Repatriation from Phoenix, United States

Phoenix and the broader Maricopa County area — Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert — host one of the United States’ most significant British retiree and snowbird communities. The combination of year-round sun, low cost of living relative to the UK, and established British social networks in Scottsdale and the East Valley has drawn British permanent residents for decades. Many are older, many have pre-existing cardiac conditions, and Phoenix summers are extreme: temperatures regularly exceed 43°C. Heat-related deaths among British nationals — particularly those unfamiliar with Arizona’s summer conditions or those whose health has declined since relocating — represent a distinct and recurring category.

What the British Consulate does — and does not do

The British Consulate General Los Angeles (11766 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1200, Los Angeles CA 90025) covers Arizona. There is no British consul resident in Phoenix.

The Consulate can: Register the death in UK consular records. Advise on Arizona documentation for UK authorities. Provide a funeral director referral list.

The Consulate cannot: Repatriate the body. Pay any costs. Instruct Maricopa County or Arizona state authorities.

FCDO 24-hour emergency line: +44 (0)20 7008 5000.

What Arizona law requires

Under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36, Chapter 3 (Medical Examiners and Coroners), sudden, unnatural, unexplained, or medically unattended deaths in Maricopa County are investigated by the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner (MCME), located at 701 West Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007. Maricopa County uses a Medical Examiner system (not an elected coroner system).

Death certificates are issued by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), Vital Records Section.

The documentation chain

1. Arizona Death Certificate. Issued by ADHS through the licensed funeral home.

2. MCME release (required in cases under investigation).

3. Arizona burial/transit permit. Arranged by the licensed Arizona funeral home.

4. Embalming certificate.

5. IATA cargo documentation.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36, Chapter 3; Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner, Procedures for Release of Human Remains, 2024; FCDO USA travel advice, 2024.

Airport and cargo routing

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) has British Airways PHX-LHR direct service, operated several times weekly. The PHX cargo terminal is well-established for human remains cargo on the transatlantic route. For deaths in Scottsdale, Tempe, or the East Valley communities, the road transfer to PHX is typically under 30 minutes.

Timeline from Phoenix

• Hospital-certified natural death: 7 to 14 days
• MCME investigation: 14 to 21 days
• Extended investigation: 4 to 8 weeks

Key local considerations

British nationals who were Arizona permanent residents — holding long-term US visas or green cards, owning real estate, holding US bank accounts — present estate complexity beyond the repatriation itself. Arizona probate and the treatment of assets held in the USA under a UK will are questions for a US-qualified attorney. The repatriation documentation proceeds independently of these estate matters, but the family should expect to return to Arizona, or instruct a local attorney, to resolve the US estate dimension separately.

For the full repatriation framework from the USA, see our USA repatriation guide.

Contact our team via our enquiry form or WhatsApp.

Information based on Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36 Ch.3 and Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner procedures. Last reviewed May 2026.