Consulate General of the Portuguese Republic

I have traveled and lived in a number of countries . I have had to utilize consular services of a number of different countries in the past. I have always been treated respectfully and politely. As a Portuguese citizen living in Canada, the service provided by the Portuguese Consular office in Toronto rates as the worst I have ever encountered. The receptionist who is the "face" of this office is rude, disrespectful and obnoxious. When a receptionist's reply to a Portuguese Citizen is "don't come back to this office," then you as a Consular Office have a staffing issue and you need to deal with it. Unfortunately like many other Portuguese in Canada, we have to "grin and bear it" because we have no other alternative. It's a sad state of affairs when a Consular Office has so little respect for its citizens who live outside of Portugal
8 years ago (15-11-2017)

After reading the comments it's funny to see the exact split of positive and negative reviews and I believe all the negative reviews are because of the rude receptionist. I came in because I was in the area wondering exactly what papers I needed to apply for my Portuguese citizenship since both my parents were originally from portuga. He belittled be in front of the 40-50 people that were in the waiting room basically saying how ridiculous it was that I could even dream of coming in without paperwork. "How do I even know who you are and if these are even your parents" People in the waiting room laughed. They did not need to know my business. I understood I did not come prepared but I came in making sure I understood what I needed for when I was ready. Completely outrageously negative expierence,unwelcoming and poor business/person etiquette.
8 years ago (10-10-2017)

I've been living in Canada for over 40 years and have been to the Portuguese Consulate several times during all these years. Unfortunately they've always treated people very rudely and as the older ones leave, the new employees learn to treat people in the same unprofessional and arrogant manner!!!. When you ask questions, they answer very rudely and make you feel like you're an idiot for asking and they're doing you a huge favor by talking to you !! Especially the receptionist !! There's been cases where people I know have gone there to renew or get the Portuguese ID card and after waiting for several hours, they ask everyone remaining that they've reached the limit of ID card applications for that day and they must leave and return the next day !!!!! This is absolutely unacceptable !!! Some people come from very far and have taken a day off from work and these idiots do this??!!! Shame on this consulate !!!
8 years ago (16-10-2017)

I had a very pleasant experience at The Portuguese Consulate. I renewed my Portuguese Identity card and Passport and it took me a little under an hour. I was thinking that I would have to go through a much more grueling process, mainly because I had lost my previous ID card and I didn't have my Birth Certificate with me (I was born in France). The lady that was helping me checked the Consulate's archives and confirmed that a previous copy of my Birth Certificate had been presented in April 1976!!! (by my parents). So that was pretty efficient. She also suggested I renew my Passport, something that took an extra 10 minutes, if that. The second lady that helped me was very efficient as well. Great service. As for line-ups, it's a toss-up I guess. Today, at 9 am, there was a total of 2 people waiting in line. Last Monday, at the same hour, the place was packed beyond belief. Someone told me to avoid going there on rainy days since most Portuguese construction workers choose the impromptu day off to go there. Another thing, once I got to work I emailed the Consulate to find out if my documents could be picked up by someone else. They replied within an hour, if not quicker. Altogether I had interacted with 5 different Consulate employees and every single one of them was efficient and friendly. Edit - one last thing: don't call expecting someone to pick up, not worth it. They are very efficient via email and this should be the preferred mode of communication with them.
8 years ago (08-06-2017)

The worst wait times, be sure to have your whole day planned in the waiting room. I was there at 8am for a renewal on my id and I was out of there by 3pm, they only seem to pick up there slack after there 2 hr lunch break.
8 years ago (03-11-2017)