When a Foreign National Dies in the United States: Consulates and Sending Remains Home

When someone who is a citizen of another country dies in the United States, the family faces a second set of questions on top of grief. Whose rules apply? Should the person be buried here or sent home? This article explains who gets notified, what consulates do, and what families usually need. Rules differ a great deal by country, so it uses two countries as examples. It is not immigration or legal advice.

Who tells the consulate?

Usually local officials. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual says that notification of a foreign embassy or consulate in the United States of a foreign national’s death is generally done directly by local medical examiners, coroners, law enforcement officials, or other authorities. Article 37 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations requires officials of the country where the death happens to give that notice “without delay.” The State Department has a standard notification sheet for this purpose. When the Department itself learns of a death, regional desk officers generally act as the main contact for foreign diplomats and consular officers.

Does a person’s immigration status matter?

For consular notification and access, the State Department’s manual says the rules apply to all foreign nationals in the United States, regardless of their legal status. This article does not give immigration advice. If you have concerns about status, ask the consulate or an immigration attorney.

What do consulates do?

It varies by country, and some do more than others. Mexican consulates say they offer guidance and support to families who want to move a body or ashes to Mexico, and they help obtain the needed documents. Several of them issue a consular visa or permit for remains entering Mexico. India’s Ministry of External Affairs says its missions stay in touch with next of kin to help with either transport or local burial, and that local procedures vary from country to country. Call the consulate of the person’s country early, since it can tell you exactly what that country requires.

What do families usually need?

A funeral director who handles international shipments, and a set of documents. Using Mexico as an example, its consulates say a funeral home in the United States and one in Mexico must be hired. The Boston consulate says the embalming certificate must be issued under U.S. rules. For ashes, it lists proof of nationality and the original death certificate, apostilled and translated into Spanish. The Albuquerque consulate says an urn also requires a visa from the consulate, and that air transport must meet each airline’s security rules.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs lists a different set for remains going to India: a power of attorney and consent from the legal heir, a clinical death certificate, an embalming certificate, a non-communicable disease certificate, the person’s passport for cancellation, and a No Objection Certificate from the Indian embassy.

A hospital family guide from Texas Children’s notes that several documents often need to be notarized by the consulate, and that the funeral director usually takes the paperwork there. It adds that airlines may require the casket to be sealed and that airline fees are typically based on the casket’s weight.

What are the first steps?

These are our suggestions, not requirements:

1. Contact the consulate or embassy of the person’s country, even if officials have already notified it.
2. Ask your funeral home whether it ships internationally, and ask for an itemized price. See Choosing a Funeral Home Right After a Death.
3. Decide with the family whether to bury or cremate here or to send the person home. Under U.S. state law, the right to make these decisions usually belongs to the next of kin in a set order. For one state’s rules, see Who Can Authorize Cremation in Texas.
4. Order enough certified death certificates and ask the consulate which copies, translations, or apostilles it needs. See Getting Death Certificates.
5. Keep every receipt.

What if the death was sudden?

A medical examiner or coroner may take charge first, which can delay release of the body. See Coroner vs. Medical Examiner and Who to Call in the First 24 Hours After a Death.

What does it cost?

We did not find an authoritative published price range, so we do not give one. Costs depend on the distance, the preparation, the container, the permits, and the airline. Federal rules require U.S. funeral homes to give itemized prices, including for forwarding remains, so ask for them in writing. See Can You Negotiate Funeral Costs? and, if money is a concern, County and Indigent Burial.

What about ashes?

Cremation changes the logistics, but some countries still require paperwork or a consular visa for ashes, as Mexico does. See Traveling With Cremated Remains.

Where can I learn more?

For deaths that happen far from home in either direction, see What If Someone Dies Out of State or Abroad?, which covers a U.S. citizen who dies overseas. For cultural customs, see Latino Funeral Traditions.