Laws, Rules and Regulations
Dealing with a Death Abroad
If you were travelling with the deceased, it’s most likely that you’ll be the person in charge of what happens to the body. If you are on a tour or package holiday, a representative of the company will contact the relevant authorities, including the British Consulate for you.
The British Consulate will then be able to walk you through the stages of repatriation to help you:
- Contact funeral directors and funeral homes
- Secure transport back to your home for yourself and for the body of the deceased
- Register the death of your loved one in the country of their death
- If necessary, translate a death certificate from that country into English
- Register the death with the British Consulate and have a UK death certificate issued.
This means that a record will be made for your loved one in the General Registry Office (GRO) Overseas Registration section. To register the death you will need the deceased’s full name, birth date, passport information (including when and where it was issued and the passport number), and information on next of kin. (This may not be done in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa or Zimbabwe.)
Returning Home with the Deceased
To return home with the deceased, you will need to:
- Embalm and secure the body in a zinc-lined coffin – The British Consulate will be able to put you in touch with local funeral directors who can prepare the body in this way.
- Carry a certified English translation of the death certificate, written authorisation from local authorities to remove the body and a certificate of the embalming.
Repatriation is a costly process that will need to be paid for. This may be covered by insurance, or by a funeral plan like the ones offered by Avalon. In the event of no such cover, the person in charge of the body must pay the bill. These costs are usually reimbursed from the estate of the deceased.
States with Repatriation law
The number of countries with repatriation laws has mushroomed since the end of Soviet communism and most independent nations that were once part of the communist domain in Europe have since legislated repatriation laws. Armenia , China , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Ireland , Israel , Italy , Japan , Norway , the Philippines , Spain , South Korea , Taiwan , and Turkey also have longstanding repatriation legislation.
Common law repatriation
Many other countries such as Jordan and Sweden have (or have had) generous immigration policies with regard to the nation’s Diaspora without having formally enacted repatriation laws. Such states can be described as practicing common law repatriation.
Repatriation of the deceased to another country from the UK is fairly easy now as there are many more specialist repatriation companies that can perform this duty than ten years ago.
The Funeral Director will obtain permission to remove the deceased from the UK from the local Coroner.
The information required from you to let the repatriation of the deceased to proceed includes :- Two copies of the death certificate – Obtained when you register the death. Details of the consignee – the Funeral Director or person responsible for the collection at the destination airport.
Full payment – usually this is required prior to the repatriation.
Full embalming is obligatory as is the use of a zinc lined coffin or metal casket.
If the deceased died outside the UK
If the deceased was from England or Wales
Register the death according to the local regulations in the country in which it took place, and get a local death certificate. Register the death with the British Consul, so that a record of the death will be kept in England. You will be able to get a copy of the death certificate from the consulate later, or from the:
Overseas Registration Section
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Birkdale
Southport
PR8 2HH.
If the death abroad occurred in particular circumstances or the information about the death abroad is incomplete, this must be reported to a coroner in the same way as if the death occurred in England or Wales. See the section on Coroners for more details of the circumstances.
If the deceased was from Scotland
Register the death according to the local regulations in the country and get a local death certificate. Register the death with the British Consul, so that a record of the death will be sent to Scotland; you will be able to get a copy of the death certificate later from:
The General Register Office for Scotland
New Register House
3 West Register Street
Edinburgh
EH1 3YT
Telephone: (0131) 334 0380.
www.gro-scotland.gov.uk
If the deceased was from Northern Ireland
Register the death according to the local regulations in the country and get a local death certificate. Register the death with the British Consul, so that a record of the death will be sent to Northern Ireland; you will be able to get a copy of the death certificate later from:
General Register Office
Oxford House
49 Chichester Street
Belfast
BT1 4HL
Telephone: (028) 9027 0274
Fax: (028) 9027 0520
E-mail: registar@belfastcity.gov.uk Website: www.belfastcity.gov.uk
