Exhumation in Croatia and Reburial in Ukraine

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The application is submitted by the deceased's spouse, children, or parents. If none are living, other relatives apply in the order of inheritance.
Exhumation is carried out by the cemetery administration (upravitelj groblja). Details are set by the local council's cemetery decision.
To take remains abroad, you need a sprovodnica, a "laissez-passer for a corpse". It is issued by the sanitary inspector at the place of exhumation.
If less than 10 years have passed since burial, exhumation is not allowed from June 1 to August 31.
Our exhumation service starts from €500 plus transport from Croatia. No prepayment for transport.

Call +380 77 882 77 77 Ask about exhumation

Who Can Request an Exhumation

The rules here are clear. Under the Ordinance on the transport, burial, and exhumation of deceased persons (Pravilnik NN 116/2018, Article 11), exhumation and transport are permitted upon the request of family members: spouse, children, and parents.

If they have passed away, other relatives may apply in the order established by inheritance law. An application can also be submitted by a person who holds the right to use the grave plot (pravo korištenja grobnog mjesta) under a final court ruling. The rules also allow applications from public authorities, foreign embassies and consulates, and foreign insurance companies.

Local decisions can be stricter. For example, in the Vuka municipality (Općina Vuka), the 2026 decision mentions only the spouse and children. That is why we check the requirements of the specific cemetery before applying.

If the Family Lives in Ukraine

You do not need to travel to Croatia. You sign a power of attorney, and we pass the documents to our partners in Croatia. They work with the cemetery and the sanitary inspector. Ukrainian documents for Croatian authorities are translated into Croatian. We check with the specific cemetery whether a sworn translator and an apostille on the power of attorney are required.

Law and Permits

Two main legal acts apply here.

First: the Law on Cemeteries of 2025 (Zakon o grobljima, NN 78/2025). Under Article 14, exhumation for transfer to another cemetery is ordered through a funeral director (pogrebnik) or by a family member, and is carried out by the cemetery administration. The exhumation procedure is set by the local council's decision on cemeteries (odluka o grobljima, Article 9). This means every city or municipality has its own rules.

Second: Ordinance NN 116/2018 of the Ministry of Health, with amendments from 2020 and 2023. It outlines the application, coffin specifications, and sanitary requirements.

Taking remains abroad requires a sprovodnica, a mortuary transit permit. When a body is exhumed and transported out of Croatia, the sprovodnica is issued by the sanitary inspector (sanitarni inspektor) who has jurisdiction over the place of exhumation (Article 2).

The following documents are attached to the application for exhumation and transport (Article 12):

a copy of the applicant's ID;
a copy of the hearse's vehicle registration certificate;
a copy of the extract from the death register or the death certificate (izvadak iz matice umrlih / smrtni list);
a copy of the certificate from the cemetery where the person is buried.

The application must state the deceased's name, date and place of birth, time, place, and cause of death, the border crossing point, and the transport vehicle and its license plate number.

The regulations do not specify how long the decision takes. We check this with the cemetery and the inspector.

When It Is Allowed

10 years. This is the main threshold in Croatian regulations.

If less than 10 years have passed since the burial, exhumation is not allowed from June 1 to August 31 (Article 19). It is allowed in other months.
A local decision may require more. For instance, in the Vuka municipality, the cemetery administration allows exhumation from an earth grave 10 years after the last burial. This restriction does not apply to urns or deceased persons buried in a metal coffin inside a vault (grobnica).
An urn in Vuka can be moved at any time.

So for a recent burial, everything depends on the specific municipality's decision. Checking this is our first step.

Infectious diseases. For a number of diseases (anthrax, diphtheria, cholera, plague, and others listed in Article 4), the rules require a hermetically soldered metal coffin.

How Exhumation Works

The work is done by the cemetery administration or a company it hires. The rules require:

disinfecting the unearthed coffin, the grave, and the surrounding area (Article 17);
workers to have no open wounds or cuts and to wear a protective suit, gloves, mask, cap, and footwear (Article 18).

