Repatriating human remains is complicated due to various legal, health and statutory regulations and requirements. It can also be a costly process. Despite the complexity and expense associated with repatriating a dead body from New Zealand to another country, foreign nationalities residing in New Zealand still have their last wish to be buried in their home countries. This trend saw 199 bodies were repatriated from New Zealand between 2015 and 2016 alone. Repatriation expenses include repatriation processing costs, transportation cost and funeral director fees expenses. So cost vary from case to case. For example, airplane charges depend on combined weight of the casket and the body and the distance. Funeral Directors’ charges may also vary. 1) Get a funeral director in New Zealand to help process the paperwork and processes for repatriation whilst body is in New Zealand. You can get help to find a suitable international funeral director from the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ). 2) Get a funeral director in the receiving country to take over repatriation process and possibly burial in receiving country. 3. Contact receiving country consular / embassy for clearance (if this is a requirement in the receiving country) 4. If the deceased had insurance (a funeral cash plan or travel insurance), contact the company to see eligibility to claim repatriation expenses. 1. In New Zealand, body embalmment is a legal requirements and therefore you have to get an embalmment certificate, to be provided for by the funeral director. 2. Death certificate (certified copies) 3. An airline confirmation to repatriate the body is needed 4. DEFAT clearance is a requirement 5. Medical and Coroner documentation 6. Document translation may be required in some cases 7. An appointed Consignee responsible for the body once it arrives in receiving country. 8. Your chosen funeral director will accordingly advise of any further documents on a case by case basis, If you go into a funeral home for viewing, religious or any other purposes, your personal details would be taken by the funeral directors for purposes of a contact tracing directory. Details include; There are a lot of Africans living in New Zealand. There are slight variations in repatriation requirements by receiving countries. Boady Repatriation From New Zealand
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