels are not available, the Embassy can contact your relatives or friends in Ireland to ask them to send you funds either directly or through the Department of Foreign Affairs. A statutory fee applies to a transfer of funds made through the Department.

The Embassy is unable, under any circumstances, to give loans or to pay any hotel or other expenses incurred by Irish citizens abroad.


If you need to be repatriated to Ireland

In very exceptional circumstances, where the health or security of an Irish citizen abroad is at risk and there is no way of dealing with the situation satisfactorily locally, the Department of Foreign Affairs may agree to repatriate the person to Ireland. This will be done at the sole discretion of the Department and subject to strict conditions which will be set out clearly in each case. The conditions include a written undertaking to repay all the expenses incurred as well as a statutory fee.