If a relative dies on holiday abroad, three calls matter most: the emergency line of the travel health insurance, the German embassy or consulate, and a funeral director who arranges repatriation to Germany. No public authority covers the costs – the insurance pays up to its limit, or the family pays. Below: what to do in which order, which documents are needed from the country of death, and how long it takes.
First steps at the holiday destination
In the first hours it is not about forms, but about reaching the right people. This order works well in practice:
- Inform the tour guide or the hotel. On a package holiday the tour rep knows the local offices and helps with the language. At the hotel, reception will call a doctor or the police.
- Doctor and police. A doctor certifies the death. After an accident, violence or where the cause is unclear, the local authorities investigate, and the body is only released once they allow it.
- Call the insurer’s emergency line. The number is on the insurance card or in the policy. Ask whether the insurer arranges repatriation itself or reimburses costs – and up to what amount. Clarify this before you instruct anyone.
- Notify the embassy or consulate. For German citizens, contact details are on the website of the German Federal Foreign Office. If the deceased held another citizenship, the mission of that country is responsible.
- Keep the passport and personal documents safe. The passport is needed for the repatriation papers.
- Bring in a funeral director for the repatriation. They work with partners on site and coordinate with the insurer.
If the relatives are in Germany rather than on site, the German mission informs the German police, who deliver the news in person.
What the German embassy does – and does not do
Many families expect the embassy to handle repatriation. It does not. The German Federal Foreign Office describes the tasks of its missions clearly:
| The embassy or consulate … | The embassy or consulate does not … |
|---|---|
| advises on request on repatriation to Germany or burial locally | pay or advance repatriation or funeral costs |
| can issue a corpse passport or an urn certificate | choose the funeral director – the relatives do |
| can legalise foreign death certificates | influence how the local authorities handle the case |
| helps secure the estate and names local contacts | arrange the transport |
The key sentence is on the Foreign Office website itself: advancing repatriation or funeral costs from public funds is not possible.
Documents needed from the country of death
The exact list depends on the country, the airline and the destination in Germany. Typically:
- Death certificate from the local authority; depending on the country with an apostille or legalisation. The German embassy in Tashkent, for example, requires the original Uzbek death certificate with an apostille for the corpse passport.
- Medical certificate on the death and its cause, and confirming that there are no objections to transport.
- Release by the police or public prosecutor if the death was not natural or the cause is unclear.
- Corpse passport (Leichenpass) – called a laissez-passer in some countries. It is issued by an authority in the country of death or by the German mission.
- Embalming certificate if the country or the airline requires preservation – which is often the case.
- Coffining certificate confirming the deceased was placed in the coffin as required for transport.
- Passport of the deceased.
Embalming, hygienic preparation and coffining are carried out by our partner funeral homes in the country concerned. We check that names and dates are spelled the same in every document – with Cyrillic or Arabic spellings this is no small matter.
Registering the death in Germany: possible, not mandatory
For German citizens, a death abroad can be entered in the German death register (Section 36 of the Civil Status Act, PStG). There is no obligation: properly issued foreign certificates are generally recognised in Germany. The registration is not required for the repatriation itself.
The advantage: a German register office can then issue a German death certificate, and translations or certifications of the foreign document are no longer needed. Usually the register office at the deceased’s last place of residence in Germany is responsible. Standesamt I in Berlin is responsible only if neither the deceased nor the applicant ever had a residence in Germany. In Berlin, registration costs €40 (€80 if foreign law has to be examined) and each death certificate €12.
Costs: who pays for what
German statutory health insurance does not pay for transport back from abroad. What matters is which private cover was in place:
| Cover | What applies to repatriation |
|---|---|
| Travel health insurance (Auslandsreisekrankenversicherung) | Usually covers repatriation or burial locally – up to a maximum amount. Stiftung Warentest names cover of up to €10,000 as a minimum requirement; the ADAC travel health insurance, for example, pays up to €10,000 per person. |
| Credit card insurance | Only if the card includes travel health insurance at all. Check: who is covered? Does cover apply if the trip was not paid with the card? Is the benefit capped? |
| ADAC Plus membership | According to its terms, the membership itself covers repatriation costs of up to €500 only for a death while travelling within Germany. For a death abroad, a separate travel health insurance is what counts. |
| No insurance | The relatives pay for repatriation and funeral. |
Mind the limit. Anything above the maximum amount is paid by the family. The funeral in Germany is usually not part of the travel insurance benefits. Ask the emergency line to confirm in writing what will be covered. You receive our written fixed price within a few hours – you can submit it straight to the insurer.
Cremation locally as an alternative
Cremation in the country of death and repatriation of the urn is often faster and cheaper than repatriation in a coffin. It is not possible everywhere, though: according to the German embassy, cremation is not possible in Uzbekistan, and in some Islamic countries it is not permitted for religious reasons. The key documents are then the death certificate and the cremation certificate; the German mission can issue an urn certificate.
In Germany, urns are generally subject to compulsory cemetery burial (Friedhofszwang): all federal states require urns, too, to be buried in cemeteries; exceptions include burial at sea and burial forests. Rhineland-Palatinate adopted relaxations in 2025, which apply only under strict conditions – among other things, the deceased must have last lived there and set out their wish in writing. The urn therefore needs a cemetery or another approved burial place in Germany before it arrives.
Details on import and documents are in our guide “Bringing ashes to Germany”. A cremation cannot be undone – discuss it calmly with the family, including with regard to the faith of the deceased.
How long it takes – and what we handle
A repatriation from abroad typically takes 3–7 working days with us. Most of the time is spent not on transport but on releases, certificates and certifications. It takes longer with investigations or a post-mortem, over public holidays in the country of death and in countries with complex procedures: the German embassy in Bangkok, for example, gives a preparation time of about one to three weeks for Thailand.
Ritual-Service24 has been working for more than 20 years and arranges repatriations to more than 30 countries – in both directions: from Germany abroad and from abroad back to Germany. We take care of:
- coordination with the insurer, the embassy and the local authorities;
- instructing our partner funeral homes in the country of death for hygienic preparation, embalming and coffining;
- the documents from the country of death and checking them;
- air or road transport, reception in Germany and transfer to the cemetery or funeral home at home.
Popular holiday countries have their own pages covering local specifics: repatriation from Turkey, from Egypt and from Cyprus.
Frequently asked questions
Call us – even directly from the holiday destination
Tell us in which country and city the death occurred and whether there is travel insurance. We call back within the next hour, coordinate with the insurer and give you a written fixed price within a few hours. Around the clock, in English, German, Russian and Ukrainian.
- Call back within one hour
- Written fixed price within a few hours
- Around the clock, in four languages
A first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
This text reflects published regulations and insurance terms and does not replace legal or insurance advice. State rules and insurers’ benefits may change and differ from case to case.
