If a death in Togo means anything unfamiliar to a British family, it’s usually the tribunal step. Togo runs on French civil law, and death certification goes through a court, not a registrar’s office as UK families might expect.
What the tribunal actually does
Registration happens at the Tribunal de Premiere Instance in the district where the death occurred. Before any remains can leave the country, the Parquet, the tribunal’s prosecuting office, has to issue clearance. Only then does the Ministere de l’Interieur issue the export permit itself. In Lome and the larger towns, this moves in a fairly predictable order. In rural areas, particularly the Savanes and Kara regions, weaker documentation infrastructure can mean a trip to a district administrative centre just to get the paperwork started.
Who to call
Togo has no resident UK diplomatic mission. The British High Commission in Accra, Ghana, covers consular support, reachable on +233 302 213 250. Call the FCDO Emergency Travel Line first though: 020 7008 5000, day or night.
Where the region matters
Togo divides sharply by geography. Lome and the south have functioning civil registration and moderate process complexity. The Kara region, central Togo, has some documentation gaps that can add time. The Savanes region, in the far north, is under FCDO advice against all but essential travel, following jihadist activity spreading from Burkina Faso since 2021. A death here needs specialist coordination and, realistically, a longer timeline than the rest of the country.
Religion and local custom
Togo’s population is roughly 43% Christian, 35% indigenous belief systems, and 14% Muslim, and funerary custom varies a good deal by ethnic group. The Kabye in the north and the Ewe in the south each have their own practices around timing and handling of a body, and a specialist firm needs to manage that sensitively alongside the legal process, not as an afterthought.
Getting home
Lome’s Gnassingbe Eyadema International Airport is the only international gateway. Three routes cover most cargo: Air France direct to Paris, Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca, or Brussels Airlines direct to Brussels, each with onward UK connections. Cremation isn’t available in Togo itself, so where a family wants cremation, full repatriation to the UK is the only way to get there.
Read what documents you actually need to repatriate a body to the UK, or see repatriation from Togo to the UK for the full country breakdown.
Contact Repatriate Service on +44 7703 577246 at any hour, or use the enquiry form below.