They Died Abroad: Bringing Them Home, What It Costs, and the Paperwork in Order

The short answer: if a US citizen dies in another country, call the nearest US embassy or consulate (or the State Department's Overseas Citizens Services line) and, if they had one, the travel insurance company before you agree to anything with a local funeral home. You then have three choices for their remains: burial in that country, cremation there and bringing the ashes home, or repatriation, which means flying the body home. Repatriation is the most expensive by far, often many thousands of dollars and sometimes well over $10,000, and the US government does not pay for it. Bringing ashes home is usually much cheaper and simpler. Whatever you choose, ask the consulate for the Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad. It is the document banks, insurers and courts at home will ask for.

This page is about the death itself happening far away. If you are at home and just heard the news, what to do when someone dies covers the first steps that apply everywhere, and the first night after a death covers the hours before any of the paperwork starts.

The First Phone Calls

You may hear the news from a hospital abroad, a tour company, a friend who was travelling with them, or the police. However it reaches you, three calls matter most in the first day.

1. The embassy or consulate. Consular officers cannot pay for anything, and they cannot override local law, but they do things families find hard to do from a distance: confirm the death with local authorities, explain local rules and deadlines, give you a list of local funeral homes that have handled foreign deaths before, and help send money from you to the people who need to be paid. If the person who died was travelling alone, the consulate is often the one who notifies the family.

If they were a citizen of another country, the same office exists for them: in the UK it is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in Canada it is Global Affairs Canada, and in Australia it is the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

2. The travel insurer. Many travel insurance policies, and some credit cards that paid for the trip, include repatriation of remains cover. Insurers often want to arrange it themselves, using their own contractors. Call them before you sign with anyone, because some policies will not reimburse costs they did not approve in advance. Ask plainly: "Does this policy cover returning remains, and up to what amount? What do you need from me today?"

3. A funeral home at home. You will need one at your end either way, to receive the body or the ashes and to handle the funeral. Ask whether they have done an international case before. Many have, and the ones who have will know which overseas firms they trust.

Your Three Options

There is no right choice here. The question is what matters most to your family: the body coming home, the cost, or the timing.

Option	What it involves	Cost	Time
Burial in that country	A local funeral and burial under local law	Usually the lowest	Often fastest
Cremation there, ashes brought home	Local cremation, then the ashes travel with a family member or by courier	Usually far less than repatriation	Days to a few weeks
Repatriation of the body	Local preparation and embalming, a sealed container, an air freight booking, and a receiving funeral home	The most expensive	Often one to three weeks, sometimes longer

A few things that change the decision:

• Some countries do not allow cremation easily, or have few crematoriums. Others require burial within a day or two. The consulate will know.
• Religious requirements. If your faith requires burial without embalming or within a short time, tell the consulate and the local funeral home immediately. Sometimes local burial is the only way to honor both the timing and the rule.
• An open casket at home is possible after repatriation, but not always. Distance, climate and the time things take all affect it. Ask the receiving funeral home to be honest with you before you plan a viewing.
• Splitting the difference. Some families have a funeral where the person died, so friends there can say goodbye, then bring the ashes home for a second service. Two events is not a failure.

What Repatriation Costs, and Why

People are often shocked by the bill. It is not one charge but a chain of them:

• Collection and storage by a local funeral home
• Embalming or other preparation required by the airline and the destination
• A hermetically sealed or zinc-lined container, plus an outer shipping case
• Local permits, translations and the consular fees for the country you are leaving
• Air freight, charged by weight and route, often on more than one airline
• The receiving funeral home at home, and transport from the airport

The State Department cannot pay for any of this. If cost is the problem, look at what actually exists when you cannot afford a funeral. Some employers, unions and veterans' organizations help with repatriation for their members, and some families raise the money through a memorial fund. Ask for every quote in writing, itemized, before agreeing. Our page on what to do if you think a funeral home overcharged you explains how to read an itemized bill.

The Documents You Will Need

Expect paperwork in two languages and from two governments. The local funeral home and the consulate usually handle most of it, but it helps to know the names.

• The local death certificate, issued in the country where they died, in that language.
• A certified translation if it is not in English.
• The Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad. This is prepared by the consulate from the local death certificate. A set of certified copies is issued without charge at the time, and more can be ordered later for a fee. It is the document that US institutions accept as proof of death, so ask for more copies than you think you need.
• A consular mortuary certificate and transit or export permits, if the body is being flown home.
• The person's passport. The consulate usually cancels it. You can often ask for the cancelled passport to be returned as a keepsake.

If an autopsy is required in that country, or the death is being investigated by local police, everything takes longer. The rules differ from the US. Our page on what families should know about autopsy explains the US side; the consulate can explain the local one.

For families in the UK: if the body is brought back to England or Wales and the death was violent, unnatural or of unknown cause, the local coroner may open an investigation, even though the death happened abroad. Your funeral director will tell the coroner when the body arrives.

Bringing Ashes Home

This is the most common choice, and it is simpler than people expect.

• Ask the crematorium for a cremation certificate and keep it with the ashes, with a copy of the death certificate.
• Use a container that can be X-rayed. In the US, TSA screens urns at the checkpoint and will not open them. A metal or stone urn that cannot be seen through may not be allowed on board. Many families travel with a plain, temporary container and buy the permanent urn at home.
• Carry them, rather than checking them. Ask the airline in advance; most allow ashes in cabin baggage.
• Shipping is an option. If no one is travelling, the funeral home can arrange shipping by an approved courier.

When they are home, there is no rush to decide what comes next. What to do with ashes goes through the choices.

Their Belongings, Their Phone, the Trip They Were On

There will be a suitcase, maybe a rental car, a hotel bill, a return flight that will never be used.

• Belongings. The consulate or local police may hold them. A friend who was travelling with them may be able to pack them. Shipping can wait.
• The return flight. Many airlines refund unused tickets after a death, or waive fees. Call with the death certificate in hand.
• The phone. If it was found, ask for it back. It may hold the last photos of the trip, and families are often very glad to have them. What to do with their belongings covers the rest, slowly.

The Part Nobody Talks About

A death abroad has a particular kind of grief. You did not see them that last week. The last message may have been a photo from a beach. There may be people where they died who knew them in a way you never did, and who also need to say goodbye.

Some families find it helps to give everyone, on both sides of the ocean, the same place to gather what they remember. A memorial page works across time zones, and friends from the trip can add photos you have never seen. If the funeral is at home and some people cannot travel, a virtual memorial service lets them be there.

Quick Answers

Who pays to bring a body home from overseas? The family, the person's estate, or a travel insurer if their policy covers repatriation. The US government does not pay.

How much does it cost to repatriate a body? It varies widely by country and route. Many thousands of dollars is typical, and it can be well over $10,000. Cremation abroad and bringing the ashes home usually costs far less.

How long does repatriation take? Often one to three weeks. Investigations, holidays and paperwork in two languages can make it longer.

Do I need to travel there? Usually not. The consulate, a local funeral home and your funeral home at home can arrange almost everything by phone and email.

Is a foreign death certificate accepted in the US? Institutions usually ask for the Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad, which is based on it. Ask the consulate for several certified copies.

Can I bring ashes home on a plane? Generally yes, in cabin baggage, in a container that can be X-rayed. Keep the cremation and death certificates with you, and check with the airline first.

This page describes general practice for US citizens and is not legal advice. Rules differ by country, airline and state; the embassy or consulate is the authority on local requirements.

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GetMemorial gives families who are far apart one place to remember: photos, stories and messages from everyone who knew them, wherever they are. Start an online memorial page whenever you are ready.