TR → UA · 24/7
Repatriation of the deceased from Turkey to Ukraine
from €3,300 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 Turkey to Ukraine costs from €3,300 for the entire journey: the paperwork, the coffin and the road to your town. The funeral in Ukraine is extra. In Turkey several services issue the documents for removal — the doctor, the municipality, the sanitary service and customs — and the coffin must be a special hermetically sealed one with a moisture absorber. We go by plane with a road leg (air leg from 2.5 hours) or entirely overland. 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.
What we do when you call
In Turkey the documents for taking a body out of the country are issued by several services: a doctor, the municipality, the sanitary service and customs. It is easy to get lost among them, especially without Turkish. We carry out the steps ourselves, and XREQUIEM manages the whole case for you.
We listen and give you the price
We ask where the death occurred, which hospital or morgue the deceased is in and which papers you already have. We give you the price to your town straight away.
We obtain the medical certificate of death
This is the ölüm belgesi. If the person died in a state hospital, the hospital issues it. If they died at home or in a hotel, a municipal doctor does.
We arrange the apostille and the translation
The Turkish death document needs an apostille and a translation into Ukrainian. Without them the consul will not accept it.
We handle the case at the Ukrainian consulate
The consul registers the death. We also prepare the documents for the Ukrainian border.
We prepare the body and the coffin
Turkey requires a special hermetically sealed coffin for taking a body out of the country. More about it below.
We obtain the permits to take the body out
The municipal sanitary service issues the road permit for the body. Once there is an air waybill number, it issues the last document, the laissez-passer. A customs officer inspects the coffin.
We take the deceased home
By air and then on by vehicle, or entirely by road. We hand the deceased over to the family in your town.
We work out your price
Call or leave your number.
Documents in Turkey
The Turkish names sound unfamiliar, but there are only a few documents. Here is who issues what.
What Turkey issues
- Ölüm belgesi: the medical certificate of death. A doctor issues it and confirms that the body can be buried. In a state hospital the document is certified by the director or the chief physician. Outside a hospital it is issued by a municipal doctor (belediye tabibi).
- Cenaze yol izin belgesi: the road permit for the body. It is issued by the municipal sanitary service.
- Cenaze geçiş izin belgesi: the “passport” for the body from the sanitary authority, when the body is taken by air, sea or rail.
- Laissez-passer: the last document before the body leaves the country. The municipal sanitary service issues it once there is an air waybill number.
The documents are submitted to the sanitary service at the border. Ukraine is not a party to the agreements on the transport of bodies that Turkey takes part in. So the Turkish road permit has to be accompanied by the documents the Ukrainian side requires. We collect them.
What we take on
- We obtain the ölüm belgesi and the permits ourselves.
- We arrange the apostille and translate the documents into Ukrainian.
- We submit everything to the Ukrainian consulate on the family's behalf.
- We book the air transport and take the coffin through inspection by the customs officer.
- We write the customs application and collect the papers for the Ukrainian border.
What we need from you
- The deceased's passport, or a photo of it.
- Your passport and a document showing you are a relative.
- A power of attorney for us. We will tell you how to draw it up.
A death of a foreigner with no witnesses in Turkey means a mandatory post mortem. This can add a few days before the body is released. We will tell you what to expect.
The general list of papers is on the Documents page.
The Embassy and consulates of Ukraine in Turkey
The Embassy of Ukraine is in Ankara. The Consulate General is in Istanbul, and there is a consulate in Antalya. There is also an emergency line, only for cases where the life of a Ukrainian citizen is in danger or a Ukrainian citizen has died. We contact the mission closest to the place of death.
- The consul registers the death of a citizen of Ukraine. For this, the Turkish death document must carry an apostille and be translated into Ukrainian.
- The consulate takes no fee for registering the death or for the first death certificate.
- For the funeral allowance in Ukraine, the consul gives the family a certificate to submit to the social protection authorities.
- The certificate of no prohibited items in the body or the coffin is issued by an authority of the country of death and certified by the Ukrainian consulate. Without it, the body will not be allowed across the Ukrainian border.
More about the consul's role is in the article The Ukrainian consulate when someone dies abroad.
How we bring the deceased home from Turkey
We choose the route for your case: the city in Turkey, the timing and the family's wishes.
