What is the purpose of a foreign consulate office?

Question

If an illegal wants to go back home, will a consulate provide for the airfare?

Answer 1

To answer what I think is your main question re: sending illegals home at their government's expense:  maybe, but not likely.  By definition a country that is in bad enough shape that its citizens are working and living illegally in foreign countries usually can't afford to, and from my experience cares very little about them in the first place.

Answer 2

A consulate represents its country's interests in a foreign country, but not on the same scale as an embassy.

"The office of a Consul is termed a Consulate, and is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in that foreign country, nowadays usually an Embassy or High Commission usually in the capital city of the host nation."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consulate

A citizen of the country represented by the consulate may seek help in being repatriated, but any money given is generally considered a loan which is expected to be repaid.

Answer 3

Normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the people of the country to whom he or she is accredited and the country of which he or she is a representative. This distinguishes the consul from the ambassador or chargé d'affaires, who is, technically, a representative from one head of state to another. Thus, while there is but one ambassador representing a nation's head of state to another, and his or her duties revolve around diplomatic relations between the two countries, there may be several consuls, one in each of several main cities, providing assistance with bureaucratic issues to both the citizens of the consul's own country travelling or living abroad, and to the citizens of the country the consul is in who wish to travel to or trade with the consul's country.

Answer 4

Most every nation has some kinds of dealings with most every other nation ... business interests, politics, tourism.

The foreign consolate office is where people go who are citizens of that foreign nation & in need of some kind of help from their home nation.  

If an illegal wants to go back home, airline is not the best way to travel.  Could turn self into local authorities, and get bussed home by the border patrol.

It is also where people of other nations go who want to arrange permission to visit that nation, for any reason.  Or who may wish to do business with that nation & want to learn all relevant laws, to avoid getting in any trouble.

These offices are also vehicles to support growth in trade.