Residents of Latvia traveling abroad now have an easier means of letting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs know where they are thanks to an online consular register.
The register, which can be accessed at kr.mfa.gov.lv, is voluntary. Registering one’s location allows officials to help travelers in case of emergency, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release.
The Web site became available Jan. 1.
Residents of Latvia may also register their whereabouts with Latvian embassies, consulates and consulates general, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular Department in Rīga.
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I am Latvian by birth, dzimu Riga 1942, esmu tirs Latviets no Ozola familijas pardaugava. As an expat Latvian university lecturer I have been living and working overseas for the last 35 years, from the USA through the Arab Middle East to Thailand. Now I am in Thailand. Last year I lost my Latvian passport in Bangkok and after inquiries, I discovered that there is a “Latvian Honorary Consul” in Bangkok. He is in the Bangkok telephone directory under that title. So I wenr to see this “Latvian Honorary Consul” to try to get a replacement for my passport. His address is listed near the Patpong red-light district. At last I found his house. He has a brass plate on his door saying “Latvian Honorary Consul.” I rang the bell. The man who answered was Thai. He could not speak even one word of Lavian. His English was ok. When I asked him if he could please try to expedite a replacement of my Latvian passport, his answer was “no, this is not my business.” Puzzling, I thought. I asked him, “sir, what is actually your business?” The answer: “I do business with Latvia.” “Can you help me get a replacement for my lost passport?” “No.” My question to the readership here: Who is this guy? What business does he have wih Latvia? Why does he have a brass nameplate on his door that says “Latvian Honorary Consul?” Does the goverment in Latvia know that we have an honorary consul in Bangkok? Is he actually paid? If he is paid, what is he paid for doing? What does he do? Who pays him? And if somebody does pay him surely he must have some duties. What are this guy’s mysterious duties? Nesaprotu. Maybe somebody can shed some light on this mysterious “Latvian Honorary Consul” Looking forward to some clear answers perhaps.