Ashes transport guide
Bringing ashes home from Cape Verde
You have ashes in Cape Verde and need to bring them home. This page covers what Cape Verde requires before they can leave.
Quick reference
What does Cape Verde require before ashes can leave?
No cremation facilities in Cape Verde. Families wishing cremation must repatriate the body to the UK. Ashes from prior UK cremations may be transported to Cape Verde as hand luggage under IATA Packing Instruction 650.
Routing from Cape Verde: Most remains route via Lisbon (LIS) or Las Palmas (LPA) to London. Inter-island transfers are required for deaths on smaller islands (Fogo, Sao Nicolau, Santo Antao); charter aircraft or ferry plus air adds days. Sal Island has the most direct connections.
Departure airports: Amilcar Cabral International Airport, Sal Island (SID); Nelson Mandela International Airport, Santiago Island (RAI); Aristides Pereira International Airport, Boa Vista Island (BVC)
Documentation language: Portuguese; Cape Verdean Creole
Authority that must release the case: Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (INML) and hospital forensic services
The rules that apply on any route, and what you may do with ashes once home, are covered in bringing ashes into the UK.
What are the airline rules for carrying ashes?
If you are connecting through a third country on this routing, that country's rules apply to the transit as well, and should be checked separately.
What does Cape Verde require to export ashes?
Cremation availability
Cremation may be restricted or unavailable in Cape Verde due to religious or legal reasons. If you are dealing with ashes from a previous cremation held elsewhere, the export rules may differ. Contact us for guidance specific to your situation.
What affects the cost?
Carrying ashes home yourself is the least expensive way to bring someone back from Cape Verde, and for many families it costs little more than the return flight they are already taking. We do not publish a figure, because what you pay depends on the case.
| What changes the cost | Why |
|---|---|
| Whether the cremation has already taken place | Arranging it locally adds funeral director and crematorium involvement |
| Where the death happened | Distance to the nearest crematorium changes local transfer |
| Carrying versus shipping | Hand luggage costs nothing extra; a specialist courier is a separate arrangement |
| Documentation Cape Verde requires | Export permits and translation, where they apply |
Send us the details of your situation and we will give you a figure, with no obligation.
Full repatriation guide
Complete guide: repatriation from Cape Verde
Official support
British Embassy in Cape Verde: contacts and what consular staff can do
Need guidance?
We can help with ashes transport
We deal with Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (INML) and hospital forensic services and the local crematorium directly.
Send an enquiryFurther guidance
Official lists for Cape Verde
Published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for British nationals. We are not connected to the firms listed.
- Translators and interpreters, for certified translation of the death certificate and permits
- Lawyers, where an estate or an investigation needs local legal advice
Sources: FCDO: death abroad · FCDO travel advice · Repatriation from Cape Verde
More on ashes and cremation abroad
Bringing ashes home from Cape Verde
Tell us where the ashes are now and where home is. We will explain what is needed and send you a quote. We send ashes home to the UK, Ireland or any other country.