Embassy Madrid busiest in the world for consular assistance in 2014

For another year the Embassy in Madrid has been Ireland’s busiest Embassy worldwide for consular assistance, dealing with a fifth of all cases dealt with by Embassies globally, and reflecting the large numbers of Irish citizens who chose Spain as their preferred holiday destination.

Consular statistics for 2014 have shown that the Embassy in Madrid, assisted by its network of 10 Honorary Consulates around Spain, was once more the busiest for requests for assistance by Irish citizens abroad. The Embassy assisted with almost 300 requests for assistance over the past year from Irish citizens who found themselves in difficulty in Spain. This included 45 cases involving a medical issue or hospitalisation, 50 deaths of Irish citizens in Spain, and 88 arrests. Close to 1.4 million visits are made to Spain by Irish people each year. Given the volume of visits, it’s hardly surprising that some citizens run into problems, and the Embassy is happy to be able to help where we can by providing local knowledge, reassurance, and helping to overcome the language barrier. You can read more about how we can help you if you are in difficulty.

The Embassy also issued 1,377 passports in 2014, making us the 12th-ranked passport-issuing Embassy, and one of the few in the top 15 outside of English-speaking countries.

Statistics also show that Spain was a top destination for Irish people getting married abroad in 2014, and we helped by issuing Certificats de Coutume, or freedom to marry certificates.

A recent article in the Irish Times gave an interesting insight into the work of Irish Embassies in assisting citizens in difficulty.