Under Articles 20 (1) and 21 of the Estonian Government’s Decree No 196 on the Statute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in accordance with Article 9(4) (2) of the Foreign Relations Act and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, I am hereby establishing the procedures for the reception and termination of the authority of an honorary consul of a foreign state.
1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives its consent to the sending state for appointing an honorary consul and issues the permit (exequatur) of the honorary consul in compliance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (hereafter referred to as “Convention”).
2. The sending state requests through diplomatic channels in writing the consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the appointment of the honorary consul in Estonia, providing thereby the honorary consul's full name, consular district and the location of the consular post. In its request the sending state encloses the Curriculum Vitae of the honorary consul, which includes the following data:
1. date and place of birth;
2. citizenship;
3. details of a valid personal identification document;
4. contact information: work and home addresses, telephone number, e-mail address;
5. marital status;
6. education;
7. work experience, career history, social activity, hobbies, language skills;
8. one passport photograph in colour (40×50 mm);
9. additional information of candidate’s choice.
3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives its consent to the honorary consul who:
1. is a person of good reputation and a well-known social, economic or cultural figure;
2. is able to provide consular services;
3. is not in state or municipal public service and does not work in a national or municipal position subject to elections or appointment, with the exception of academic work in an educational or research institution;
4. has a legal basis for residing in Estonia.
4. Upon giving its consent to establishing a consular district, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs usually follows the principle that the consular districts and locations of consular posts headed by honorary consuls
from the same state or the consular posts headed by a foreign mission and an honorary consul shall not coincide.
5. A diplomatic note of the approval is sent to the sending state. The note is prepared by the State Protocol Department, having coordinated it with a relevant policy department, the Consular Department, and the Foreign Minister.
6. After receipt of the (original) letters patent and its translation into Estonian or English, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues an exequatur for the honorary consul. The exequatur is usually issued for five years.
7. The exequatur is prepared by the State Protocol Department and signed by the Foreign Minister and it shall have the imprint of the embossing seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
8. The exequatur and its unofficial English translation are usually presented to the honorary consul by the Director General of the State Protocol Department. The State Protocol Department sends a copy and a translation of the exequatur to the sending state. The sending state sends the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a diplomatic note on the opening of a consular post headed by the honorary consul and provides the contact details of the honorary consul and the consular post headed by the honorary consul.
9. Upon the extension of an exequatur the same procedure is applied as on the first reception of an honorary consul. If the honorary consul's letter patent that he or she has previously presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still valid, a new letter patent is not required. A valid exequatur can be extended. Upon the extension of an exequatur a new exequatur is issued.
10. A consular district can be changed with the consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Upon the change of a consular district, the sending state issues a new letter patent for the new consular district and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues a new exequatur.
11. The sending state notifies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the change of contact details of an honorary consul or a consular post headed by the honorary consul within the given consular district. In that case presenting a new letter patent of the honorary consul or issuing an exequatur is not required.
12. The diplomatic immunity, privileges and benefits that an honorary consul is entitled to are set out in Chapter III of the Convention.
13. An honorary consul has a right to apply for a service card pursuant to Directive No 7 by the Foreign Minister dated 9 March 2017 titled “Procedure for the issuance and repeal of, as well as the standard format and technical description of a diplomatic identity card and list of data entered on the identity card, and the procedure for registering non-residents exempted from income tax”.
14. An honorary consul is not entitled to a diplomatic vehicle registration plate.
15. The authority of an honorary consul terminates upon:
l. expiry of the term of validity of the letter patent or exequatur of the honorary consul;
2. the resignation of the honorary consul;
3. his or her death;
4. the sending state notifying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the termination of the authority of the honorary consul in the form of a diplomatic note.
16. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall revoke the exequatur of an honorary consul:
1. if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has notified the sending state of declaring the honorary consul a persona non grata and the sending state has not recalled the honorary consul or terminated his or her authority;
2. if a judgment of conviction in a criminal matter has entered into force with regard to the honorary consul;
3. if the honorary consul enters the employment of a state or municipal government or assumes a national or municipal position subject to elections or appointment, with the exception of academic work in an educational or research institution;
4. if the honorary consul has no legal basis for residing in Estonia or if he or she no longer resides or works in Estonia;
5. if the sending state establishes a foreign mission in the consular district;
6. if some other valid reason emerges.
The sending state will be notified of the revocation of the exequatur in the form of a diplomatic note.
17. The honorary consuls of foreign states operating in Estonia and their contact details will be included in the list of diplomatic and consular corps of Estonia.
18. The State Protocol Department shall keep a record of actions related to the reception and expiration of authority of honorary consuls.
19. I hereby repeal the procedures for the reception and termination of authority of an honorary consul representing a foreign state established by Directive No 51 dated 10 April 2012.
/unofficial translation/
Tallinn, 2 July 2025
