Sending a body or ashes home from Spain

Key rules

• Who pays: Embassies and consulates do not generally pay for funerals or repatriation; the family, the estate or an insurer pays.
• Who arranges: A specialist funeral firm, or the insurer if there is a policy, handles the permits and transport.
• Ashes: Ashes need only a cremation certificate and an urn, plus airline and destination conditions.
• Quotes: Get written quotes from two or three firms before you sign.

Who arranges it

A specialist funeral firm in Spain arranges the repatriation. Choose one with international experience. It handles the paperwork, embalming, coffin, permits, flight booking and the partner firm at the destination. The family usually signs the contract directly.

If the person had travel, repatriation or funeral insurance (seguro de decesos), call the insurer first. It arranges and pays through its own network. Read the policy before you hire a firm privately, so you do not pay for something the insurer would have covered.

Who pays

Your embassy or consulate will not pay. It can advise and help with papers, but the family, the estate or an insurer covers the cost. In rare cases, a few countries help when the family is destitute or cannot be found. Ask your consulate whether yours does.

Body or ashes

Ashes are much simpler. You need the cremation certificate and an urn, plus the airline's conditions and the destination's rules. No sanitary permit is required. Ask the airline or the firm how to carry them, and keep the certificate with the urn.

Sending a body is a longer process. It needs:

• a death certificate
• embalming, or a sealed zinc-lined coffin, with an official sealing
• a transport permit from the regional health authority
• the destination country's own permit and confirmation that it allows entry

The destination's consulate may ask for extra papers, so ask it early. The steps in order are in the process below.

What it costs

A body costs far more than ashes. The price depends on the distance, the destination, airline freight rates, the coffin, embalming and paperwork. Within Europe, expect several thousand euros. Intercontinental destinations cost more. Ashes cost a fraction of that. Get written quotes from two or three specialist firms and compare what each includes.

How long it takes

A body usually takes about 3 to 10 days from the death, depending on the destination, the paperwork and flight availability. Ashes usually take a few days to about a week after cremation.

Expect delays if a court-ordered autopsy is needed, if the consulate is slow, or if the destination is intercontinental or has strict rules. Ask the firm for a timing estimate for your destination.

Where to start

Use the checklist below for the first calls. The firm will follow the process below on your behalf, so you mainly need to supply documents and decide between a body and ashes.

Repatriating a body or ashes from Spain, step by step

Repatriation steps in order

• Get the medical death certificate from a doctor, or a court release if the death is judicial: First, straight after the death

• Register the death at the Registro Civil (civil registry) and get the death certificate: After the medical certificate or court release

• Hire a funeral home with international transport experience, often through insurance or the consulate: As soon as the death is certified

• Have the body embalmed and placed in a sealed, zinc-lined coffin; the funeral home issues the certificate for this: After registration, following the regional health rules

• Get the sanitary transport permit from the regional health authority: After embalming and sealing; the funeral home normally applies

• Get the destination country's consulate permit (salvoconducto mortuorio) and confirmation that entry is allowed: After the sanitary permit, with the passport or ID of the deceased

• Book the flight or road transport and the cargo airline: Once all permits are in place

• Deliver the body and complete the destination authorities' formalities: On arrival

• For ashes, collect the cremation certificate from the crematorium and carry the urn with consular papers if required: After cremation, before travelling

Checklist

• Check whether the deceased had travel, repatriation or funeral insurance (seguro de decesos), and read the policy terms.

• Call the insurer first if a policy exists, because it arranges and pays through its own network.

• Ask two or three Spanish funeral firms that specialise in international repatriation for written quotes.

• Hire one firm to handle the paperwork, embalming, coffin, permits, flight booking and the partner firm at the destination.

• Ask the destination country's consulate whether it requires extra papers beyond the Spanish ones.

• Decide between sending the body and sending ashes, since ashes need only a cremation certificate and an urn.

• Ask the firm for the expected timing for your destination, usually 3 to 10 days for a body.

Frequently asked questions

Are ashes easier to send home than a body?

Yes, ashes are much easier to send home, because they need only a cremation certificate and an urn, with no sanitary permit. Check the airline's conditions and the destination country's rules before you travel.

How long does it take to repatriate a body from Spain?

Repatriating a body usually takes about 3 to 10 days from death, depending on the destination. A judicial autopsy or a slow consulate can add delays. Intercontinental destinations and non-EU countries with strict rules take longer.

Does my travel or funeral insurance cover repatriation?

Often yes, if the deceased had travel or repatriation insurance or a funeral policy (seguro de decesos). The insurer then arranges and pays through its own network. Read the policy terms before you hire a funeral firm privately.

Why does repatriating a body cost so much more than ashes?

A body needs embalming, a sealed zinc-lined coffin, permits and airline freight, while ashes need only an urn and a certificate. Within Europe a body usually costs several thousand euros, and intercontinental destinations cost more. Ask specialist firms for written quotes.