São Tomé and Príncipe has no embassy in Washington. Its only presence in the United States is the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, on Third Avenue. It is a diplomatic mission rather than a consulate, so ask what it can handle before relying on it.
Quick facts
The country is a member of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, and Portuguese is the official language. Correspondence in Portuguese will always be more effective than in English, and it shapes where the diaspora is: Portugal above all, where the community is far larger than in the United States.
Where things are handled
| Need | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Passport | In São Tomé | Ask the mission whether it can assist |
| Emergency travel document | Ask the UN mission | Capacity is limited |
| A fully staffed embassy | Lisbon and Brussels | Often more practical |
| Civil certificates | In São Tomé | Through a relative |
| Documents for use at home | Legalisation chain | Confirm the route first |
For a complicated file, it is worth asking whether the embassy in Lisbon could handle it. It serves a large community, is fully operational, and works in the same language.
How to proceed
- Contact the Permanent Mission in New York and ask what it can handle.
- Ask whether a Santomean embassy elsewhere could deal with your case.
- Expect a passport matter to be handled at home.
- Establish whether a relative there can act for you.
- Write in Portuguese where you can.
- Allow long timescales and use tracked postage.
Documents to have ready
- Current or most recent Santomean passport.
- Identity card or birth certificate.
- Proof of your status in the United States.
- Photographs, in case they are requested.
- Contact details for a relative at home.
- Police report where a passport was lost.
Where to enquire
At the Permanent Mission of São Tomé and Príncipe to the United Nations, on Third Avenue in New York.
No offices currently listed.
Additional notes
Lisbon is worth asking
The community in Portugal is much larger, and the embassy there is fully operational.
A UN mission is not a consulate
Some assist nationals in practice; none are obliged to.
Portuguese
The language of the administration. Correspondence in it moves faster.
Two islands, one country
Príncipe is an autonomous region with its own administration. Say which island your matter concerns.