The Law To Know

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If you are arrested abroad: a card for your wallet

In the first minutes of an arrest you may not share a language with the officer. This one-page card has five short sentences in 15 languages. Print it, cut it out and keep it with your passport. You point to a line; the officer reads it in their own language.

The five sentences

  1. AI am a foreign citizen. I want my embassy or consulate to be told.
  2. BI want a lawyer.
  3. CI need an interpreter.
  4. DI do not understand. I will not sign anything I cannot read.
  5. EI want to tell my family.

Languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean.

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Please note

The translations are short, polite statements written in good faith; a native speaker should check them if you can. The card does not change what the law of the country gives you. For that, see Arrested Abroad: your rights, country by country. This is general information, not legal advice.