Losing a loved one is never easy. And if it happens abroad, it can be even more complicated. Who should I contact? How should the situation be handled? Any language problems don’t make it any easier.
Some people have made all the arrangements in advance of their death and given instructions on how they want the funeral to be organized. This makes it easier for the bereaved, and you don’t have to decide on cremation, burial, burial site, ceremony, etc.
Here, as elsewhere in the world, it is the funeral parlour that takes care of the practicalities, and they are available 365 days a year, around the clock. They will arrange the necessary authorisations and documents for you to take the deceased with you to your home country, if that’s what you want.
Insurance companies, embassies and funeral parlours are important supporters if you become the next of kin in the event of death abroad.
If the deceased was on holiday, the insurance company is an important partner, provided that the deceased has travel insurance. Make sure that the travel insurance covers these expenses.
The first thing you should do is contact your insurance company and the nearest embassy or consulate.
The insurance company will take care of the practicalities of handling the repatriation of the coffin, and the consulate will issue the necessary documents for the transport of the coffin.
If the deceased does not have insurance, it will be up to the next of kin to pay the costs of repatriating the coffin, cremation and repatriation of the urn, or local burial.
Should you choose to have the deceased returned to your home country and the deceased is cremated, there are no costs associated with having the urn brought home. However, if you wish to have the deceased repatriated and there is no insurance to cover this, it can be a costly affair. Airlines usually charge four times the normal ticket price to transport a coffin.
The Foreign Service does not cover any expenses in connection with citizens who die abroad.
In cases where there are no relatives who can organize repatriation of the deceased or burial locally, the deceased will be buried on site at the respective country’s expense and in accordance with its laws and practices.
In the event of all deaths, the consulates submit a “Notification of death” to the Tax Administration. This is a prerequisite for the death to be registered in the population register in the home country.
If the death occurs in a hospital, you may find that the funeral home provides a form to be signed as soon as the deceased has breathed their last. Our advice is not to sign anything you don’t understand.
It is common for hospitals to have agreements with funeral parlours to collect the deceased. However, you can choose the funeral parlour you want to use for the rest of the process. Therefore, don’t sign any paperwork at the hospital or hand over your passport to the deceased. Death is a business.
If an unexpected death occurs outside a hospital, a doctor must always be contacted to confirm the death. Call 112 and ask for an English-speaking doctor. If the doctor cannot determine the cause of death, the deceased will be sent for an autopsy.
The doctor signs a death certificate and notifies the undertaker, who the family wants to take care of all the practical aspects of the funeral. It is the undertaker who contacts the consulate and often also contacts the priest in the case of deaths of permanent residents in Spain. The consulate reports the death to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the deceased is at the same time reported as deceased in the consulate’s register of permanently resident foreign citizens. It is therefore an advantage to be registered in the consulate’s register and to keep this updated with address and telephone number. If you are single and something happens to you, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will contact relatives in the home country.
Relatives might also receive help from the local Church, which can assist with memorial gatherings and memorial services.
The funeral director then ensures that the coffin is placed in the church. After the ceremony, the coffin is taken away and the relatives and priest follow it to either the cemetery or the crematorium.
If the deceased is to be buried in Spain, it will be in the cemetery in the area where the deceased lived.
We recommend that you ask for a price before accepting a funeral company. There can be a big difference in price for the same services, and you can save a lot by enquiring in advance. It’s not uncommon for the amounts involved to make it a major challenge for the bereaved to cope with the expense.
We have checked with the Tanatorium in Villajoyosa, and have been quoted a price of €3,340 for a basic package. This includes coffin, wreath, ceremony at the tanatorium, and storage for 5 days. If you want cremation, the price is €4103. If you want to be buried in Spain and want a gravestone, this costs from €600 and upwards. Prices were obtained in 2018.
Here, you can also buy the service in advance at a fixed price. Something that will significantly ease the situation for the bereaved.
This shouldn’t be a taboo subject. It’s a part of life, and sooner or later we all get there!
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