Repatriation From the UAE: Steps, Documents and Who Pays

Sending a body home from the UAE takes a police no-objection letter, a UAE death certificate stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, approval from the person's embassy or consulate, embalming, and an air cargo booking with a funeral director waiting at the other end. In practice a funeral director in the UAE arranges most of it. If the person was working in the UAE, local rules put the cost on the employer.

The details depend on the emirate, the person's nationality and whether the death was in hospital. This guide follows the official guidance from the UK and Indian governments, which publish the most detailed UAE-specific instructions, and notes where the steps differ for other nationalities.

What happens first when someone dies in the UAE?

If the person dies in hospital, the hospital issues a death notification. The UK government says any death outside a hospital is referred to the police, who arrange a post-mortem, and the body is only released with the permission of the prosecutor's office. A post-mortem can also happen when the cause of death is unknown, unnatural, sudden or violent.

In the first hours, these calls matter most:

• Your embassy or consulate. It can explain what it needs from you, and some approvals only it can give.
• The person's insurer, if there is one. Insurers have their own procedures, and Canada's government advises following them to avoid delays. See our guide to travel insurance and death coverage.
• The employer, if the person was working in the UAE. The employer may be responsible for the cost (more on that below).

Do not sign up with a funeral company or agent yet if you can avoid it. Ask your embassy for its list of local funeral directors and get a written quote first.

How to send a body home from the UAE, step by step

The order below follows the UK government's guidance and the Indian consulate's procedure. Your funeral director will know the current local routine.

1. Police registration and death notification. Contact the police where the person lived and get the hospital's death notification and the police's death registration letter.
2. Death certificate. It is issued by the health authority of the emirate. The UK government lists the Ministry of Health or Dubai Health Authority for Dubai and the Department of Health for Abu Dhabi. You usually need the police registration, the hospital notification, a passport copy showing the visa page, the Emirates ID if the person had one, and your own photo ID.
3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs stamp. The UK government says to get the death certificate stamped and signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4. Embassy or consulate step. For British nationals this is a no-objection letter from the British Embassy, which also cancels the British passport. Other countries differ. India's consulate, for example, registers the death and then requires a no-objection clearance from Indian airport authorities through its online e-CARe portal.
5. Police no-objection letter for repatriation, burial or cremation.
6. Visa and passport cancellation. The UK government says the cancelled passport showing the cancelled visa and entry stamp is needed for repatriation.
7. Embalming and coffin. The body has to be embalmed, and there are specific rules about the coffin. Ask the funeral director which rules the destination country applies.
8. Cargo booking and receiving funeral director. Once clearance is through, the funeral director books the cargo flight. The destination needs a funeral director to accept the body, so arrange that early.

Which documents do you need?

The UK government's list for repatriating a British national to the UK is a useful model. Other nationalities and destinations will add or swap items.

The UK government advises taking seven photocopies of each document with the body. Keep the originals with you and ask for extra certified copies of the death certificate, which banks, insurers and courts at home will want. If a document is in Arabic, the UK embassy says it cannot provide translation services or pay for them, so ask your funeral director or embassy where to find a translator.

Who pays for repatriation from the UAE?

It depends on the person's situation:

• Employer. The Consulate General of India in Dubai cites UAE Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 and states that the employer shall bear all the costs of preparing and transporting the body when a worker dies in the UAE, if the family asks for repatriation. If the person worked there, ask the employer about this before paying anyone.
• Insurance. Travel, health and expat policies may cover repatriation. The UK government tells families to contact the insurer immediately.
• Embassy welfare funds. India's consulate says it helps through community associations under the Indian Community Welfare Fund when there is no employer, sponsor or insurance, on a strictly means-tested basis. Other governments run their own schemes for workers abroad, so ask your embassy.
• The family. Many governments do not pay. The UK FCDO says it cannot pay burial, cremation, repatriation or legal costs, and three UK charities listed on its guidance (the JackTheLad Foundation, Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust and Repatriation Services Trust) may help eligible families.

India's consulate also warns about fraudulent agents charging excessive rates and says its approved panel associations charge no service fees. Take that as a general caution: ask for an itemized written quote from any provider. Our guide to repatriation costs explains what a quote should include.

Can you be buried or cremated in the UAE?

Yes, with conditions.

• Burial. The UK government says you can only bury someone who died in the UAE if they held a valid residency visa. For a Muslim burial, the next of kin must go to the local police with their passport to get a burial permit. India's consulate also says burial permission is currently not given for people on visit visas or who overstayed.
• Cremation. Only possible for non-Muslims. The UK government lists Al Foah Cemetery in Al Ain, Sonapur in Jebel Ali (Dubai) and the Sharjah Crematorium, and says children under 3 cannot be cremated there. India's consulate says cremation is done in Dubai and Sharjah. Confirm the current option with a funeral director.
• Municipal permission. In Dubai, India's consulate lists a no-objection letter from the police and then from Dubai Municipality before a local cremation or burial.

For faith-specific guidance, see our guides on Muslim funeral traditions and Hindu cremation in India.

Can you take ashes home instead?

Often this is the simpler route. The UK government says ashes can be taken home as hand luggage or in a suitcase in a special unsealed box, and that you need the police no-objection letter. Check your airline's rules and those of the destination country.

For flights to the US, TSA allows cremated remains in carry-on and checked bags, but the container must be something X-ray can see through, such as wood or plastic, and officers will not open it. Some airlines do not allow cremated remains in checked bags. Our guide to shipping cremated remains covers the options.

What happens at the other end?

The receiving funeral director handles customs clearance and transport to the cemetery, crematorium or service.

In the US, the CDC requires a death certificate stating the cause of death for remains that are not cremated or embalmed, with an English translation attested by a notary if it is in another language. All non-cremated remains must arrive in a leak-proof container. Cremated and embalmed remains have no CDC permit requirement. The funeral home must also give you its General Price List under the FTC Funeral Rule, so you can compare its prices.

In the UK, the receiving funeral director's letter of acceptance is part of the paperwork you carry. You do not have to register the death in the UK, but the UK government says you still need to tell UK authorities.

What to do next

1. Call your embassy or consulate and the person's insurer, and ask the employer about its cost responsibility.
2. Get an itemized written quote from a UAE funeral director your embassy recommends, and line up a funeral director in the destination country.
3. Decide between repatriation, local burial or cremation, and ashes, and get the police no-objection letter that matches your choice.
4. Keep the originals and make extra copies of every document, then read our wider guide to what to do after a death overseas.