When someone dies abroad.

The first calls

1. If you are there: the local police or hospital will usually be involved. Ask for the death to be registered locally, and for a death certificate.
2. Contact the British embassy or consulate, or the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London on +44 (0)20 7008 5000, at any hour. They can explain local procedures, give you a list of local funeral directors and interpreters, and help you deal with the authorities.
3. Call the travel insurer if they had travel insurance. Many policies cover bringing someone home, and the insurer may arrange it.
4. Call us. We can speak to the insurer, the international repatriation specialists and the authorities here, and look after the arrangements at this end.

Bringing them home

We work with specialist international firms who prepare the person and arrange the flight. We meet them at the airport and bring them home to our chapel of rest in Welshpool. It usually takes between a few days and two weeks, depending on the country and the paperwork.

If you would prefer, they can be cremated where they died and their ashes brought home. We can advise you on what is involved.

The coroner here

If the death was violent, unnatural or the cause is unknown, the coroner for the area where the person is brought may need to look into it once they are home. We will tell you if this is likely and keep in touch with the coroner’s office for you.

For the funeral

For a burial in Wales, the register office will need the foreign death certificate and a certificate of no liability to register. For a cremation, the coroner also needs to give permission. This sounds daunting, but we do it regularly and will take care of it with you.

More about repatriation, including taking someone from here to be buried in another country.