Consular immunity

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Consular immunity privileges are described in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 (VCCR). Consular immunity offers protections similar to diplomatic immunity, but these protections are not as extensive, given the functional differences between consular and diplomatic officers. For example, consular officers are not accorded absolute immunity from a host country’s criminal jurisdiction (they may be tried for certain local crimes upon action by a local court) and are immune from local jurisdiction only in cases directly relating to consular functions.

The following information, drawn from a State Department chart outlining immunities afforded to foreign diplomatic personnel residing in the United States, highlights the basic differences between consular and diplomatic immunities.

Category		May be arrested or detained	Residence may be entered subject to ordinary procedures	May be issued traffic ticket	May be subpoenaed as witness	May be prosecuted	Official family member
Diplomatic	Diplomatic agent	No¹	No	Yes	No	No	Same as sponsor
	Member of administrative and technical staff	No¹	No	Yes	No	No	Same as sponsor
	Service staff	Yes²	Yes	Yes	Yes	No, for official acts. Otherwise, yes²	No²
Consular	Career Consular Officers	Yes, if for a felony and pursuant to a warrant.²	Yes⁴	Yes	No, for official acts. Testimony may not be compelled in any case.	No, for official acts. Otherwise, yes³	No²
	Honorary consular officers	Yes	Yes	Yes	No, for official acts. Yes, in all other cases	No, for official acts. Otherwise, yes	No
	Consular employees	Yes²	Yes	Yes	No, for official acts. Yes, in all other cases	No, for official acts. Otherwise, yes²	No²
International organization	International Organization Staff³	Yes³	Yes³	Yes	No, for official acts. Yes, in all other cases	No, for official acts. Otherwise, yes³	No²
	Diplomatic - level staff of missions to international organizations	No¹	No	Yes	No	No	Same as sponsor
	Support staff of missions to international organizations	Yes	Yes	Yes	No, for official acts. Yes, in all other cases	No, for official acts. Otherwise, yes	No
¹Reasonable constraints, however, may be applied in emergency circumstances involving self-defense, public safety, or the prevention of serious criminal acts.
²This table presents general rules. Particularly in the cases indicated, the employees of certain foreign countries may enjoy higher levels of privileges and immunities on the basis of special bilateral agreements.
³A small number of senior officers are entitled to be treated identically to "diplomatic agents".
⁴Note that consular residences are sometimes located within the official consular premises. In such cases, only the official office space is protected from police entry.