Consular assistance
British Embassy contacts for Ukraine: when someone dies abroad
British Embassy (Kyiv premises suspended since February 2022; consular assistance coordinated via FCDO London and Lviv presence) handles cases in Ukraine. A death must be registered with the local authorities in Ukraine 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 Ukraine
British representation: British Embassy (Kyiv premises suspended since February 2022; consular assistance coordinated via FCDO London and Lviv presence)
Documentation language: Ukrainian
Main hospitals: Kyiv City Clinical Emergency Hospital: main trauma and emergency centre; National Forensic Science Centre of Ukraine, Kyiv: national forensic authority; Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital: western Ukraine, most accessible for overland routing cases; Regional hospitals in Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odessa (where accessible and in government-held territory)
extreme
Always verify numbers before calling
Official lists for Ukraine
Published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for British nationals. We are not connected to the firms listed.
- Lawyers, where an estate or an investigation needs local legal advice
Embassy phone numbers change. Confirm current details at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ukraine 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 Ukraine
What you need to know
What the British post in Ukraine can and cannot do
British Embassy (Kyiv premises suspended since February 2022; consular assistance coordinated via FCDO London and Lviv presence) 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 Ukraine
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 Ukraine
What the Embassy can and cannot pay for
Consular staff in Ukraine 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 Ukraine involvesNeed help bringing someone home from Ukraine?
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.