(Eagle News) – Filipinos in Sweden and Finland may now avail of consular services from the Philippine Embassy in Stockholm, following its reopening on Friday, May 15.
“Eight years after it closed the embassy in Sweden, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has reopened the Philippine Embassy in Stockholm and will initially start offering consular services to Filipinos in Sweden and Finland,” the DFA said in a statement.
According to the DFA, consular services in Stockholm will be rendered beginning May 19 and 21, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and continued on a twice weekly schedule.
“Emergency requests for consular services outside of these dates will be accommodated as necessary”, the DFA said.
Consular services that may be availed of at the PH Embassy in Stockholm include passport extensions, visa, and civil registry. Passport renewals, meanwhile, will still be done at the Philippine Embassy in Oslo, Norway.
The reopened PH Embassy in Sweden will also have jurisdiction over Finland, where more than 4,000 Filipinos are currently residing and working.
Those who would like to avail of consular services were advised to schedule appointments via email and phone.
– 15,000 Filipinos in Sweden –
Sweden, the Philippines’ 43rd largest trading partner, is home to “some 15,000 Filipinos employed as health workers, engineers, mining professionals, administrative staff, and in the fashion, culinary, service, and related industries.”
The Philippines closed its embassy in Stockholm in 2012 due to economic constraints, and was represented in Sweden by Honorary Consul General to Stockholm Erik Belfrage, who recently passed away due to COVID-19.
In 2016, Sweden reopened its embassy in Manila, which was previously closed in 2008.
“Philippine-Swedish relations were established in 1947, and is one of the earliest bilateral diplomatic ties entered into by the Philippines after the Second World War”, the DFA statement said.
Eagle News Service
