City repatriation guide
Repatriation from Amman, Jordan
Specific guidance for arranging repatriation from Amman. Local documentation contacts, airport cargo routes, and the typical process for cases originating in this area.
Amman is the capital, legal, and medical centre of Jordan. It is also the entry point for the country’s substantial and growing medical tourism sector. Jordan’s private hospitals — King Hussein Cancer Center, Jordan Hospital and Medical Centre, Istishari Hospital, and the Islamic Hospital (Al-Mustashfa Al-Islami) — regularly treat patients from the UK, either British nationals of Jordanian or Arab heritage seeking specialist care, or cost-conscious British patients making use of Jordan’s internationally accredited private healthcare at rates well below NHS waiting lists. Deaths following planned treatment are the primary healthcare-route case for British repatriation from Amman.
Amman also concentrates the British-Jordanian diaspora’s strongest family network in Jordan. Visits to family, retirements, and long stays create a second category of repatriation cases alongside the medical route.
What the British Embassy does — and does not do
The British Embassy Amman (Abdoun, 2nd Circle, Amman 11118) is the resident post covering all of Jordan.
The Embassy can: Register the death in UK consular records. Advise on Jordanian documentation requirements. Provide a funeral director referral list for Amman.
The Embassy cannot: Repatriate the body. Pay any costs. Instruct Jordanian police or medical authorities.
FCDO 24-hour emergency line: +44 (0)20 7008 5000.
What Jordanian law requires
Under the Jordanian Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 9 of 1961 as amended), sudden, unexpected, or violent deaths are reported to the Public Security Directorate (PSD) Jordan and referred to the Public Prosecutor. Forensic post-mortems are conducted at the National Centre for Forensic Medicine (NCFM, Al-Markaz Al-Watani Lil-Tibb Al-Shari), Amman — the national forensic pathology institution.
For an expected in-hospital natural death, the attending physician issues the cause of death certification directly, and the case does not enter the forensic route unless the death was unexpected or unexplained.
Death certificates (Shahādat al-Wafāt) are issued by the Civil Status and Passports Department (Dā’irat al-Ahwāl al-Madaniyya wa al-Jawāzāt) Jordan, through the local civil status office.
The documentation chain
1. Shahādat al-Wafāt (death certificate). Issued by Jordanian Civil Status Department.
2. Public Prosecutor release (in sudden or violent deaths — not required in expected in-hospital natural deaths).
3. Post-mortem report from NCFM Amman (where applicable).
4. International transport permit. Issued by the Ministry of Health Jordan.
5. Embalming certificate.
6. IATA cargo documentation — AMM-LHR direct.
Source: Jordanian Code of Criminal Procedure, Law No. 9/1961 (as amended); Ministry of Health Jordan, 2024.
Airport and cargo routing
Queen Alia International Airport Amman (AMM) has British Airways AMM-LHR direct service (approximately 4.5 hours). This is an established cargo route for Jordan repatriations. There is no domestic transfer needed for Amman cases — all documentation is processed in the capital and the cargo departs directly.
Timeline from Amman
- In-hospital natural death, expected: 7 to 14 days
- Unexpected death, Public Prosecutor investigation: 14 to 21 days
- Forensic investigation: 21 to 35 days
Key local considerations
For deaths following planned medical treatment in Jordanian private hospitals, the family should obtain the full medical record before departure from Jordan — including all imaging, surgical notes, and nursing records. Jordanian hospitals will generally cooperate with this request, but once the family has returned to the UK, obtaining records becomes significantly more complicated. Medical records may be relevant to an insurance claim or, in cases of alleged negligence, subsequent legal proceedings. The British Embassy can advise on Jordanian-qualified lawyers if the family requires local legal representation.
For guidance on the wider Jordanian process, see our Jordan repatriation guide.
Contact our team via our enquiry form or WhatsApp.
Information based on Jordanian Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 9/1961) and Ministry of Health Jordan guidance. Last reviewed May 2026.
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