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U.S. Department of State

Foreign Service Consular Fellow - Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and/or Spanish Proficiency

U.S. Department of State See More Job Openings by This EmployerArrow
  • Full Time
  • $59,726 - $121,080/year
  • Montevideo, Uruguay
  • Toshkent, Uzbekistan
  • Vatican City, Vatican City
  • Caracas, Venezuela
  • Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • San'A, Yemen
  • Lusaka, Zambia
  • Harare, Zimbabwe
  • Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Tirane, Albania
  • Algiers, Algeria
  • Luanda, Angola
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Yerevan, Armenia
  • Canberra, Australia
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Perth, Australia
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Vienna, Austria
  • Baku, Azerbaijan
  • Nassau, Bahamas
  • Manama, Bahrain
  • Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Bridgetown, Barbados
  • Minsk, Belarus
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Belmopan, Belize
  • Cotonou, Benin
  • Hamilton, Bermuda
  • La Paz, Bolivia
  • Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Gaborone, Botswana
  • Brasilia, Brazil
  • Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
  • Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
  • Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
  • Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
  • Rangoon, Burma
  • Bujumbura, Burundi
  • Phnom Penh, Cambodia
  • Douala, Cameroon
  • Yaounde, Cameroon
  • Calgary, Canada
  • Halifax, Canada
  • Montreal, Canada
  • Ottawa, Canada
  • Quebec, Canada
  • Toronto, Canada
  • Vancouver, Canada
  • Winnipeg, Canada
  • Praia, Cape Verde
  • Bangui, Central African Republic
  • Ndjamena, Chad
  • Santiago, Chile
  • Beijing, China
  • Chengdu, China
  • Guangzhou, China
  • Shanghai, China
  • Shenyang, China
  • Wuhan, China
  • Bogota, Colombia
  • Cartagena, Colombia
  • Brazzaville, Congo
  • Kinshasa, Congo (DRC)
  • San Jose, Costa Rica
  • Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire
  • Zagreb, Croatia
  • Havana, Cuba
  • Nicosia, Cyprus
  • Prague, Czech Republic
  • Damascus, Syria
  • Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Ali Sabih, Djibouti
  • Djibouti, Djibouti
  • Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • Dili, Timor-Leste
  • Guayaquil, Ecuador
  • Quito, Ecuador
  • Alexandria, Egypt
  • Cairo, Egypt
  • San Salvador, El Salvador
  • Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
  • Asmara, Eritrea
  • Tallinn, Estonia
  • Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji
  • Helsinki, Finland
  • Bordeaux, France
  • Lyon, France
  • Marseille, France
  • Paris, France
  • Rennes, France
  • Strasbourg, France
  • Toulouse, France
  • Libreville, Gabon
  • Banjul, Gambia, The
  • Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Dusseldorf, Germany
  • Frankfurt, Germany
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Leipzig, Germany
  • Munich, Germany
  • Accra, Ghana
  • Athens, Greece
  • Thessaloniki, Greece
  • Saint Georges, Grenada
  • Guatemala City, Guatemala
  • Conakry, Guinea
  • Georgetown, Guyana
  • Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
  • Tegucigalpa, Honduras
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Budapest, Hungary
  • Reykjavik, Iceland
  • Calcutta, India
  • Chennai, India
  • Hyderabad, India
  • Mumbai, India
  • New Delhi, India
  • Jakarta, Java, Indonesia
  • Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia
  • Surabaya, Indonesia