Where we collect from
We collect the deceased from Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Izmir, Bodrum, Alanya, Marmaris and from any other Turkish town or resort: from a state hospital, a morgue or from another place where the deceased is. Name the town or resort where the body is now, and we will give you the route and the amount.
Plane plus vehicle
We do not promise direct flights to Ukraine: the plane flies to an airport near Ukraine, and then our vehicle takes the deceased on to your town. The air leg takes from 2.5 hours.
By road
Sometimes a family wants the whole journey by road. It runs in transit through other countries. We choose the route and the border crossing point to suit your case.
How long it takes
The journey home takes from 24 hours after collection. The documents take the most time, so we run the Turkish and the Ukrainian parts in parallel.
The coffin for leaving Turkey
Turkey has separate requirements for a coffin used to take a body abroad. It is hermetically sealed, with a moisture absorbent at the bottom. The outer coffin is wooden, with walls at least 20 mm thick. The inner one is soldered shut; Turkish rules allow lead or another airtight material. The Ukrainian border requires a hermetic metal coffin under official seal, so we fit an inner metal liner (zinc or lead). The coffin then meets the requirements of both countries. More on the Coffins and Air transport pages.
Price of repatriation from Turkey
Body from Turkey from €3,300The price covers the whole journey home. A funeral in Ukraine is separate and is charged on its own.
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
- transport by road, or part of the way by air, whichever is faster and better value for you
- handover to the family in your town
Farewell coffin: quoted separately.
What can change the price
The price depends on the city in Turkey (the distances are large, from Istanbul to the resorts on the coast), on whether we use a plane or only a vehicle, on whether embalming is needed and on where exactly in Ukraine we are going. We take all of this into account when we give you the price. 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 Turkey
How much does it cost to bring the deceased home from Turkey?
From €3,300 for the whole journey home: the documents, preparing the body, the coffin, the transport and the border. A funeral in Ukraine is separate. The exact amount depends on the city and the route. 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.
How long does it take?
The air leg takes from 2.5 hours, and the whole journey home takes from 24 hours after collection. The papers take longer: the medical certificate of death, the apostille, the consulate and the Turkish permits. So we submit everything in parallel.
The person was on a package tour. Who pays for the transport?
By law, a tour company must provide the tourist with medical insurance and accident insurance. Send us a photo of the policy on Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram: we will check the terms and talk to the insurer ourselves. Until the insurer has agreed, do not hire a local funeral home: you could lose the compensation. Often a policy pays for the journey only as far as the Ukrainian border or the airport near it; we will tell you about the rest in advance. More in the article about insurance.
Do I need to travel to Turkey?
In most cases, no. We collect the documents in Turkey ourselves and keep you updated by phone or on Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram. If an office asks a relative to sign in person, we will tell you at once. What can be done from home is described in the article If the family cannot travel abroad.
Which documents do you need from the family?
Usually the deceased's passport (or a photo of it), your passport, a document showing you are related and a power of attorney for us. We take care of the ölüm belgesi, the apostille, the translations, the permits and the consulate documents.
Is embalming done in Turkey?
Embalming is not common in Turkey. Only doctors have the right to embalm and to issue the certificate for taking the body out. Whether embalming is needed in your case depends on the route and the carrier: some airlines accept only embalmed bodies. We find this out on the first day. More on preparing the body.
Why is the body not released at once?
If a foreigner dies without witnesses, a post mortem is compulsory in Turkey. Until it is done, the body is not released. We keep in touch with the hospital and will tell you as soon as the body can be collected.
Which cities in Turkey do you collect from?
From any city in Turkey: Istanbul, Ankara, the resorts on the coast and smaller towns. Tell us the city and the hospital, and we will tell you when we can collect.
What should I do first?
The first steps are at the top of this page, and in detail on the page What to do if a loved one dies abroad. Do not sign anything with a local funeral home before you have spoken to us, and do not pay anything until you know the full price to your home.
Can an urn with ashes be brought home?
Yes. Transporting an urn costs from €700. For the Ukrainian border an urn needs the death certificate and a certificate of no prohibited items certified by the consulate. How we bring 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 Turkey
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.
Other destinations: Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Egypt. All countries are on the countries page.