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Repatriation of the deceased from Austria to Ukraine
from €2,400 including documents, the coffin and transport to your town in Ukraine. Call us and we will give you the exact price within 5 minutes.
Summary. Bringing the deceased home from Austria to Ukraine costs from €2,400 for the entire journey: the paperwork, the coffin and the road to your town. The funeral in Ukraine is extra. The key Austrian papers are the death certificate (Sterbeurkunde) and the multilingual body passport (Leichenpass) from the district authority; an apostille and a Ukrainian translation are also needed. We go in a specialist vehicle through Slovakia, Hungary or Poland. The body's journey home to Ukraine takes from 24 hours after collection. We will give you the exact price within 5 minutes.
Thank you. We will call you back. For urgent matters, please call: +380 77 882 77 77.
- Since 2015 bringing people home
- Ukrainian company Company code (EDRPOU) 46261246
- Contract with a fixed price
- 35 countries with “from” prices
- Own workshop coffins and funeral goods
- 24/7 one number from start to finish
If it has just happened
- Call or write any time. We explain what to say. We contact the hospital and the police.
- Find the insurance policy. The compensation depends on it.
- Name two cities. Where it happened. Where to bring the body. The passport can come later.
Our work, step by step
In Austria each federal state has its own funeral law, so the details in Tyrol and in Vienna can differ. You do not need to go into them: we know what to ask and where. We speak Ukrainian, English, Polish and German.
You call us
We ask in which federal state and town the death occurred and where the body is now. We give you the exact price straight away.
Examination and registration of the death
After the doctor has examined the body, the death is registered at the civil registry office (Standesamt). We obtain the death certificate (Sterbeurkunde).
The body passport
We arrange the Leichenpass, the body passport, at the district authority of the place of death.
Apostille and translation
We get the apostille on the Austrian documents and have them translated into Ukrainian.
The embassy in Vienna
We submit the documents to the consular section of the Embassy of Ukraine and obtain the certificates for the Ukrainian border.
The journey
The body travels in a specialist vehicle through Slovakia, Hungary or Poland. We take care of customs clearance.
Handing over to the family
We bring the deceased to your town in Ukraine. We can also arrange the funeral anywhere in Ukraine if you ask.
We work out your price
Call or leave your number.
Documents in Austria
What Austria issues
- Todesbescheinigung and Leichenbegleitschein: issued by the doctor after examining the body (Totenbeschau), together with the notification of the death.
- Sterbeurkunde: the death certificate. It is issued by the civil registry office (Standesamt). The death must be reported to it by the next working day at the latest.
- Leichenpass: a multilingual body passport, for transport abroad. It is issued by the district authority of the place of death: the Bezirkshauptmannschaft or, in statutory cities, the Magistrat.
What we need from you
- The deceased's original passport: the embassy asks specifically for the original. If the passport is now with an Austrian authority, we will help you get it back.
- Your passport and a document proving your family relationship.
- The federal state and town where the death occurred: the Leichenpass is issued by the district authority of the place of death.
- The contact details of the hospital, the police or the employer, if they have called you.
We take care of the rest of the documents. The full list is on the Documents page.
What the Embassy of Ukraine asks for to transport the body
The Embassy of Ukraine in Austria lists the following package for its consular section:
- the Sterbeurkunde, the Austrian death certificate;
- the Leichenpass, the body passport;
- an apostille;
- a declaration that the coffin contains no prohibited items, for customs;
- a translation into Ukrainian;
- the deceased's original passport.
A Leichenpass is issued only once the body has been examined and the death has been registered at the Standesamt. This is why the documents follow a fixed order, and we make sure that no step holds up the next one.
Why the Leichenpass is not enough
Austria is a party to the Strasbourg Agreement on the transfer of corpses. Between the countries that are party to it, the body passport settles almost everything. Ukraine is not a party to the Agreement. So at the Ukrainian border you also need the death certificate and a certificate that the coffin contains no prohibited items, certified by the Ukrainian consulate.
The Embassy of Ukraine in Austria
Consular matters in Austria are handled by the Embassy of Ukraine in Vienna, through its consular section. That is where we apply, whichever federal state we are bringing the deceased from.
- The consul registers the death of a citizen of Ukraine. This is done on the basis of the Austrian death documents, with an apostille and a translation into Ukrainian.
- Registering the death and the first Ukrainian certificate are free of consular fees.
- The consular section can issue the certificates needed to cross the border with the body on its way to Ukraine.
- The family gets from the consul a certificate for the social protection authorities; it is the basis for the funeral allowance.
After the death is registered, the documents of the deceased are returned to the person accompanying the body or sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. For the other first steps, see What to do if a loved one dies abroad.
