Cremation and ashes transport

Cremation in Cape Verde and bringing ashes home

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. This page sets out what Cape Verde requires, and what to check before you decide.

Send an enquiry Full repatriation guide for Cape Verde

Cremation in Cape Verde

Can you cremate someone in Cape Verde?

Religious context: Christianity dominates (predominantly Roman Catholic). Cremation is not practised locally and no cremation facilities exist in Cape Verde.

Weighing cremation abroad against bringing your loved one home intact? How families decide between the two.

Who must release the body

Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (INML) and hospital forensic services

Documentation language

Portuguese; Cape Verdean Creole

Airline guidance

Can you carry ashes on the flight home?

Routing out of 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)

Airline rules that apply on any route.

What affects the cost from Cape Verde

We do not publish a figure, because it turns on the specifics of the case. For Cape Verde the things that move it are:

Distance from where the death happened to the nearest crematorium
Whether Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (INML) and hospital forensic services has to release the case first
Translation, since documentation is in Portuguese; Cape Verdean Creole
Routing home. 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.
Whether you carry the ashes yourself or need them shipped

Considering full repatriation instead?

Some families decide they want their loved one brought home intact. The full Cape Verde guide sets out that process.

Full repatriation guide for Cape Verde

First steps guide

What to do if someone dies in Cape Verde

The step-by-step first response guide covers the first 24 hours in Cape Verde.

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

Talk to us about cremation in Cape Verde

We deal with Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (INML) and hospital forensic services and the local funeral directors directly. Tell us what has happened and we will take it from there.