  • Baghdad, Iraq
  • Kirkuk, Iraq
  • Dublin, Ireland
  • Jerusalem, Israel
  • Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Florence, Italy
  • Milan, Italy
  • Naples, Italy
  • Rome, Italy
  • Kingston, Jamaica
  • Fukuoka, Japan
  • Nagoya, Japan
  • Naha, Okinawa, Japan
  • Osaka, Japan
  • Sapporo, Japan
  • Tokyo, Japan
  • Amman, Jordan
  • Almaty, Kazakhstan
  • Astana, Kazakhstan
  • Nairobi, Kenya
  • Seoul, South Korea
  • Pristina, Kosovo
  • Kuwait City, Kuwait
  • Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
  • Vientiane, Laos
  • Riga, Latvia
  • Beirut, Lebanon
  • Maseru, Lesotho
  • Monrovia, Liberia
  • Tripoli, Libya
  • Vilnius, Lithuania
  • Luxembourg, Luxembourg
  • Skopje, North Macedonia
  • Antananarivo, Madagascar
  • Lilongwe, Malawi
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Bamako, Mali
  • Valletta, Malta
  • Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands
  • Nouakchott, Mauritania
  • Port Louis, Mauritius
  • Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
  • Guadalajara, Mexico
  • Hermosillo, Mexico
  • Matamoros, Mexico
  • Merida, Mexico
  • Mexico City, Mexico
  • Monterrey, Mexico
  • Nogales, Mexico
  • Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
  • Tijuana, Mexico
  • Kolonia, Micronesia (FSM)
  • Chisinau, Moldova
  • Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
  • Podgorica, Montenegro
  • Casablanca, Morocco
  • Rabat, Morocco
  • Maputo, Mozambique
  • Windhoek, Namibia
  • Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • The Hague, Netherlands
  • Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
  • Auckland, New Zealand
  • Wellington, New Zealand
  • Managua, Nicaragua
  • Niamey, Niger
  • Abuja, Nigeria
  • Lagos, Nigeria
  • Oslo, Norway
  • Muscat, Oman
  • Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Karachi, Pakistan
  • Lahore, Pakistan
  • Peshawar, Pakistan
  • Koror, Caroline Island, Palau
  • Panama City, Panama
  • Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
  • Asuncion, Paraguay
  • Lima, Peru
  • Manila, Philippines
  • Krakow, Poland
  • Warsaw, Poland
  • Lisbon, Portugal
  • Ponta Delgada, Portugal
  • Doha, Qatar
  • Bucharest, Romania
  • Moscow, Russia
  • Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • Vladivostok, Russia
  • Yekaterinburg, Russia
  • Kigali, Rwanda
  • Apia, Samoa
  • Singapore, Singapore
  • Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
  • Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Dakar, Senegal
  • Freetown, Sierra Leone
  • Bratislava, Slovakia
  • Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Muqdisho, Somalia
  • Capetown, South Africa
  • Durban, South Africa
  • Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Pretoria, South Africa
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Madrid, Spain
  • Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • Juba, Sudan
  • Khartoum, Sudan
  • Paramaribo, Suriname
  • Mbabane, Eswatini
  • Stockholm, Sweden
  • Geneva, Switzerland
  • Dushanbe, Tajikistan
  • Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
  • Bangkok, Thailand
  • Chiang Mai, Thailand
  • Lome, Togo
  • Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tunis, Tunisia
  • Adana, Turkey
  • Ankara, Turkey
  • Gaziantep, Turkey
  • Istanbul, Turkey
  • Asqabat, Turkmenistan
  • Kampala, Uganda
  • Kiev, Ukraine
  • Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  • London, United Kingdom
  • Washington, DC
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • New York, NY
  • Belgrade, Serbia
April 1, 2026 Examiner

