If you hold Saint Lucian nationality and live within reach of Coral Gables, this is the office your paperwork goes through. Consular work is unglamorous and exacting, and knowing what this post does before you turn up saves the wasted morning that catches most people out.
Everything on record about this office follows: where it is, how to reach it, what it does, and what to settle before you go.
๐ Quick Contact
- Address: 2 Alhambra Plaza 850, Coral Gables
- Phone: (786) 502-3351
- Type of office: Consulate General
๐ Consular services at a glance
In broad terms, expect the following. Anything unusual is worth confirming by telephone first:
- Assistance: the part of consular work nobody plans for. An arrest, a hospital, a death in the family, documents gone.
- Passports: handled here in most cases, though a lost or stolen book follows a separate route that usually begins with a police report.
- Powers of attorney: drawn up or witnessed here for use at home. The wording should come from the lawyer or notary who will use it.
- Civil status: a marriage celebrated in the United States does not exist back home until it is registered. The same goes for a birth and a death.
๐ Getting an appointment
Most consular procedures need an appointment, and at a busy consulate general the wait for one is usually the longest part of the whole process.
This post does not publish an online booking route, so contact it directly and ask how appointments are arranged.
Ask about payment when you book. Cash or a money order for the exact amount is common across consular networks, and cards are the exception rather than the rule.
๐ค Worth knowing before you go
Check the consular district before anything else. The map that matters is the one the country drew, not the one on your phone.
Names are the other recurring problem. Where the spelling on an American document differs from the Saint Lucian record — accents dropped, surnames ordered differently, a married name — expect to be asked for evidence explaining the difference.
Consular processing is slower than any commercial service and the timetable is not negotiable. Start early.
Before you travel to the consulate general in Coral Gables
How do I get hold of this office?
By telephone on (786) 502-3351. Note who you speak to and what you are told, because requirements differ between posts of the same country.
Does this office handle passports?
It usually does, by appointment and with personal attendance for biometrics. Ask whether the booklet is collected at the counter or posted out.
How do I know which office is mine?
By the consular district assigned to it, not by distance. It is the first thing worth asking on the phone.
What if I lose my passport days before a flight?
That does not go through the ordinary appointment queue. Call and say it is an emergency: for imminent travel most networks issue a travel document valid for a single journey.
Do I need a visa to visit Saint Lucia?
That depends on your nationality and the length of the trip. Where Saint Lucia does require one, it is increasingly applied for online rather than at a counter.