A consulate's primary function is to provide services for resident or traveling nationals from its home country. It may be a part-time position filled by the spouse of a consulate official, but the CLO can be a very useful person to get to know. Consulates do not provide travel, legal, employment, or interpreting services. They cannot get a national who has violated host country laws out of jail, but they will press local authorities to ensure fair treatment and access to legal representation. International agreements in effect in most countries require that foreigners who are arrested be allowed to contact their consular officer.
Consulates also provide some services to nationals of their host country, such as issuing visas.