The hours immediately following a death abroad are among the hardest any family will face. Grief and shock are real, and the practical demands that arrive alongside them can feel overwhelming. This guide is written to help you move through the first 24 hours with as much clarity as possible.
The sequence below is a general guide. Local rules, cause of death, and location will affect the specific steps in your situation.
In the first two hours
Get official confirmation of death. If the death happened in a hotel, hospital, or other facility, ask for written confirmation from the attending doctor or facility manager. If the death was sudden, outdoors, or in unclear circumstances, local police or emergency services will be involved and will issue documentation.
Do not move the body until local authorities have been involved in sudden or suspicious deaths. In many countries, moving a body before police clearance is a criminal offence. If in doubt, do not touch anything and wait for local authorities.
Gather personal documents. Collect the deceased’s passport, any insurance documents, the booking confirmation for the holiday or trip, and any medical records or medication lists you have access to. Keep these safe and with you.
Contacting the British Embassy
Contact the British Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate for the country as early as possible. The FCDO 24-hour helpline number is +44 1908 516 666 (from abroad, call 0207 008 5000 from the UK). They can provide:
- Confirmation of the consular procedures for that country
- A list of local funeral directors with repatriation experience
- Assistance notifying next of kin in the UK if needed
- Basic guidance on what to expect from local authorities
The consulate does not arrange or fund repatriation. They are a support resource, not a service provider.
Appointing a local funeral director
Appointing a local funeral director with international repatriation experience is the single most important practical step in the first 24 hours. The local director will:
- Receive the body from local authorities or the hospital
- Begin the death registration and documentation sequence
- Handle embalming preparation (required for most international transfers)
- Coordinate with the airline cargo team
- Liaise with your UK funeral director
The British Embassy list is a good starting point. A UK-based specialist repatriation service can also recommend or directly engage a reliable local director on your behalf.
Tracing travel insurance
If the deceased had travel insurance, finding that policy quickly matters. Many travel insurance policies include a repatriation benefit that covers the cost of bringing the body home. Some policies also include a benefit for one family member to travel to the location.
Check the following: the deceased’s phone for confirmation emails, their wallet or travel documents for any card-linked insurance, the booking confirmation for the holiday (package holidays often include some cover), and their bank or credit card for any travel insurance attached to a premium account.
If you cannot locate a policy, contact the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) at findabroker.biba.org.uk, which operates a tracing service for lost or unknown policies.
If a policy is found, contact the insurer’s emergency assistance number immediately. Do not wait until business hours. Most travel insurance emergency lines operate 24 hours. Report the death, get a reference number, and ask specifically what the repatriation benefit covers and what they need from you.
Notifying family and making decisions
Decide as early as possible who in the family will be the primary contact and decision-maker. In the chaos of the first hours, multiple family members giving conflicting instructions to funeral directors, insurers, and embassies wastes time and creates errors.
One person should own the communication with the local funeral director. One person should own the insurance claim. One person should own family updates. This does not mean others have no role. It means the professionals involved have a single point of contact for decisions.
What not to do
Do not book a UK funeral date. Timeline for repatriation varies from one to six weeks depending on location, cause of death, and document complexity. A funeral booking made in the first 24 hours will almost certainly need to be moved.
Do not sign anything you do not understand. Local funeral directors sometimes present agreements for services in the local language. Ask for a clear English explanation of what you are agreeing to before signing.
Do not bring personal belongings home without understanding customs rules. Some countries restrict the export of certain personal effects from a deceased person. The local funeral director or consulate can advise.
Do not post about the death on social media until immediate family have been notified. It is not uncommon for distant relatives or friends to learn of a death from social media before the family has been able to inform them directly.
A simple first-day checklist
- Get official written confirmation of death from local authorities or facility.
- Secure the deceased’s passport and all personal documents.
- Contact the British Embassy or consulate.
- Trace travel insurance and contact the emergency line.
- Appoint a local funeral director with international repatriation experience.
- Designate one family member as primary contact for each key function.
- Do not book a UK funeral date yet.
For further guidance, see our full guide to what happens when someone dies abroad and our article on how to support a family after a death abroad.