Coffin for transport (Article 3): a hermetically sealed metal coffin or a hermetically sealed body bag placed inside a wooden coffin. Remains exhumed after 10 or more years are placed in both a metal and a wooden coffin. For air transport, a pressure relief valve with a filter is also required (Article 10). We prepare a hermetically sealed metal coffin for transport that meets these requirements.

The cemetery decides whether relatives may attend. We clarify this in advance.

Cremation After Exhumation

Sometimes a family wants to cremate the remains in Croatia and bring back an urn. This makes the journey simpler. Whether this is possible for exhumed remains is decided by the cemetery and the crematorium. We check this before submitting the application.

Documents for Transport to Ukraine

cemetery permit for exhumation;
sprovodnica from the sanitary inspector;
death certificate;
certificate of a burial plot in Ukraine.

Croatia is a party to the Hague Convention. Apostilles on Croatian documents are issued by municipal courts (općinski sud). We handle the translation into Ukrainian.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Croatia is located in Zagreb. The consular section can advise which certificates are needed to bring remains into the country. We provide a complete list of documents to every family.

Reburial in Ukraine

A permit is also required in Ukraine. Reburial is authorized by the executive committee of the local council at the new burial location. We handle this part together with the family.

Arrange the plot with the cemetery in Ukraine in advance and get a plot certificate. Upon arrival, we deliver the coffin to the cemetery or to a morgue, as agreed. Read more about delivery on our body transport from Croatia page.

How Much It Costs

Prices are set by the cemeteries. For example, here are the 2026 funeral service rates for the city of Virovitica (Flora VTC), including 25% VAT:

Service (in Croatian)	What it is	Price incl. VAT
Ekshumacija iz grobnice	exhumation from a vault	417,85 €
Ekshumacija iz običnog zemljanog groba	exhumation from a standard earth grave	434,06 €
Ekshumacija iz imitirane grobnice	exhumation from an imitation vault	469,53 €

Other cities have their own rates, which we request for your specific case. The sprovodnica, apostille, translations, coffin, and transport are paid separately.

Our price: exhumation from €500 plus the cost of transport (repatriation) from Croatia. We calculate the exact amount for your situation. No prepayment for transport: payment is made after handover under the contract.

How Long It Takes: From First Call to Burial

Stage	Estimated time
Consultation, power of attorney, family documents	1–2 weeks
Plot certificate in Ukraine	1–2 weeks, in parallel
Application to the cemetery, checking the 10-year rule	1–3 weeks
Sprovodnica from the sanitary inspector	several days or weeks
Exhumation	on the cemetery's schedule, subject to the summer ban
Transport to Ukraine	several days
Executive committee permit and burial	1–3 weeks

Timelines are approximate and depend on the cemetery and the inspector. If the burial is less than 10 years old and it is currently summer, the exhumation will be postponed until September.

Frequently asked questions

Can a body be exhumed in Croatia and transported to Ukraine?

Yes. Croatian regulations directly provide for exhumation and transport abroad. The transit permit, the sprovodnica, is issued by the sanitary inspector.

Who can submit the application?

The spouse, children, or parents. If they are deceased, other relatives in the order of inheritance, or a person holding the right to use the grave under a court ruling.

How many years must pass after burial?

There is no general ban under 10 years, but within the first 10 years, exhumation is not allowed from June 1 to August 31. Local decisions may require 10 years for an earth grave.

Can an urn be moved?

Yes. For example, in the Vuka municipality, an urn can be moved regardless of when it was buried.

How much does exhumation cost in Croatia?

In Virovitica in 2026, it costs about €418–470 including VAT for the exhumation itself. Our service starts from €500 plus transport.

Do we need to travel to Croatia?

No. A power of attorney and the family's documents are enough. Our partners submit the application.

What to Do Now

Call us and tell us where the person is buried: city, cemetery, date of burial.
Find the death certificate and the grave document.
Decide which family member will apply and arrange a power of attorney.
Agree on a plot with the cemetery in Ukraine. We will take care of the rest.

Call +380 77 882 77 77 Ask about exhumation

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Exhumation in Croatia and Reburial in Ukraine: Application, Timelines, Documents