Death Abroad

Step 1: Contact the Local Authorities

The death will normally need to be registered according to the laws of the country where your loved one died.

A hospital, local police force, tour operator or local funeral director may help explain the procedure. You will usually receive a local death certificate and, if it isn't in English, you may need a certified English translation.

Step 2: Contact the Travel Insurance Provider

If your loved one had travel insurance, contact the insurer as soon as possible.

Depending on the policy, insurance may help with:

• Repatriation to the UK
• Medical expenses
• Local funeral arrangements
• Translation or interpretation
• Some legal expenses

The insurer may appoint its own funeral or repatriation provider, so speak to them before making arrangements yourself.

If you're unsure whether your loved one was insured, check their travel documents, bank accounts, packaged bank accounts, credit cards or employer policies.

Step 3: Contact the British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate

If the person who died was a British national, the British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate can provide consular assistance.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) also provides country-specific bereavement guidance covering local procedures, registering the death and bringing a loved one's body or ashes back to the UK.

Consular staff can help you understand local procedures and provide information about services available in that country. However, they cannot take control of another country's legal process or normally pay funeral or repatriation costs.

Step 4: Contact Bridgwater Funerals

If you would like your loved one brought home to Bridgwater or Somerset, you can contact us at any stage.

We'll explain what needs to happen and work with the organisations involved in arranging their return.

If an insurer or international funeral director is already managing the repatriation, we can coordinate with them and prepare to receive your loved one into our care in Somerset.

Bringing someone who has died back to the UK can involve considerable costs, which is why checking for travel insurance early is important.

If repatriation is covered, the insurer may coordinate much of the process and appoint funeral or repatriation specialists in both countries.

If there is no insurance, the family will normally be responsible for the costs involved in either arranging a burial or cremation abroad or bringing their loved one back to the UK.

Before agreeing to or paying for services yourself, check whether insurance exists and what the policy covers.

If you want your loved one returned to the UK for their funeral, an international funeral director will normally help coordinate the repatriation to the UK.

Before your loved one can return home, the legal requirements in the country where they died must be completed. Depending on the circumstances, this can include registering the death and completing any required post-mortem or police investigation.

Documentation may include:

• The local death certificate
• A certified English translation
• Permission to remove your loved one from the country
• Documentation required for transportation

If the cause of death was unknown, violent or unnatural, a coroner in England or Wales must also be informed.

There is no standard timescale for repatriation because procedures vary between countries.

Once the necessary arrangements have been completed, Bridgwater Funerals can help coordinate the repatriation to Bridgwater and Somerset, bringing your loved one into our care and helping your family prepare for the funeral.

Some families choose to arrange a cremation in the country where their loved one died and bring their ashes home instead.

You do not need a permit simply to bring human ashes into the UK, although the country you are leaving may have its own requirements. You will normally need the death certificate and cremation certificate.

If you're flying, contact the airline before travelling. Individual airlines have their own requirements for carrying ashes and may specify how they should be packaged.

If you want a coroner in England or Wales to investigate the death, seek advice before arranging a cremation overseas, as an inquest cannot take place in England and Wales once the person has been cremated abroad.

Once the ashes are back in Somerset, Bridgwater Funerals can help with a memorial service, interment of ashes or other arrangements that are meaningful to your family.

You must normally register the death with the authorities in the country where your loved one died. You do not usually need to register the death again in the UK.

If the body is brought back to England or Wales for burial or cremation, the foreign death certificate should be taken to the register office for the area where the funeral will take place. The registrar can then provide the necessary documentation for the funeral to proceed.



In some circumstances, you may also be able to apply for a consular death registration to create a UK record of the death overseas.

When someone dies overseas, you may find yourself dealing with insurers, overseas authorities, consular services and funeral directors while also grieving.



You don't have to manage everything alone.

As a funeral director supporting repatriation to Bridgwater and Somerset, we can help you:

• Understand the repatriation process
• Coordinate arrangements for your loved one's return
• Work with insurers and other organisations involved
• Bring your loved one into our care
• Understand what happens when they arrive home
• Begin planning the funeral when you're ready

We'll keep things as clear and straightforward as possible and be here to answer your questions throughout.

Frequently Asked Questions