How We Verify Repatriation Information

How we source and verify repatriation information

Repatriate Service provides country-specific guidance on repatriating a loved one who has died abroad. This page explains how that information is sourced, verified, and kept up to date, because on a subject this serious you should know exactly where our guidance comes from.

Primary sources

Every country guide is built from a combination of the following:

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) guidance on deaths abroad, including country-specific advice and consular contact details published at gov.uk.
• Official embassy and consulate contacts, verified directly with each mission’s published contact information.
• IATA regulations governing the international transport of human remains by air cargo.
• The HCCH Apostille Section status table, for whether a country is party to the Hague Apostille Convention and from what date.
• Direct operational experience from repatriation cases coordinated by our team and our network of licensed local operators.
• Government death-registration and export-permit requirements sourced from the relevant civil registry or public health authority in each country.

We do not rely on third-party travel blogs, forums, or unattributed online content as primary sources. Where we cannot confirm a detail independently, we say so on the page rather than presenting an estimate as fact.

How we vet local operators

We work with a selected network of licensed funeral directors and repatriation agents in each country we cover. Our vetting includes:

• Confirming relevant local licensing and regulatory standing, for example membership of the country’s equivalent of the National Association of Funeral Directors, or compliance with local health authority requirements for embalming and export.
• Direct contact and an established relationship with the operator before we instruct them on a case.
• Performance review on completed cases, including feedback from the families involved.

We do not instruct operators who cannot confirm their licensing status or who do not hold appropriate professional indemnity cover. Where a country has no established licensing framework, we rely on references and a verified track record.

Why we do not publish prices of our own

We do not publish our own prices, and that is deliberate. A single figure for repatriation from a country is wrong for most of the families who read it, and a wrong number does real harm when you are making decisions in the first few days after a death.

For a sense of scale, our cost page sets out the price ranges that repatriation firms publish themselves, each with the firm’s name and the date of its guide. We re-read those guides every quarter and change the dates only when we have.

What you pay turns on the specifics of the case: where in the country the death happened, whether a post-mortem or coroner’s investigation is involved, the airline routing available from the departure airport, the documentation and translation that country requires, how urgent the arrangements are, and whether travel insurance is covering any of it.

Each country guide explains which of those factors apply in that country. For a figure, send us the details and we will price your case, with no obligation.

Update cadence

Country guide content is reviewed when:

• The FCDO updates its country-specific travel or consular guidance.
• A live case reveals a change in local process or documentation.
• A family or professional contact tells us something on the site is wrong.
• Our periodic scheduled review falls due, at minimum annually for every active country guide.

The date shown on a page is the date of the last review that actually took place. It does not move on its own, and we do not restamp pages to make them look fresh.

What this site is not

Repatriate Service provides guidance and coordination. We are not:

• A legal adviser. Nothing on this site constitutes legal advice.
• A licensed insurer or claims handler. Guidance on insurance is informational; always contact your insurer directly.
• A coroner, registrar, or government body. Consular and official processes are described for guidance; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority.

For who we are and how the service works, see about Repatriate Service, and for the people who write this guidance see our team. If you believe any information on this site is inaccurate, please contact us and we will review and correct it promptly.