Death in Cyprus
When the inevitable happens you may feel lost and not sure how to proceed. The information below should ensure that the funeral is taken care of according to your wishes.
Laws And Regulations
Expatriates need to be aware there are no laws or regulations pertaining to funerals, the service or the funeral directors conduct in Cyprus. Therefore, an individual could set up in business as an undertaker with simply a phone and hire the necessary items as needed.
This is a dangerous situation. There is a substantial difference between a funeral ‘agent’ and qualified Funeral Director.
Therefore when selecting a funeral director to carry out the arrangements for a loved ones you should be very careful and inspect the premises closely before allowing the Funeral Director to take care of the arrangements.
The only way an expatriate resident in Cyprus can be guaranteed of a dignified funeral according to their wishes is by legally pre-arranging with Avalon.
Avalon only use specific Funeral Directors on the island that have committed themselves to their business and invested quality time in their funeral homes to ensure that the families receive a very professional service that is of the highest standard according to UK regulatory systems.
Death Procedure
Should someone pass away at home the first point of contact for the next of kin is either their local Doctor or the hospital for an ambulance. They will arrange for a doctor to come with the ambulance to make the necessary checks.
The deceased is then taken to the hospital where the doctor will then produce a death certificate; similarly if the deceased has passed away in hospital a death certificate will be provided, at this stage the hospital will decide if an autopsy is required which could then delay the funeral but it is very rare.
A death certificate is used to enable the funeral director to transfer the deceased from the place of death to the mortuary. The death certificate at this stage will be produced hand written. Later, the next of kin then takes the death certificate to the municipality and they will provide a formal death certificate with details of the Name, Date Of Death and Burial Plot details. The death certificate is needed to claim any insurance policy’s as well as being able to deal with the deceased estate accordingly such as dividing the assets per the will.
The next stage is for the family to contact the Funeral Director who will arrange collection of the body and make all the necessary funeral arrangements.
One of the main differences between Cyprus and other European countries is there are no crematoriums only burial plots due to the strong religious influence. However, we believe that there are plans to build a crematorium in the next 5 years or so.
The introduction of a crematorium has been put into place due to the decreasing number of burial plots available on the island.
Funeral Type
UK expatriates need to contact the British Committee with proof of British Passport to enable a burial plot to be provided at one of the following british cemeteries.The British cemeteries are located at Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos.
Approximately 500 out of the 6,000 funerals completed per year in Cyprus are repatriations with 3% relating to requests for cremation.
The only British Cemetery with enough space right now is the one in Erimi (closer to Limassol). In Paphos there is a cemetery in Mesa Chorio for the Catholics. Up until now they allowed all the British to be buried there. But now they are about to stop doing that and allow only Catholics to be buried there (they are running out of plots). There is also one British Cemetery in Pegia (run by the municipality) where the only the British who live in Pegia can be buried.
Burial plot prices vary depending on the respective cemeteries but the average cost is 500 Cypriot pounds including the cost for a grave digger.
The minister to officiate the ceremony varies in cost depending whether there is a Graveside service or service at the church this ranges between 60 – 200 Cypriot pounds.
In the first instance of a burial the deceased will be provided with a cross with an engraved plaque. It is customary in Cyprus for bread, wine and cheese to be eaten following the service. Headstones are available in Cyprus and are normally provided some time after the funeral.
An important feature of Cypriot funerals is viewing at the chapel of rest, this is not guaranteed and is dependant upon the funeral directors facilities.
If available then the chapel of rest serve the needs of a vigil for family and friends. The chapel of rest is dressed to the deceased’s needs with the appropriate religious symbols as required.
Why Repatriation?
However, expatriates generally prefer cremation. To ensure this takes place the deceased would need to be repatriated back to their country of origin or choice. This is a detailed process involving various legal and administrative formalities, arranging the transportation and receiving funeral director in a different country. This can be costly circa £10,000!
Avalon funeral plans provide for a local burial and can be amended to cremation when this facility is available.
Funerals in Cyprus are similar to Spanish funerals and can be completed quickly i.e, 48 within hours. Although certain undertakers will provide additional time according to the wishes of the family.
Generally limousines are not available in Cyprus, taxi’s are used.
A contribution is granted in certain cases to those local residents who have completed sufficient national insurance contributions to be eligible for a funeral subsidy.
