What if something goes badly wrong while you’re abroad? What if you’re the victim of a crime, or fall ill? What if someone close to you dies abroad, or suffers other serious misfortune? In this section we explain how we can help. Call Consular Assistance if you need assistance abroad: The Consular Assistance team in London can be reached on: 020 7008 1500 (+44 020 7008 1500 from abroad) This number operates 24 hours a day ‘Exceptional Assistance Measures for Victims of Terrorist Incidents Overseas’ A ministerial statement (Word doc) on... 

For UK citizens about to travel or live abroad, we have practical tips on staying safe, secure and healthy, and avoiding problem situations. Sometimes, it’s to do with commonsense precautions – like arranging the right vaccinations and travel insurance. Sometimes, we have more specialist advice – like how to keep yourself informed about the risks of terrorism in the country you’re going to. The checklist Make sure you read our travel checklist before you go away - it’s got everything you need to know for staying safe and healthy abroad! Take... 

Many people deeply regret not taking out travel insurance. They think their credit card accident cover, home insurance, or private health cover is sufficient. The real cost when things go wrong An emergency abroad can be extremely expensive. If you need to be returned to the UK it could cost you thousands of pounds, unless you are adequately insured: £35-45,000 - air ambulance from USA’s East coast £12-16,000 - air ambulance from the Canary Islands £15-20,000 - scheduled flight, stretcher and Doctor escort from Australia Figures supplied by FirstAssist...