Editing Diplomatic mission (section)

==Terminology==
A country may have several different types of diplomatic missions in another country.
;Embassy: A diplomatic mission, usually located in the capital of another country, that provides a full range of services, including consular services.
;High commission: Embassy of a [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] country located in another Commonwealth country.
;Permanent mission: Diplomatic mission to a major [[international organization]].
;Consulate-general: Diplomatic mission located in a major city, usually other than the capital, that provides a full range of consular services.
;[[Consulate]]: Diplomatic mission that is similar to a consulate general but may not provide a full range of services.
;[[Legation]]: Diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an [[ambassador]], a legation was headed by a [[Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary|minister]]. Ambassadors [[diplomatic rank|outranked]] ministers and had precedence at official events. Legations were originally the most common form of diplomatic mission, but they fell out of favor after World War II and were upgraded to embassies.
;Honorary Consul: A single person, not a diplomat or consular officer (civil servant), representing another country on an honorary basis with only a limited range of services. Not necessarily a citizen of the country he represents but in most of the cases a citizen of the host country.<ref>{{cite web|date=2016|title=Types of Diplomatic Missions|url=http://www.ediplomat.com/nd/mission_types.htm|website=e Diplomat|access-date=2019-06-05|archive-date=2021-08-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828221042/http://www.ediplomat.com/nd/mission_types.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The head of an embassy is known as an [[ambassador]] or [[high commissioner (Commonwealth)|high commissioner]]. The term ''embassy'' is commonly used also as a section of a building in which the work of the diplomatic mission is carried out, but strictly speaking, it is the diplomatic delegation itself that is the embassy, while the office space and the diplomatic work done is called the ''[[chancery (diplomacy)|chancery]]''. Therefore, the embassy operates in the chancery.

The members of a diplomatic mission can reside within or outside the building that holds the mission's chancery, and their private residences enjoy the same rights as the premises of the mission as regards inviolability and protection.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf |title=1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, article 30 |access-date=2014-09-27 |archive-date=2019-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111183208/http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

All missions to the [[United Nations]] are known simply as ''permanent missions'', while [[EU member states]]' missions to the [[European Union]] are known as ''permanent representations'', and the head of such a mission is typically both a permanent representative and an ambassador. European Union missions abroad are known as EU delegations. Some countries have more particular nomenclature for their missions and staff: a [[Holy See|Vatican]] mission is headed by a ''[[nuncio]]'' ([[Latin]] for "envoy") and consequently known as an ''[[apostolic nunciature]]''. Under the rule of [[Muammar Gaddafi]], [[Foreign relations of Libya|Libya's missions]] used the name ''people's bureau'', headed by a secretary.

Missions between [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries are known as ''high commissions'', and their heads are high commissioners.<ref name="name">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PrRdc5SI_R4C&pg=PT50 |page=33 |title=Introduction To Tourism And Hospitality Industry |author=Sidhur Andrews |publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill Education |date=1 Jun 2007|isbn=9780070660212 }}</ref> Generally speaking, ambassadors and high commissioners are regarded as equivalent in status and function, and embassies and high commissions are both deemed to be diplomatic missions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/diplomatic-and-consular-representations |title=Diplomatic and Consular Representations |first=Jim S. |last=Nutt |access-date=2014-01-06 |archive-date=2018-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522000153/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/diplomatic-and-consular-representations/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cpadocs/cpa%20address%20140311.pdf|title=Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, "What does the work of a High Commissioner involve?"|access-date=2014-01-06|archive-date=2018-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222164846/http://www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cpadocs/cpa%20address%20140311.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the past, a diplomatic mission headed by a lower-ranking official (an ''envoy'' or ''minister resident'') was known as a ''[[legation]]''. Since the ranks of envoy and minister resident are effectively obsolete, the designation of ''legation'' is no longer among the [[diplomatic rank]]s used in diplomacy and international relations.

A [[Consul (representative)|consulate]] is similar to, but not the same as a diplomatic office, but with focus on dealing with individual persons and businesses, as defined by the [[Vienna Convention on Consular Relations]]. A consulate or consulate general is generally a representative of the embassy in locales outside of the capital city.<ref name=name/> For instance, the Philippines has its [[Embassy of the Philippines, Washington, D.C.|embassy to the United States]] in the latter's capital, Washington, D.C., but also maintains seven consulates-general in major US cities. The person in charge of a consulate or consulate-general is known as a consul or consul-general, respectively. Similar services may also be provided at the embassy (to serve the region of the capital) in what is normally called a consular section.

In cases of dispute, it is common for a country to [[Letter of credence|recall]] its head of mission as a sign of its displeasure. This is less drastic than cutting diplomatic relations completely, and the mission will still continue operating more or less normally, but it will now be headed by a ''[[chargé d'affaires]]'' (usually the [[deputy chief of mission]]) who may have limited powers. A ''chargé d'affaires ad interim'' also heads the mission during the interim between the end of one chief of mission's term and the beginning of another.