Repatriation
Repatriating a body or urn is a complex operation that requires experience and expertise, several authorities are involved, and our job is to coordinate all of them in order to complete the repatriation as quickly as possible. Authorities involved: municipality of death, home consulate, health authority, airline, judiciary.
International repatriation of body or cremated remains to Italy
Sadly, this is a common occurrence in our work; when a fellow citizen resident abroad or traveling on business or holiday suddenly dies. Generally, travelers are covered by an insurance policy; in this case once the insurance company has been notified of the death, their operations center will call us directly and cover the expenses (within the ceiling). However, it is not essential to have an insurance cover: to apply for our services, it’s enough to call our information hotline +39 0362 560474 24/7 all year round and our staff will provide all necessary assistance. Thanks to our trusted network of contacts around the world, the on-site presence of next-of-kin or our staff from Italy will not be necessary, thus greatly reducing the cost and time of repatriation.
We will actively and constantly liaise with Italian Embassy or Consulate representatives of the country of death, who usually ensure a fairly adequate assistance; we will also undertake to obtain permission from the Italian municipality for the burial of the deceased, which shall be noted in the Mortuary Passport issued by local Italian authorities. All this is compounded by some bureaucratic protocols and tricks of the trade that only local contacts know how to take care of and solve. Our employees will then take care of receiving the body (or ashes) at the airport of arrival and proceed with the customs clearance process and transport the remains to the final resting place.
International repatriation of body or cremated remains from Italy
This is the case of foreign holiday or business travelers in Italy or foreign nationals resident in this country whose next-of-kin wish to bring back to their native country. As above, if an insurance policy was undersigned, then the operations center of the insurance company will contact us, otherwise the next-of-kin may do so directly. When a deceased person in Italy is to be repatriated and buried in the country of origin, the next-of-kin are faced with a long and complex bureaucratic process. This is why it is important to rely on a specialized agency with decades of experience like Servizi Funebri Pozzoli. At present, here is no clear law governing the repatriation of deceased foreign nationals to their home countries. In Italy, legal reference may be found in the National Mortuary Police Regulations, the circular of the Ministry of Health n. 24 of 1993 and, as regards the specific powers and authorizations to the Prime Minister’s decree of 26 May 2000 implementing Decree n.112 of 1998.
Internationally, we can refer to the Berlin Convention of 1937 concerning the transport of corpses, but this only applies to countries that have signed it. The protocol involves various entities including the Municipality where the person died, the institutional representatives of the foreign Embassies and Consulates in Italy, any aircraft carriers or shipping companies as well as the funeral services company that will take charge of the remains in the country of destination. The task of coordinating the activities of all these organizations will be up to Servizi Funebri Pozzoli. First, one needs to establish whether the deceased was a national of one of the signatory countries to the Berlin Convention (Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chile, Mexico) or not.
In the case of repatriation of a body to a country that has NOT ratified the Convention, Servizi Funebri Pozzoli will file an authorization request on behalf of the next-of-kin to the municipality where the person died, for permission to expatriate with the deceased for burial abroad. The documents to be enclosed are those issued by medical personnel and the approval issued by the Consular Authority in Italy of the Country of destination, and authenticated in the Italian prefecture, granting entry to the deceased. On closing the coffin, in addition to any family members (if they so wish), there will also be present a health inspector who certifies the correct sealing and that the necessary medical health and legal requirements have been complied with.
In the event of repatriating ash remains, some certifications are not required.
In the case of deceased citizens of signatory countries to the Berlin Convention, the process is somewhat simplified: the main requirement remains the Mortuary Passport stating the final destination and this is issued by the Italian municipality where the person died, but there is no need to seek approval from the Consular Authority in Italy of the Country of destination to grant entry to the deceased. After completing the documentary process our employees will escort the coffin to the airport to board the flight booked by us, or travel directly to the destination country depending on the more cost-effective and timely option.
Repatriation of remains (or ashes) anywhere in the world
(from any country to any country)
Thanks to its international experience and its network of correspondents around the world, the staff of Servizi Funebri Pozzoli is able to manage and transport the deceased anywhere in the world. Already several Insurance and Assistance Companies rely on us for case management globally. It is indeed very convenient to have a single supplier and interlocutor who knows how to manage any practice with the usual professionalism and seriousness that distinguishes Servizi Pozzoli International Repatriation.