If the family cannot travel abroad: how to bring the deceased home

In brief: you do not have to travel

• We can prepare the transport documents on the relatives' behalf. That is how we work.
• Not only relatives can approach the consul of Ukraine: so can the authorities of the country where the death occurred, the hospital or other people.
• From the family we need a photo of the deceased's passport, your passport and phone number, a power of attorney and the insurance policy, if there was one.
• Sometimes the local authorities or the consulate ask for the signature of one of the relatives. Then we prepare the papers and tell you how to sign them in your case.
• The consul issues the Ukrainian death certificate to close relatives or sends it through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
• We bring the deceased to any town or village in Ukraine. We will give you the exact route and price in 5 minutes.

What the family sends us

All of this can be passed on from home: photos by Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram, the rest by phone.

• A photo of the deceased's passport. That is enough to begin with. In some countries the consulate will ask for the original. Then we will tell you what to do.
• Your passport and phone number, so that we can draw up the power of attorney and stay in touch with you.
• A power of attorney, so that we can submit the documents on your behalf. We will send you a sample.
• A document showing that you are related, in some countries only. We will tell you whether it is needed there.
• The insurance policy, if there was one. Even if you are not sure that the policy covers the transport, send it.
• Photos of the documents already issued abroad. If you have been sent papers in a foreign language, photograph every page. We will tell you what the documents are and what is still missing.

A few decisions can only be made by the family: which town in Ukraine the deceased should be taken to, who will receive them at home, and what you would like for the clothing and the preparation of the body. If you do not have an answer to something yet, that is all right. We will start with the documents and decide the rest together.

If the deceased had friends, colleagues or an employer near the place of death, please give us their contact details. They may know where the person's documents and belongings are.

The full list is on the page “Documents for bringing the deceased home to Ukraine from abroad”.

When a relative's signature is needed, and how to give it from a distance

Most often a power of attorney is enough. But sometimes the local authorities ask for the signature of one of the relatives on an application, and sometimes the consulate wants a document from a relative in particular. In France, for example, the Ukrainian consulate issues a certificate for transporting the coffin on the basis of several documents, among them copies of the passports of the applicant and of the deceased and a document showing the relationship.

If you are in Ukraine

We will send you the text of the power of attorney and tell you which notary to go to and in what form to sign it, so that it is accepted in the country of death.

If you live in another country (not the country of death)

A power of attorney is usually signed in one of three ways.

1. At a Ukrainian consulate or embassy. This is the most common way. A Ukrainian consul abroad certifies a power of attorney in the same way as a notary in Ukraine. You make an appointment at the nearest consulate, and we send you the text of the power of attorney beforehand. The document is drawn up in Ukrainian straight away, so it needs no translation and no apostille.

2. With a local notary, with an apostille. If the queue at the consulate is long, it is a long way to travel or the matter is urgent, you can go to a local notary in the country where you live. The notary certifies your signature. Such a document will be in the language of that country, so the relevant authority of that country puts an apostille on it, if the country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. In Ukraine the document is translated into Ukrainian, and a notary certifies the translation.

3. An electronic signature: Diia.Pidpys or a QES. For the contract with us, and for some applications to Ukrainian institutions, you can sign a document online with Diia.Pidpys or another qualified electronic signature (QES). But foreign institutions, such as the police, a morgue or a court abroad, will not accept a Ukrainian electronic signature for the release of the body. They need a paper document, from the consulate or from a local notary.

How to pass the document on without losing days

So as not to wait for the post, we often start work from a scan or a good photo of the signed and certified power of attorney. Send it by Viber, Telegram or WhatsApp. The original goes by courier at the same time.

Which way suits you depends on the country and on the institution that asks for the document. So this is what we do:

1. we find out who exactly is asking for the signature, and in what form;
2. we prepare the text of the application or the power of attorney;
3. we send you a sample and explain in plain words what it says;
4. we tell you how to sign and pass on the document in your particular case.

We tell you about a signature in advance, so that it does not come as a surprise on the last day. And before you sign anything, you can always ask us what the paper is.

If there was insurance

If the person had a policy that includes repatriation, the transport is usually organised by the insurer's assistance service. As a rule, it starts once it has received the death certificate. You can call it from Ukraine too: the number is on the policy or the card. You can hand this over to us.

There is one thing it is better to know in advance: the funeral home should be agreed with the insurer. If you hire a funeral home without that agreement, the insurer may refuse to pay compensation. And one more thing: the policy often pays for the journey only as far as the border or a transport hub in Ukraine, and the family pays for the funeral at home itself.

You will find more in the article “Insurance and bringing a body home”.

Questions from a family that cannot travel