Death abroad

Suppose a loved one dies abroad. At such a distressing time, amid your grief, you will also have to arrange many practicalities. Staff at embassies, consulates and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can assist you in this difficult situation. They will give you advice and information and can refer you to support organisations.

A friend or relative dies while you are abroad together
A friend/relative dies abroad - you are in the Netherlands

A friend or relative dies while you are abroad together

If a friend or relative dies while you are abroad together, you should get in touch with the Dutch embassy or consulate, your travel organisation or the local police. They can tell you what steps to take.

To assist you as effectively as possible, the embassy or consulate needs to know as much as possible about you and the deceased, specifically:

full name;
date of birth;
passport number;
when and where the passport was issued;
the deceased’s last known address;
the names of the deceased's next of kin (other than yourself);
the time and cause of death;
travel insurance details.

Registering the death

You have to register the death of your deceased friend or relative in the country where he/she died. To bring the body of the deceased back to the Netherlands, a document (laissez-passer) has to be provided by the local authorities in the locality where the death occurred. You will receive this document after a local undertaker has issued a certificate stating that the statutory regulations for transporting mortal remains have been complied with.

If the local authorities will not issue a laissez-passer, the Dutch embassy can mediate. To do so, it will require the following information:

an extract from the register of deaths;
a doctor’s certificate concerning the cause of death;
a declaration by an undertaker or a public authority that the transport of the mortal remains has been arranged in accordance with the relevant regulations.

What the embassy or consulate will do

Contact

The embassy or consulate will maintain contact with friends and relatives of the deceased in the locality. And via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it will keep friends and relatives in the Netherlands informed of the situation.

Travel insurance emergency support centre
If the deceased had taken out a travel insurance policy, you should contact the travel insurance emergency support centre (alarmcentrale), which will ensure that the body is transported to the Netherlands and the associated expenses paid. In some countries, it will do so in cooperation with the embassy or consulate.

No travel insurance

If the deceased had no travel insurance, his/her family or friends will be expected to pay the expenses associated with the death abroad. If the family or friends are unable to pay these expenses, the authorities in the country where the death occurred will pay for the burial. In such a case, it will be impossible to bring the body back to the Netherlands. The burial or cremation will take place locally in accordance with local custom.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will receive information about the burial or cremation, such as the date, the place, the grave number and the address of the cemetery.

Local information

The embassy or consulate can give you a list of local undertakers and an estimate of the cost of a local burial or cremation. It will also give you information about transporting the body and sending the deceased’s property to the Netherlands.

Accident or crime

If the cause of death was an accident or is in doubt, the embassy or consulate may apply to the local authorities for copies of the medical, autopsy or police reports. The embassy or consulate cannot investigate a suspected criminal offence. It has to abide by local law. But it can put you in touch with a lawyer.

Money matters

The embassy or consulate can help transfer money from family or friends of the deceased in the Netherlands. But it cannot pay the expenses of the burial or cremation or of transporting the body to the Netherlands.

A friend/relative dies abroad - you are in the Netherlands

Reporting the death

When a embassy or consulate is informed that a Dutch national has died in its locality, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague will immediately contact the police in the Dutch municipality where the deceased resided. The local police will inform the next of kin.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do everything it can to ensure that you learn of the death before it is announced in the media. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

Wishes

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will inform the embassy or consulate what you want to be done regarding the body. But it is not always possible to carry out your wishes. In some countries, for example, cremation is prohibited.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will keep in touch with you until the deceased has been buried or cremated abroad or until the body has been returned to the Netherlands.

Finally…

The death of a loved one abroad can cause emotional distress. Local customs, language problems, and having to wait a long time before the body is released do not make it any easier. But you can rest assured that the staff at embassies, consulates and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs understand how you feel and will try, however possible, to help you as effectively as they can.

To a certain extent, the interests of Dutch nationals abroad can be represented by honorary consuls, usually local business people who, in addition to their normal activities, represent Dutch interests in a certain geographical area. Most honorary consuls are not Dutch nationals and therefore do not speak Dutch.

If there is no Dutch mission in the country you are in, you can contact the embassy or consulate of another member state of the European Union.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Consular Affairs Department
Social Consular Affairs Division (DCZ/CM)
Postbus 20061
2500 EB Den Haag
Tel.: +31 (0)70 348 4770
Fax: +31 (0)70 348 5256