Consulates in London
How to contact your home consulate in London if you need citizen services (like a new passport application)
Remember: Embassies are for diplomats; Consulates are the citizens-services offices most visitors might need—for lost passports, visas, and the like.
Note that many consulates require appointments—and even if not, an appointment will make the interminable bureacratic wait much shorter.
Also, security tends to be, understandably, strict. Leave at your hotel all bags, backpacks, oversized purses, knives, glass bottles, laptops, cameras, and anything else that would raise eyebrows in an airport security–type situation. (Many also insist you keep your cellphones in your pocket or purse when on the premises.)
Foreign consulates in London
- United States: American Citizen Services, 24 Grosvenor Square (at Upper Brook St.), W1K 6AH. Open Mon-Fri 8am–5pm. (tel. (0)20-7499-9000; London.usembassy.gov). Tube: Marble Arch (Central), Bond Street (Jubilee, Central).
- Note: In 2017, the US Embassy is expected to move to its new home in the Nine Elms district near Battersea Park, across the Thames from Pimlico.
- Canada: Canada House, Trafalgar Square (west side, at Pall Mall —visitor's entrance on Cockspur St.), London, SW1Y 5BJ. (tel. (0)20-7004-6000; Canadainternational.gc.ca). Tube: Charing Cross (Bakerloo, Northern).
- Australia: Australia House, The Strand (where road splits at Aldwych), London WC2B 4LA. Open Mon-Fri 8am–4pm (appointments by phone only 9am–noon). (tel. (0)20-7887-5816; Uk.embassy.gov.au). Tube: Temple (Circle, District).
- New Zealand: New Zealand House, 80 Haymarket (near Pall Mall), London SW1Y 4TQ. Open Mon-Fri 10am–4pm. (tel. (0)20-7968 2730; Nzembassy.com/united-kingdom). Tube: Charing Cross (Bakerloo, Northern) or Picadilly (Picadilly, Bakerloo).
- South Africa: Consular section/Passport services: 15 Whitehall St. (just S of Trafalgar Square), London SW1A 2DD. Open Mon-Fri 8:45am–12:45pm. (tel. (0)20-7925-8900, Southafricahouseuk.com). Tube: Charing Cross (Bakerloo, Northern).
- USA (london.usembassy.gov) - American Citizen Services, 24 Grosvenor Square (at Upper Brook St.), W1K 6AH. Open Mon-Fri 8am–5pm. (tel. (0)20-7499-9000; London.usembassy.gov). Tube: Marble Arch (Central), Bond Street (Jubilee, Central).
- Canada (canadainternational.gc.ca) - Canada House, Trafalgar Square (west side, at Pall Mall —visitor's entrance on Cockspur St.), London, SW1Y 5BJ. (tel. (0)20-7004-6000; Canadainternational.gc.ca). Tube: Charing Cross (Bakerloo, Northern).
- Australia (uk.embassy.gov.au) - Australia House, The Strand (where road splits at Aldwych), London WC2B 4LA. Open Mon-Fri 8am–4pm (appointments by phone only 9am–noon). (tel. (0)20-7887-5816; Uk.embassy.gov.au). Tube: Temple (Circle, District).
- New Zealand (Nzembassy.com) - New Zealand House, 80 Haymarket (near Pall Mall), London SW1Y 4TQ. Open Mon-Fri 10am–4pm. (tel. (0)20-7968 2730; Nzembassy.com/united-kingdom). Tube: Charing Cross (Bakerloo, Northern) or Picadilly (Picadilly, Bakerloo).
- South Africa (Southafricahouseuk.com) - Consular section/Passport services: 15 Whitehall St. (just S of Trafalgar Square), London SW1A 2DD. Open Mon-Fri 8:45am–12:45pm. (tel. (0)20-7925-8900, Southafricahouseuk.com). Tube: Charing Cross (Bakerloo, Northern).
General tips of similar interest
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The sheet of backup information is the message in a bottle you send to yourself in case you get into trouble and lose all your important travel documents
Travel on the safe side with trip insurance: when to buy it, what it does and does not cover, and where to get it
Visitors from most developed nations will receive an automatic tourist visa upon entering the U.K.
