ES → UA · 24/7
Repatriation of the deceased from Spain to Ukraine
from €3,500 including documents, the coffin and transport to your town. We will give you the exact price within 5 minutes.
Summary. Bringing the deceased home from Spain to Ukraine costs from €3,500 for the entire journey: the paperwork, the coffin and the road to your town. The funeral in Ukraine is extra. Spain is far, so we usually go with an air leg (from 2.5 hours). First the Ukrainian consulate gives permission to bring the body in, and only with it does Sanidad Exterior issue the removal permit; the body must be embalmed or prepared for a long journey. The body's journey home to Ukraine takes from 24 hours after collection. Tell us the city and the address and 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.
How we help when someone has died in Spain
Spain is far from Ukraine, and the way home almost always includes a flight. At a time like this, it is hard for a family to deal with Spanish offices. We do it for you, and we explain every step in plain words. We speak Ukrainian, English, Polish and German.
The first call
We find out in which city the death occurred and where the body is now. We tell you what to do first and give you the price.
Contact with the Spanish side
We talk to the hospital in Spain and arrange for the body to be kept there until it leaves.
The Ukrainian consulate's permit
We prepare the application and the documents for the Ukrainian consulate, to obtain the permit to bring the body into Ukraine.
The permit to take the body out of Spain
We submit the documents to Sanidad Exterior. When everything is in order, it issues the permit to take the body out of Spain.
Preparing the body
Embalming or other preparation for the journey, a hermetic coffin, seals.
The flight and the journey home
We book cargo space on the flight, meet the body at an airport near the Ukrainian border and take it to your town.
We work out your price
Call or leave your number.
Documents in Spain
In Spain, the Ministry of Health handles the transport of a body abroad, through its Sanidad Exterior service. Everything is processed online, on the SISAEX platform. The request goes to the Sanidad Exterior office in the province where the death occurred or where the body will leave from.
What Spain issues
- Medical certificate of death (certificado médico de defunción).
- Death certificate from the Civil Registry (certificado de defunción del Registro Civil) or a burial permit (licencia de enterramiento).
- Certificate of embalming or other preparation of the body for the journey (certificado de embalsamamiento o conservación transitoria).
- Permit from the health authority of the autonomous community, where the region requires it.
- Court permit (autorización judicial), if the death was violent.
- Permit to take the body out of the country (autorización de salida del cadáver). Sanidad Exterior issues it when the other documents are in order.
What is needed for Ukraine
- Permit to bring the body into Ukraine from the Ukrainian consulate in Spain (autorización de entrada). Without it, Sanidad Exterior will not issue the permit to take the body out.
- Death certificate, which is shown at the Ukrainian border.
- Certificate of no prohibited items in the body and the coffin. It is issued by the competent Spanish authority and legalised by the Ukrainian consulate.
- A written statement in any form for Ukrainian customs. We will help you draft it.
About the Strasbourg Agreement. Spain is a party to the Strasbourg Agreement on the transfer of corpses. Between the countries that are parties to it, the body travels with one special document, the laissez-passer. But Ukraine is not a party to the Agreement. So for Ukraine, Spain applies a separate procedure, the one for countries outside the Agreement, with the consulate's entry permit. A laissez-passer under the Strasbourg Agreement will not help here: you need the full set of documents described above.
The general list of documents for bringing a body home is on the Documents page.
The Embassy and consulates of Ukraine in Spain
Ukrainians in Spain are served by the consular section of the Embassy of Ukraine in Madrid, the Consulate General in Barcelona and the Consulate in Málaga. Which one to apply to depends on the province. We will tell you where to submit your documents.
- The consulate issues the permit to bring the body into Ukraine (in Spanish documents, autorización de entrada). The consul issues it on the basis of the death certificate with an apostille and other documents. Under Spanish rules, it is the relatives who must request the permit, so we prepare the application and the documents, and you only need to sign.
- It registers the death of a citizen of Ukraine and issues the Ukrainian death certificate. The first death certificate is free of consular fees.
- It legalises the certificate of no prohibited items issued by the Spanish authorities.
- It issues a certificate for the social protection authorities, so the family can receive the funeral allowance.
Spanish documents must be certified and translated into Ukrainian for the consul. We arrange this too. More in the article The Ukrainian consulate when someone dies abroad.
