Sending a body from Ireland for burial or cremation abroad

When someone from another country dies in Ireland, certain formalities must be followed before the body can be sent out of Ireland for burial or cremation. Returning someone’s body to their home country is called repatriation. The following information sets out the general process and rules involved.

It can be very expensive to have a body repatriated. If the person had travel insurance or private medical cover, that may help cover the costs. You may choose to have the body cremated in Ireland instead, and have the ashes sent to the deceased person’s country.

• A funeral director in Ireland can help you deal with the formalities and can make the necessary arrangements for repatriation (see ‘How is a body prepared for repatriation?’ below).
• A funeral director from the home country of the person who died may also be able to arrange repatriation.
• Assistance is available from the relevant embassy representing the person's country in Ireland.
• If the death occurred on a package holiday in Ireland, the tour operator should be able to help you with arrangements.

The death must be registered in Ireland. To register a death, you need a Death Notification Form signed by a doctor. When you have this signed form, you must register the death as soon as possible with the local Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths. The registrar will issue a death certificate.

However, if a coroner has asked for a post-mortem (a medical examination to determine the cause of death), the coroner will arrange for the death to be registered. Getting the death certificate may be delayed until the post-mortem has established the cause of death.

Do I have to report the death to the coroner?

You do not need to report the death to a coroner if the person died from a natural illness or disease and had been receiving medical treatment for the condition during the month before they died. In this case, a doctor can issue the Death Notification Form, which you need to register the death and get a death certificate.

If the death is sudden, unnatural or violent, it must be reported to the coroner for the district where the death occurred.

Sudden, unexplained or violent deaths should be reported to the coroner by:

• A healthcare professional in the case of a death due to natural causes in a nursing home or if the doctor had not seen the deceased within one month before their death
• The Garda Síochána in the case of an death from unnatural causes
• The deceased person’s doctor
• A funeral undertaker
• The Registrar of deaths
• Any householder and any person in charge of an institution or premises where the person who died was living

The coroner will have the body moved to a mortuary and may arrange a post-mortem to determine the cause of death.

You may report the death to a senior member of the Garda Síochána (not below the rank of sergeant), who will notify the coroner.

Identification of the body

The body must be formally identified. In some cases, this can be done by a travelling companion or business colleague of the person who died. In other cases, a family member may need to come to Ireland to confirm the person’s identity. The Garda Síochána can also arrange for a family member to formally identify the body.

Preparing the body for repatriation

If you appoint a funeral director in Ireland, they can embalm and prepare the body for repatriation. Embalming helps to preserve the body. If a post-mortem has been held, the funeral director can arrange the release of the body from the coroner so that it can be prepared.

If you intend to arrange a cremation in the deceased person’s country, you should discuss which type of casket is best suited to this.

Before a body can be removed from Ireland you need the following documents:

• Coroner’s removal order/non-infectious note
• Embalming certificate
• Passport or identity card of the deceased person
• Funeral director’s declaration
• Embassy permit
• Notarisation or apostilling of documents if applicable (where a specially licensed lawyer verifies legal documents to ensure they are internationally valid)

You should find out from the embassy what formalities and documents are required. The funeral director can help with this. They can also obtain the removal order from the coroner and the death certificate (if available) from the Registrar.

Travel arrangements

You need to arrange for the body to be taken from Ireland to the home country of the person who died. Your funeral director can do this for you. The body can be flown home or it can travel by ferry and overland.

You or the funeral director should notify the embassy of the travel arrangements so that the authorities in the home country can be informed.

You or the funeral director also need to contact a funeral director in the deceased’s country, who can liaise with the relevant authorities there and arrange for burial or cremation of the body when it arrives.

Repatriation is expensive, depending on the distance to be travelled and how the body is transported. Check whether the person had travel insurance or private medical cover which would help to cover the costs. If they are covered, contact the insurance company as soon as possible.

The Irish Government does not give financial assistance with the cost of repatriating a deceased person.

If the deceased person was resident in Ireland, you may need information on getting access to money after a death.

Contact information for foreign embassies and consulates responsible for Ireland.