How Do You Bring a Body Back to the UK After a Death Abroad?

Detailed Explanation

This page covers the UK side of bringing someone home after they die abroad: what the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) can and can't do, the paperwork needed, and what happens with registrars and coroners once the person is back. For the general process that applies whichever country the person is returning to, see how do you repatriate a body after a death overseas.

The UK is unusual in one respect that matters early: a coroner at home may investigate a death abroad, but only if the body comes back. That can affect whether a family chooses repatriation or a cremation abroad.

The first steps

• Contact the travel insurer as soon as possible. The FCDO notes policies may cover medical, repatriation, legal, interpretation and translation costs, and insurers may have approved funeral directors. If you aren't sure whether the person was insured, check with their bank, credit card company, tour operator or travel agent, or their employer if they were travelling for work.
• Register the death locally. The hospital, local police, tour operator or funeral director can usually explain how. You'll typically need your own ID, the passport (or passport details) of the person who died, and next-of-kin details. The certificate is usually in the local language; if so, you'll need an official translation. Ask for extra copies.
• Contact the FCDO. Abroad, that's the local British embassy or consulate; in the UK, the FCDO's 24-hour line is 020 7008 5000. The FCDO also publishes bereavement guides for most individual countries.
• Appoint an international funeral director in the UK. They work with a local funeral director abroad, and you'll usually sign a form allowing both to act for you.

Don't cancel the person's passport yet. It's needed for repatriation; cancel it afterwards with form D1.

What the FCDO can and can't do

The FCDO can advise on finding local funeral directors, lawyers, translators, interpreters and charities; explain local rules; help you contact local authorities and ask for updates on any investigation; advise on transferring money from the UK; help with media interest; and explain how to register a consular death.

It cannot give legal or medical advice, investigate a death, recommend a particular lawyer or funeral director, translate documents, or pay burial, cremation, repatriation or legal costs.

Documents needed before the body can travel

According to GOV.UK, to bring the body home you must:

• get a certified English translation of the death certificate
• get permission to remove the body, issued by a coroner or equivalent in the country where the person died
• tell a coroner in England or Wales if the cause of death was unknown, violent or unnatural.

Bodies usually need to be embalmed before coming back to the UK, and nidirect notes the body is placed in a zinc-lined coffin. Embalming can make it harder for a UK post-mortem to establish more about the cause of death. The person can only be flown home once all local procedures, including any post-mortem or police examination, are finished. In some countries a lack of mortuary facilities means repatriation isn't possible.

When the person arrives: England and Wales

• The register office. Take the death certificate to the register office in the area where the funeral will be. Because the death was already registered abroad, the registrar issues a certificate of no liability to register, which the funeral director needs before the funeral. If you arrange the funeral yourself, return the certificate to the registrar within 96 hours of the funeral.
• The coroner. Under section 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, a coroner must investigate when a body is in their area and there's reason to suspect the death was violent or unnatural, the cause is unknown, or the person died in custody or state detention. The coroner may carry out another post-mortem and, in these cases, usually holds an inquest. See when a death is referred to a coroner.
• Cremation. If the person is to be cremated, a certificate from the coroner (form Cremation 6) is needed. See how cremation works in the UK for the rest of the process.

When the person arrives: Scotland and Northern Ireland

• Scotland. The next of kin or international funeral director must apply to the Death Certification Review Service (DCRS), run by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. DCRS reviews the paperwork and authorises burial or cremation, after which the normal procedures under the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 apply. The Procurator Fiscal may also examine the death.
• Northern Ireland. Coroners in Northern Ireland cannot investigate a death abroad. nidirect says that if the body is to be cremated, this must be reported to the coroner, who issues a certificate for cremation.

Cremation abroad and bringing ashes home

Many families choose cremation in the country where the person died, which is usually much cheaper. You don't need a permit to bring ashes into the UK, but tell the airline in advance, carry the death certificate and cremation certificate, and fill in a standard customs form on arrival. See can you take ashes overseas.

One important caution from GOV.UK: don't have the person cremated abroad if you want a coroner in England or Wales to hold an inquest. An inquest can't take place in the UK if the burial or cremation happens abroad. Scotland is the partial exception; FCDO guidance says a further investigation may still be possible for Scottish residents.

Paying for it

Without insurance, the family usually pays both funeral directors directly. Your international funeral director can give a no-obligation quote. Possible help includes:

• a Funeral Expenses Payment, if you get certain benefits, which can apply to deaths abroad (Scotland runs its own Funeral Support Payment instead)
• the Children's Funeral Fund for England, which may help if the person was under 18
• charities such as the JackTheLad Foundation (people aged 16 to 30 who died in an accident abroad), the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust (repatriation to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) and the Repatriation Services Trust (families from Wales).

Telling government departments

If the person normally lived in England, Scotland or Wales and was abroad temporarily, you may be able to use Tell Us Once through a register office. The registrar may ask for the foreign death certificate to be verified first, usually through that country's embassy or high commission in the UK.

With family often spread between the UK and abroad, an online memorial can give everyone one place to share memories while the arrangements are made.

Things to Consider

• Decide about cremation abroad carefully if the cause of death is unclear. Cremating abroad generally rules out an inquest in England and Wales.
• Keep the passport until the person is home; it's needed for repatriation.
• Use the register office for the area where the funeral will be held. That's where the certificate of no liability to register comes from.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland differ from England and Wales, so check which rules apply before booking the funeral.
• Ask about charities and benefits early, before committing to costs.

Common Mistakes

• Expecting the FCDO to pay or organise the repatriation. It advises and supports; private funeral directors do the work, and the family or insurer pays.
• Cancelling the passport too soon. It's needed to bring the person home.
• Arranging a cremation abroad and then wanting an inquest. An inquest in England or Wales isn't possible once the person has been cremated or buried abroad.
• Forgetting the register office step. Without the certificate of no liability to register, the funeral director can't go ahead in England or Wales.
• Setting the funeral date before the person is home. Post-mortems abroad and at home, paperwork and flights can all cause delays.