Funeral Plans - Funeral Director

The death of a relative or friend is always distressing, but if it happens abroad the distress can be made worse by practical problems. After the death abroad you are likely to have countless questions. What should I do now? How can I communicate with people in a foreign language? Who can I turn to for help?

You should be aware that Thai procedures differ from those in the other countries and that while we understand you may want to make arrangements quickly, this is not always possible. We will explain what practical support we can offer you and what you need to do yourself.

If a relative or friend dies while you are abroad with them. All deaths must be registered in the country where the death occurs. Your tour guide, the local police or the Embassy can advise you on how to go about this. Make sure you have as much documentation as possible about the person who has died and yourself. This should include:

· full name of deceased

· date of birth of deceased

· date and time of death

· passport number or social security number of deceased and may be yourself too

· the name of the next of kin of the person who has died

· deceased’s residence – address/ city/ town/ village

· current location of the deceased

· doctor name and telephone

· your name

· your current residence

· telephone number

· relationship with the deceased

If the person suffered from an infectious condition, for example Tuberculosis, Hepatitis or HIV viruses, it is essential that the authorities are told so that they can take necessary precaution, prevention and control procedures to minimise the risk of transmission of the diseases.

You can also apply to register the death with the destination authorities, fees may apply and vary for each country. If you do decide to register the death with the destination authorities, you will need to provide the local death certificate (with an official translation if necessary) and evidence of the deceased’s usually a copy of passport, or a birth/naturalisation certificate (if no passport is available)

Following the death of your friend or family in Thailand, the next of kin, or their formally appointed representative, must decide whether to:

repatriate the deceased to the original country

have a local cremation and the ashes repatriated to the country or

have a local cremation and the ashes scattered locally, or

a burial in Thailand.

Shipping cremated remains is less complicated and cost more effective than shipping a dead body.

Repatriation

If the deceased had taken out travel insurance, it is important that next of kin contact the insurance company without delay. If the insurance company grants cover, you should check with them what funeral arrangements they will cover. If the deceased was covered by travel insurance, the insurance company will normally have a standing agreement with an International Funeral Director and will arrange repatriation on your behalf. International Funeral Directors can organise repatriations to most countries in the world.

If insurance cover is not in place, then the Thai authorities will expect that the cost of repatriation or cremation will be met by the family. Friend and family should be aware that all hospital bills must be paid in full before the body can be released.

A local civil registry death certificate, a certificate of embalming, and a certificate permitting transfer are required. Your chosen funeral director can arrange this for you. Local formalities for repatriation normally take eight to ten working days to complete. Embalming is required for repatriation. Sometimes local embalming methods mean that the full range of tests cannot be done if a second post mortem is requested. Embalming procedures may have an impact on the efficacy of any subsequent post mortems. There are many special requirements for transporting human remains by air, so you cannot arrange air transportation of human remains directly with an airline. In fact, not all airlines will accept this type of cargo.

To bring the body home you must:

get a certified English translation of the death certificate

get permission to remove the body, issued by a coroner (or equivalent) in the country where the person died

tell a coroner in the country where the person came form if the death was violent or unnatural

Once the body is home, take the death certificate to the register office in the area where the funeral is taking place. As the death has already been registered abroad, the registrar will give you a certificate of no liability to register. Give this to the funeral director so the funeral can go ahead.

To bring the ashes home:

When leaving a country with human ashes you will normally need to show: