British Embassy contacts: when someone dies abroad

What consular staff can and cannot do

The Embassy or High Commission is usually the first official body a family contacts after a death abroad, and it is worth knowing where their role starts and stops before you call.

They can register the death with UK consular services, give you a list of local funeral directors and English-speaking lawyers, contact next of kin on your behalf, help you reach an insurer, and explain the local process in English.

They cannot pay repatriation costs, funeral director fees, or any local charge, and cannot lend money to cover them. They cannot investigate a death, override a local prosecutor, or speed up a post-mortem. Where there is no insurance and no family funds, they can explain what limited options exist, but they hold no fund of their own.

The FCDO 24-hour line is +44 (0)20 7008 5000 and is answered at any hour from anywhere in the world. Use it first if you are unsure who to call.