Repatriation: taking someone home for their funeral

When someone’s roots are in another country, many families want them to be buried or cremated there, close to family and in keeping with faith and custom. Repatriation can feel daunting. With a specialist funeral director and the right paperwork, it can be done smoothly and often quickly. This guide covers repatriation from the UK to another country and bringing someone home to the UK.

Key points

• Register the death first. Everything else depends on it.
• In England and Wales, the coroner must be given notice of intention to remove a body out of England, usually at least four clear days before it leaves. The coroner can release the person sooner.
• In Scotland, the procurator fiscal may be involved. In Northern Ireland, the coroner issues a certificate allowing removal.
• The person is usually embalmed and placed in a hermetically sealed, zinc-lined coffin for air travel.
• Each country has its own document rules. Check with its embassy or high commission.
• Specialist repatriation funeral directors handle the coroner, embassy, airline and customs paperwork.

Repatriation from the UK: step by step

1. Register the death

Follow the usual rules for the nation where the person died:

• England and Wales: register within 5 days of the medical examiner’s office confirming you can. Some register offices offer urgent or out-of-hours registration for faith reasons, so ask.
• Scotland: register within 8 days of the death, at any registration office.
• Northern Ireland: register within 5 days. This can often be done by phone.

Order several certified copies of the death certificate. Embassies, airlines and authorities abroad often want originals. Our death registration deadline tool can help with timings.

2. Get permission to move the person

In urgent cases, for example for a Muslim or Jewish burial, the funeral director can ask the coroner’s office to deal with the notice quickly.

3. Prepare the person for travel

Most countries and airlines require:

• embalming, with an embalming certificate
• a hermetically sealed, zinc-lined coffin, often inside an outer case for air freight
• a declaration of the coffin’s contents from the funeral director.

If embalming conflicts with your faith, tell the funeral director at once. Requirements vary by destination and airline, and a specialist will know what is possible.

4. Gather the documents

Exact requirements depend on the destination country. Commonly requested documents include:

• certified copies of the death certificate, sometimes with a translation or legalisation
• the coroner’s release (England and Wales), the fiscal’s certificate (Scotland, where relevant) or the coroner’s certificate (Northern Ireland)
• an embalming certificate
• a certificate of freedom from infection, confirming there was no notifiable infectious disease
• the person’s passport
• consular documents or clearance from the destination country’s embassy or high commission in the UK
• airline documents (such as the air waybill) and customs paperwork.

5. Book the flight

Coffins travel as air cargo, arranged through the airline’s cargo service, usually by a specialist funeral director or freight agent. Family members often book seats on the same flight. Make sure someone at the destination is ready to receive the person, with a local funeral director or community organisation in place.

Common destinations

Every country sets its own rules, and these can change. Always check with the country’s embassy or high commission in London and your funeral director.

Find specialists in our Muslim, Hindu and Sikh funeral director listings, or search all funeral directors near you and ask about repatriation experience.

Costs

Repatriation costs vary widely. The main elements are:

• the funeral director’s charges for collection, care and handling the paperwork
• embalming and the sealed coffin
• air freight, which is often charged by weight and route
• embassy, legalisation and document fees
• the costs of the funeral at the destination.

Long-haul repatriation in particular usually costs considerably more than a simple funeral in the UK. Ask at least two specialists for written quotes. Some mosques and community organisations run funeral schemes or can help. Check too whether the person had life insurance or a funeral plan that covers repatriation. The Funeral Expenses Payment only helps with a funeral held in the UK, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, and Scotland’s Funeral Support Payment only covers a funeral abroad in some circumstances.

Bringing someone home to the UK

If someone dies abroad:

• Register the death in the country where it happened, following local rules. Registering in the UK is optional.
• Contact the British embassy, high commission or consulate. They can put you in touch with an international funeral director.
• You’ll need a certified translation of the death certificate and permission to remove the body from the local authorities. The body is usually embalmed and placed in a sealed coffin.
• Travel insurance may cover repatriation. The FCDO cannot pay for burial, cremation or repatriation.

Once the person is home:

Bringing ashes home is simpler. Carry the cremation certificate and check the airline’s rules.

Support: GOV.UK lists organisations that help families after a death abroad. They include the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust (Northern Ireland and Ireland), the Repatriation Services Trust (Wales), the JackTheLad Foundation (for accidental deaths of people aged 16 to 30) and Death Abroad – You’re Not Alone.

Next steps

• Read the faith guides for Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and other faith funerals.
• Start with what to do when someone dies.
• Considering cremation in the UK instead? See what happens at a cremation and scattering ashes.