Dying abroad Voyage Tips and guide

Unintentionally dying abroad is occasionally a fact of life. Even for a healthy person, a car wreck or an unlucky fall can result in death while traveling. Generally, for the grieving survivors, the first thing to do is to contact the local emergency services and then the nearest embassy or consulate from the person's home country. Next of kin who are still in their home country may contact the relevant government agency, such as the US State Department or the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office instead.

It is possible to repatriate the body to the home country. Generally speaking, all costs for deaths abroad are borne by the deceased's family; neither local governments nor home countries will pay for expenses such as emergency travel, funeral, paperwork, translation, legal work, shipping, or burial. Travel insurance may cover some expenses.

No matter what, if the death didn't happen in a hospital or other medical facility, the body needs to be seen by a local doctor and possibly by the police or coroner. Usually, if someone in your traveling party dies outside of a hospital, this means you should call the local emergency number (usually 911 or 112) to report the death. If you are traveling as part of an organized tour, the tour guides can assist with this. If you are in a hotel at the time, the hotel staff can assist with this.

Find the person's passport or other identity documents. If you can, take a photo of the main pages before handing them over.

As soon as possible, determine whether the person had travel insurance, and contact the travel insurance company. The policy may cover necessary medical expenses.

As soon as possible, contact the nearest embassy or consulate. If the person has dual citizenship, contact both consulates. In addition to doing the necessary legal paperwork, they may be able to provide practical information. For example, the UK government maintains a list of country-specific information for British people who die abroad. In other cases, the consulate may be able to suggest a translator, have the contact information for a relevant religious community, or know which local businesses speak your language.

If you are not legally considered the next of kin in either the person's home country or the local country, then contact the next of kin, or give their information to the local authorities or the consulate and ask them to do so. More than one person may qualify as next of kin, e.g., a parent and a sibling.

Different countries have different processes for officially identifying a body. In some cases, the legal system will rely on a statement from a friend or family member, plus checking identity documents. In other cases, they will want to check fingerprints or dental records.

After the body has been identified and the manner and cause of death has been determined, the local authorities will issue a death certificate. If the person has died on a ship or during an international flight, the "local" country is the vessel's flag, regardless of where you were traveling to or from. For example, most Royal Caribbean cruise ships are flagged to the Bahamas, so even if the ship is sailing from England to Norway, the local death certificate could be issued by the Bahamanian government. This may take weeks or even months, especially if there are questions about the person's identity or whether the death was a result of a crime.

The consulate may issue a separate death certificate, registration, or a Consular Report of Death Abroad (CRDA). Some countries, including the United States, require this; others require it only under some circumstances, such as burial or cremation at the place of death.

The next-of-kin or executor of the person's estate needs to obtain copies of the death certificate as soon as possible. Settling someone's estate can require a surprising number of copies of the death certificate, even for a person who is not wealthy. Ordinary photocopies of the death certificate are usually enough for informal situations, such as closing an account at a small business. However, each bank and insurance company will need an official copy. If the person has just one bank, one credit card, a mortgage, a student loan, a car payment, and a life insurance policy, then just closing those accounts will use up six official copies alone. Consider getting at least 10 official copies of the local death certificate and any official paperwork from the consulate(s). For example, US consulates offer up to 20 copies of the CRDA at no extra charge, so get 20 copies.

An apostille is a certification of authenticity for the death certificate. This is generally recommended, and depending on your home country, it may be required. The cost may run around US$10–20.

If the home country and the place of death have different official languages, then you should get some official, certified translations of the death certificate. Translation is another expense to plan for. This is particularly important if you do not have a certificate from the home country's diplomatic service.

If the person died in a car wreck, as a result of crime, or in other circumstances identified in local law, there may be an inquest. The timing and procedures vary widely, but this can affect timelines for funerals, burial, cremation, and repatriation, sometimes for several months or longer. Sometimes, if the body is repatriated, an inquest may take place in the home country as well.

Once at home, all of the relevant procedures for any death still need to be followed. For example, their passport will need to be cancelled, their pension plan will need to be informed, their estate will need to be probated, their taxes will need to be paid, and so forth.

When someone dies on a trip, all of their future travel plans need to be cancelled.

Contact the travel insurance company as soon as possible. If so, you may be able to get reimbursed for non-refundable hotel rooms or other pre-paid expenses. Most major airlines offer a partial refund for unused flight tickets.

Personal effects need to be returned or disposed of. Unless confiscated by the authorities for an investigation, the next of kin can usually take phones, laptops, clothes, jewelry, and other personal things home with them. If the person has been living abroad for some time, and thus has accumulated more than a suitcase's worth of things, the services of a shipping company or moving company may be needed. If the person has a vehicle in the local country (registered in their name), local anti-theft laws may require additional paperwork.

When someone dies abroad, sometimes the person is buried or cremated there. Alternatively, the body may be embalmed and returned to the home country for burial. No matter what you choose, a local funeral home can make all of the arrangements that are necessary under local law.

A local funeral home or religious organization can arrange for culturally appropriate funeral rites. Family members and other loved ones may want to travel to the country where the person died for a funeral service. Alternatively, many funeral homes are able to provide a video of the funeral.

In the case of a violent death, funeral rites may be postponed until an autopsy has been completed.

Generally, the cheapest option is local cremation and, if legal, scattering the ashes in the country where the person died. Shipping cremains home usually requires some paperwork from the funeral director or undertaker. It is possible to hand-carry cremains in a sealed container between some countries; if this is chosen, they must have the proper paperwork attached and always be declared at customs. Cremation may be prohibited in certain legal circumstances or unavailable in some places, such as Saudi Arabia.

Local interment, whether of cremains or the whole body, requires a gravesite. In most countries, graves are temporarily rented rather purchased permanently. The lease time period can range from just a few years to longer than a lifetime.

The most expensive option is to ship the body home. This requires embalming by a local undertaker, who will arrange to have the body flown home and delivered directly to your chosen funeral home in the home country. Most funeral directors are legally able to make these arrangements, though not every business will do so. Some businesses specialize in this. In addition to fees charged by both the sending and receiving funeral homes, there is the cost of shipping. The shipping fees can run from many hundreds to a several thousand dollars.

Travel insurance may cover repatriation costs. However, they may only cover these costs under certain circumstances or if their approved vendors are used. Contact the travel insurance company as soon as possible, to avoid incurring expenses that they will refuse to reimburse.