Job Description

The U.S. Department of State, our country's lead foreign policy agency, provides a rich international experience. A Limited Non-Career Appointment (LNA) in the Foreign Service is a distinct opportunity to serve your country for up to 60 months and offers candidates considering a career in the Foreign Service first-hand insights and exploration of potential Foreign Service career paths.

Duties Please visit the Department's Career Site for more details on the duties and responsibilities of a Consular Fellow. Special Circumstances This Consular Fellow Limited Non-Career Appointment (LNA) is up to 60 months, but the Department may terminate the appointment at any time based on the needs of the Service. The Department assigns a Consular Fellow to a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas with the expectation that the appointment and potential extensions will permit completion of a standard two-year tour of duty. Upon completion of the first tour of duty, the Department may assign the Consular Fellow to a different overseas post. Consular Fellows are full professional members of embassy and consulate teams. Consular Fellow appointments, however, do not provide expedited, alternate, or otherwise special access or a pathway into the Department of State Foreign Service. These appointments do not lead to onward employment with the Department of State or with the U.S. government. Consular Fellows may apply to become career Foreign Service Specialists or Officers, as well as Civil Service employees, but they must meet all applicable qualifications and complete the standard application and assessment processes. Consular Fellows who subsequently enter the career Foreign Service as Entry Level Officers are still required to fulfill the consular service requirement. Consular Fellows must also complete 24 months of service as a Consular Fellow before joining the career Foreign Service, if after completing the standard application process they are offered such a position. The Department hires candidates applying for the Portuguese and Chinese language programs primarily for service in Brazil and China. Per the Foreign Affairs Manual (3 FAM 2424.5), the Department does not permit assignment of U.S. employees to posts in countries of which they are nationals. Additionally, candidates and their family members should be aware that, in general, countries do not extend diplomatic privileges and immunities to family members who are dual nationals. Salary
  • $59,726 - $121,080/year
Qualifications Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities General knowledge of the United States, including customs and culture, society, trends, history, economy, government, political system, and the Constitution. Skill in written and oral communication, including English grammar and usage, techniques for effective interpersonal communication, techniques for handling interviews, complaints, sources of information, and public speaking ability. General skills in computers, including computer operations, common office software programs (e.g., Microsoft), e-mail systems, internet. The Department will provide successful applicants with training on specialized Consular software applications. General subject matter, including psychology and human behavior, interacting with individuals undergoing stress. Basic mathematics. Required language fluency as outlined above. Education There is no minimum education requirement for this position. Required Documents Information on how to submit your application and register to take the Consular Fellow Professional Test is available via the Pearson site, please see: U.S. Department of State Consular Fellows Program Test (CFPT) :: Pearson VUE. Please do not apply through USAJobs. The How to Apply information below provides detailed instructions. Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating. How to Apply Steps to Apply: Visit PearsonVUE.com to complete the online application and register for the Consular Fellows Program Test (CFPT). Please note the Pearson site contains information on how to request reasonable accommodations for the CFPT. Your application is automatically saved as you proceed through it. You may interrupt your application process and return to it until you submit it. Complete, review, and submit. After you complete and submit the above information this becomes your online application and will be used to evaluate your qualifications for this position. Candidates have six months to complete the application and to register for and take the CFPT after submitting their eligibility verification. Candidates must restart the application process if they have not taken the CFPT within six months of submitting the eligibility verification. Application packages must be complete before you can register for the CFPT. It is strongly recommended that you go back into your application and verify you completed everything properly. If you are having technical difficulty with the application process, please contact the Customer Service Desk by calling 1-866-389-8339 (toll free), 1-952-905-7483 (toll) or by utilizing the Chat function on www.pearsonvue.com. The Help Desk is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time; closed on local holidays. For more information on the Consular Fellows hiring process, please visit www.pearsonvue.com/cfpt/ or https://careers.state.gov/consular-fellows-program-test-information-and-selection-process/cfp-selection-process-text-version/. If you have any questions regarding the program, email CFPInfo@state.gov. Benefits Benefits include optional participation in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program as well as participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Overseas benefits may include paid housing at post, paid education allowance for eligible dependent children between K-12, ability to earn Non-Competitive Eligibility to apply for civil service positions in the federal government after 48 months of continuous service as a Consular Fellow, recruitment bonus of up to 10% of initial salary depending on language ability at the time of appointment as well as needs of the Service, and eligibility to apply for the Student Loan Repayment Program.


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