Consular assistance
British Embassy contacts for Syria: when someone dies abroad
No resident British Embassy. The British Embassy in Damascus closed in 2012. UK nationals should contact the FCDO directly. Limited consular assistance may be sought from the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. handles cases in Syria. A death must be registered with the local authorities in Syria before a body or ashes can leave the country. Consular staff will register the death with UK authorities, issue consular documents and give you a list of local funeral directors. They cannot meet any cost, arrange the repatriation, or authorise release of the body. If the person who died was not British, contact the embassy or consulate of their own country instead.
Emergency numbers
FCDO 24-hour line (from UK)
+44 (0)20 7008 5000Handling a death in Syria
British representation: No resident British Embassy. The British Embassy in Damascus closed in 2012. UK nationals should contact the FCDO directly. Limited consular assistance may be sought from the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
Authority that must release the body: Civil Status Directorate. Administration varies by region: post-December 2024 transition government in Damascus; Kurdish SDF in north-east; residual contested areas.
Documentation language: Arabic
Areas needing extra care: All areas, FCDO advises against all travel; North-east (SDF-controlled); Former conflict zones in Aleppo, Homs, Deir ez-Zor; Areas near Israeli and Lebanese borders
FCDO advises against all travel to Syria. The Assad government fell in December 2024 following a rapid advance by HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) and allied factions. Syria is in political transition. The north-east remains under Kurdish SDF administration. Former regime stronghold areas (Alawite coastal regions) have different local dynamics. Civil registration infrastructure is severely disrupted across much of the country. There is no UK Embassy in Syria. The British Embassy in Beirut provides very limited non-resident assistance subject to current capability. Repatriation is not achievable in many circumstances at present.
Always verify numbers before calling
Embassy phone numbers change. Confirm current details at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/syria before a trip. The FCDO 24-hour line (+44 (0)20 7008 5000) is the most reliable point of contact in an emergency.
Contact details
British Embassy and consulates in Syria
What you need to know
What the British post in Syria can and cannot do
No resident British Embassy. The British Embassy in Damascus closed in 2012. UK nationals should contact the FCDO directly. Limited consular assistance may be sought from the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. is the post that registers the death and can give you a list of local funeral directors. It cannot pay any repatriation cost, arrange the repatriation itself, release the body, or shorten a local timeline.
The full list of what consular staff can and cannot do applies in every country.
Death registration in Syria
The Embassy can register the death separately under UK law. This is optional and does not replace the local certificate, but some families find the UK death certificate useful for administrative purposes.
Typical timeline from Syria
What the Embassy can and cannot pay for
Consular staff in Syria cannot pay repatriation costs, funeral director fees, or any local charges, and cannot lend money to cover them.
They can give you a list of local funeral directors, contact next of kin, and help you reach an insurer. If there is no insurance and no family funds, they can explain what limited options exist.
What repatriation from Syria involvesNeed help bringing someone home from Syria?
We can take over the arrangements from wherever you are in the process, and bring your loved one home to the UK, Ireland or any other country. Send us the details and we will come back to you with a quote.