Ashes transport guide
Bringing ashes home from Chile
You have ashes in Chile and need to bring them home. This page covers what Chile requires before they can leave.
Quick reference
3-10 days to arrange
What does Chile require before ashes can leave?
Departure airports: SCL (Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport); PMC (Puerto Montt El Tepual Airport, gateway for Patagonia deaths)
Carriers serving the UK: LATAM Airlines (via Madrid or Bogota to London Heathrow); Iberia (via Madrid); Avianca (via Bogota)
Authority that must release the case: Servicio Medico Legal (SML), national forensic medicine service under the Ministry of Justice
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?
What does Chile require to export ashes?
Cremation availability
Cremation may be restricted or unavailable in Chile 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 Chile, 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 We do not publish a figure, because what you pay depends on the case.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 Chile 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.
What else is worth knowing about Chile?
Chile has no Strasbourg Convention membership; full consular processing applies with no simplified European treaty pathway; Remote Patagonia deaths, Torres del Paine trekking, Carretera Austral, or Atacama Desert, require transfer to the nearest Seremi de Salud jurisdiction before SML forensic work can begin; Puerto Montt or Punta Arenas are the nearest urban centres for southern Patagonia cases; Andean ski resort deaths occur at Valle Nevado, Portillo, and La Parva (all near Santiago) and in the Pucon/Villarrica area; altitude illness in the Atacama (above 4500m) is also a factor for British trekkers; There are no nonstop flights from Chile to the UK; all cargo must route via an intermediate hub (Madrid via LATAM/Iberia is the most common and most reliable for human remains cargo); Spanish documentation is required; Chilean legal Spanish has specific administrative terminology; certified translators familiar with Chilean official documents are preferable to general Spanish translators
medium
Full repatriation guide
Complete guide: repatriation from Chile
Official support
British Embassy in Chile: contacts and what consular staff can do
Need guidance?
We can help with ashes transport
We deal with Servicio Medico Legal (SML), national forensic medicine service under the Ministry of Justice and the local crematorium directly.
Send an enquiryFurther guidance
Official lists for Chile
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 Chile
More on ashes and cremation abroad
Bringing ashes home from Chile
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.