How we bring the deceased home from Spain
Spain is a very long way from Ukraine by road, so we usually choose a flight. The body travels on a cargo flight to an airport near the Ukrainian border, and from there our specialist vehicle takes it on. We do not promise direct flights to Ukraine.
Where we collect from
We collect the deceased from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Málaga, Alicante, from the Balearic and Canary Islands and from any other Spanish town or resort: from a hospital, a morgue or from another place where the deceased is. The islands and the mainland mean different routes, so the amount is worked out for your town.
Timing. The air leg takes from 2.5 hours. The journey home takes from 24 hours after collection. The documents take the longest. The permits come one after the other: first the Ukrainian consulate, then Sanidad Exterior. We prepare the other papers (medical, registry, embalming, translations) in parallel and keep you informed at every step.
Preparing the body, and the coffin. Spanish rules require the body to be embalmed, or prepared for a long journey in another permitted way, and to be placed in a coffin suitable for international transport. Ukraine requires a hermetic metal coffin, sealed by officials. Airlines have their own requirements too, and some accept only embalmed bodies. We take all of this into account in advance, so the body is not held up at the airport or at the border.
Price of repatriation from Spain
Body from Spain from €3,500What 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 part of the way by air, then in our vehicle to your town
- handover to the family in your town
Farewell coffin: quoted separately.
What can change the price
The “from” price covers the whole journey of the body to Ukraine. The final amount depends on the city in Spain (the mainland or the islands), the departure airport, the town in Ukraine, the coffin you choose and how long the documents take. A funeral in Ukraine is priced separately. We will tell you the exact amount when we talk. You can compare with other countries on the Prices page.
Call us, day or night
Languages: Ukrainian, English, Polish, German. The same number works on Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram.
Questions about repatriation from Spain
How much does it cost to bring the deceased home from Spain to Ukraine?
The price is from €3,500 for the whole journey home. What exactly is included is listed above. The exact amount depends on the city and the route, and we will tell you it when we talk.
How long does the journey take?
The body's journey home to Ukraine takes from 24 hours after collection, and the air leg takes from 2.5 hours. The overall time depends on the documents: without the Ukrainian consulate's permit, Sanidad Exterior will not issue the permit to take the body out, so these two steps come one after the other. We prepare everything else in parallel and keep you informed at every step.
What is needed from the family?
The deceased's passport or another identity document, if you have it, and your contact details. Under Spanish rules, it is the relatives who request the consulate's entry permit. We prepare the application and all the attachments and explain what to sign and where. We take care of the rest: the medical and registry documents, embalming and the Sanidad Exterior permit.
Do I need to travel to Spain?
Usually not. We deal with the Spanish services and the consulate, and we stay in touch with you by phone and in messaging apps. If your signature is needed on the application to the consulate, we will tell you the simplest way to do it in your situation. What can be done from home is in the article If the family cannot travel abroad.
Spain is a party to the Strasbourg Agreement. Why are so many documents needed?
Because Ukraine is not a party to that Agreement. The simplified route with a single laissez-passer works only between the countries that are parties. For Ukraine, Spain applies the procedure for countries outside the Agreement: the consulate's entry permit, the death and embalming certificates, and then the Sanidad Exterior permit.
Is embalming compulsory?
A body leaving Spain must be embalmed or prepared for a long journey in another permitted way. The certificate for this is part of the documents. We carry out the embalming ourselves. More in the article Coffin and embalming for bringing a body to Ukraine.
The person was insured. Where do I start?
Send us a photo of the policy first. We will read the terms and agree the transport with the insurer ourselves, so that the compensation is not lost. A policy often pays only as far as the border, and we will say in advance what is left for you to cover.
Which cities in Spain do you collect from?
From any city or province in Spain, including the islands. The city affects only the departure airport and the travel time to it.
What should I do in the first hours?
The first steps are at the top of this page, and in full on the What to do if a loved one dies abroad page. Do not rush to sign a contract with a local company before you have talked to us.
Can an urn with ashes be brought from Spain?
Yes. An urn is brought into Ukraine under the same legal rules as a coffin: a death certificate and a certificate of no prohibited items that the Ukrainian consulate has legalised. The price of bringing an urn is from €700. More on the Transport of an urn with ashes page.
Tell us what happened
Oleg Zdendiak and the team. We explain the next steps.
Send a request for repatriation from Spain
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: Portugal, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. All countries are on the countries page.