Repatriation
Repatriation of your loved one all over the world from or to the UK.
Why a repatriation?
Travel is exciting for the majority, but heart breaking and life changing for some. Unfortunately, as Funeral Directors, we are all too familiar with tragedies which occur away from home. Many job seekers worldwide look for jobs outside of their current country and we have a mobile culture with personal travel increasing year on year. There are a large number of people living and working in the UK who may wish to have their funeral service in their home country, and more than 1.2 million UK-born expatriates within the EU who may wish for their final resting place to be back in the UK.
Increasingly, funeral arrangements incorporate an international dimension that involves the transportation of the coffin/casket containing the deceased or the cremated remains. Whatever the point of origin and destination the Rosedale team draws on a wealth of experience of international funeral and travel insurance protocols.
For families who prefer to arrange a funeral service abroad, in a location where they may have never lived themselves, and are therefore uncertain how to proceed, we can help every step of the way.
What is involved?
There are lots of people involved behind the scenes for a funeral repatriation, from a mortuary to a funeral home, from one airport to another and finally into the care of the receiving funeral home, and it is an international team effort. From the family’s perspective, having the help of one organisation to oversee the arrangements from start to finish simplifies the process, allowing them to focus on other matters. From the letters we receive it’s clear that families appreciate the support of our team and we are always here as a point of contact if questions arise.
It’s important that we set expectations and keep in touch so that mourners know how matters are progressing. Repatriation time frames and local procedures vary from one country to another and we must respect them in order to ensure that documents are complete to allow departure from one country and arrival to a funeral in another.
What can we offer?
We offer advice on all aspects of repatriation. At an emotional time, families can struggle with decisions, especially when they were least expecting such life changing news. We can offer special flight tariffs and a translation service. We can give advice on registration and documentation, organising embassy permission and dealing with airport protocols, provision of a certificate of embalming or sanitisation and an appropriate zinc lined coffin hermetically sealed for air transport, a safe place for your loved one to rest while all the arrangements are being made, washing facilities and a courteous and sympathetic service. Working together we can bring loved ones home. Our aim is to arrange repatriations as rapidly, efficiently and sympathetically as possible.
For repatriation from the United Kingdom, if required, we can arrange for a funeral service in a local venue prior to the departure to the country of destination.
For repatriation to the United Kingdom, we can work with you to arrange all the aspects of the funeral service locally.
How much will it cost?
We believe that price transparency is vitally important and we will endeavour to keep you informed of the costs involved and provide an itemised written estimate. Costs can vary greatly depending on the countries involved, so where relevant we have indicated that prices start from the amount shown.
Our usual charges for our professional services, vehicles and staff and bringing the deceased into our care (within a 20-mile radius) and initial care of the deceased would be charged which are shown here.
We would also charge a further fee for professional services for organising the repatriation, liaison with H.M. Coroner, issuing Funeral Director’s Declaration of Contents Certificate, organising and collating documentation and liaison with the Funeral Director in the other country involved.
We charge a mileage fee of £1.10 per mile to send a specialist vehicle to the airport to deliver or receive the coffin containing the deceased and for any other movements of the deceased outside of our usual 20-mile radius, along with two staff members who are charged at £35 per hour per person.
Other services that may be required: –
- Embalming and certificate of embalming from a British Institute of Embalming qualified embalmer
- Translation Service for the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
- Freight Booking service charge – airline tariffs are normally based on the gross weight of the coffin, making it difficult to provide an accurate estimate prior to delivery to the airport.
- Documentation service to London embassy
- Customs and handling
- Airway Bill production
- Transfer of Coffin/Casket to embassy for official sealing if required
- Suitable coffin with approved zinc lining or CAD seal and hessian wrapping
- Freedom from infection certificate
- Consulate permit where required
- NES Customs clearance
We do not add anything at all to third party payments made on your behalf, but simply add these to your estimate, shown as itemised disbursements.
Why Rosedale?
We offer advice and itemised estimates and can draw on multi-lingual coordinators to liaise with families in a variety of languages to avoid misunderstandings and smooth the way.
When you lose a family member it’s comforting to know there is someone you can trust, to turn to for support. We partner with a team of funeral directors nationwide – multi- lingual, multi-faith, and multi-cultural, respecting the needs of every faith, nationality, origin and destination.
We can offer advice and support on funeral grants and bereavement benefits that most families don’t even know they are entitled to and your family will be welcomed at our Bereavement Support Group and be able to access our bereavement resources.
We have established our reputation by providing exceptional service at affordable cost and we believe our attention to detail and personal service sets us apart from other funeral directors.