How we bring the deceased home from Austria
Austria does not border Ukraine, so the body travels through other countries in a specialist vehicle. There are three routes: through Slovakia, through Hungary (the Tysa–Záhony border crossing) or through Poland. We choose the route that reaches your town fastest. The journey home takes from 24 hours after collection. More about road and air transport.
Where we collect from
We collect the deceased from Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Bregenz and from any other Austrian town or mountain village: from a hospital, a morgue or from another place where the deceased is. The state and the town where the person died decide which district authority issues the Leichenpass, so please give us both straight away.
A flight is possible, but from Austria the road is often simpler: for a flight, the documents have to be agreed with several countries before booking.
In Austria only authorised funeral companies (befugte Bestattungsunternehmen) may transport a body. We organise and run the steps in Austria. So the family does not need to sign anything separately.
The coffin
The requirements for the coffin in Austria are set by the law of each federal state, and the Ukrainian side requires a hermetically sealed metal coffin. We prepare one that meets both sets of requirements. The options are on the Coffins page.
Price of repatriation from Austria
Body from Austria from €2,400This is the price for the whole journey home. A funeral in Ukraine is a separate service.
What the price includes
The price includes:
- contact with the hospital and the morgue
- local, consular and border documents
- preparing the body for the journey
- hermetic coffin, soldered zinc liner
- sealing as the border requires
- usually by road; if needed, part of the way by air
- handover to the family in your town
Farewell coffin: quoted separately.
What can change the price
The federal state and the town: from Vienna or Burgenland it is closer to the border than from Tyrol or Vorarlberg. The price is also affected by the coffin, the preparation of the body, the number of translations and apostilles, and your town in Ukraine. Tell us your town in Ukraine and we will work out the price straight away. Prices for other countries are on the Prices page.
Call us, day or night
Languages: Ukrainian, English, Polish, German. The same number works on Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram.
Our work
Questions about repatriation from Austria
How much does it cost to bring the deceased home from Austria?
From €2,400, including documents, the coffin and transport to your town in Ukraine. A funeral in Ukraine is separate. What the price is made up of is explained in the article How much it costs to bring a body home to Ukraine from abroad, and all prices are on the Prices page.
How long does it take?
The journey home with the deceased takes from 24 hours after collection. The death has to be reported to the Standesamt by the next working day at the latest; then come the Leichenpass, the apostille, the translation and the embassy. We do not wait for one document before preparing the next.
Why is an apostille needed if there is a Leichenpass?
The Leichenpass is needed for transport. The apostille and the translation are there so that the Austrian documents are recognised in Ukraine. The Embassy of Ukraine in Austria explicitly requires an apostille in the package for transporting a body.
Which documents do you need from the family?
The deceased's original passport, your passport and a document proving your family relationship. If the passport has been lost or the police have taken it, tell us and we will sort it out.
Do I need to travel to Austria?
Usually not. We arrange the Leichenpass at the district authority and the apostille, and we also submit the package to the consular section in Vienna. There may be just one thing for you to do: send us the deceased's original passport, if it is in Ukraine. We will tell you how to send it. What can be done from home is described in If the family cannot travel abroad.
Is embalming needed in Austria?
Whether embalming is needed depends on the condition of the body, the length of the journey, the carrier's requirements and the rules of the federal state. We will tell you in advance and explain why. What body preparation involves is described on a separate page.
The person died in Tyrol or Vorarlberg. Is that harder?
The road is longer: from the west of Austria it is a long way to the Ukrainian border. Each federal state sets the requirements for the coffin and for transport by its own law, so we check them for the state in question. Consular matters are handled by the embassy in Vienna in any case.
Where in Austria do you collect the deceased?
From any federal state and town: Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, St. Pölten, Bregenz, and smaller towns and villages.
What should I do first?
The first steps are near the top of this page, and in more detail on the page What to do if a loved one dies abroad. You do not need to sign a separate contract with an Austrian funeral home (Bestatter): we do everything that is needed in Austria. Do not pay anyone until you know the full price of the journey home.
Which documents are needed for an urn with ashes?
The Embassy of Ukraine in Austria lists these: the Sterbeurkunde, confirmation of the cremation and of the sealing of the urn, an apostille and a translation. For the Ukrainian border you also need a certificate, certified by the embassy, that the urn contains no prohibited items, and a written declaration from you at customs. The price for bringing an urn home is from €500. How we transport an urn is described on the page Transport of an urn with ashes to Ukraine.
Tell us what happened
Oleg Zdendiak and the team. We explain the next steps.
Send a request for repatriation from Austria
Leave your number and we will call you back.
Thank you. We will call you back. For urgent matters, please call: +380 77 882 77 77.
Nearby destinations: Germany, Switzerland, Czechia, Slovakia and Italy. All countries are on the countries page.