Repatriation of a body from France: How to proceed?

The repatriation of a body from abroad follows a very specific procedure that needs to be carefully followed to avoid being stuck at the airport. Here are the main steps to ensure that the repatriation goes smoothly.

Steps for repatriating a body from France

1. Call a doctor to certify the death
   

   The first step is the same for all deaths occurring in France, namely having the death confirmed by a doctor.

   If the death occurs in a healthcare facility, the facility will be responsible for contacting the doctor.

   If the death occurred at home, it is up to you to contact the doctor. You can contact your family doctor, SOS doctor, the emergency medical service, etc.

   However, be careful, the doctor will need to provide a certificate of non-contagiousness in addition to the death certificate. Remember to ask for it.

2. Call a funeral service expert in body repatriation

   Our teams are specialized in repatriating bodies abroad and will be able to guide you, regardless of the destination country you wish to choose.

   Contact us 7 days a week to find out about availability and rates.

3. Provide the mandatory documents for repatriation

   Organizing a repatriation fron France requires obtaining authorization from many different administrations, particularly the consulate of the destination country. The list of necessary documents may vary depending on the destination country. However, here are the generic documents required:

   • Death certificate and certificate of non-contagiousness

   • Identity document of the person in charge of the funeral

   • Deceased's passport from the destination country

   • Contact information of the person or company in the destination country who will be responsible for handling the funeral in the destination country

4. Required authorizations

   We handle obtaining all the necessary authorizations and regularly update you on the progress.

5. Flight confirmation
   

   We take care of booking the flight with the airline. As soon as we have the flight information, we provide it to you so that you can also make your booking.

   The airline's final confirmation usually comes a few days later. We also keep you informed as soon as we have obtained the authorization.

6. Organize funeral services in the arrival country

   You are free to organize the funeral in the destination country according to your wishes. We can get in touch with the operator in the destination country to provide them with any documents they may need.

To answer all the questions you may have during such a unique time, we have also compiled a FAQ on repatriating bodies from France.