What to do if someone dies in Fiji

When Someone Dies in Fiji

Fiji is one of the more manageable Pacific island repatriations for UK families. It has a resident British High Commission in Suva, the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH) as its main medical facility with more established forensic capacity than most Pacific island nations, and English-language documentation throughout.

That said, managing this from the UK without a specialist repatriation service is not advisable. The steps below set out what needs to happen and in what order.

Step 1: Immediate Notifications

1. Call the British High Commission Suva — this is the first official step. They will appoint a consular officer to the case and begin the process of local liaison.
2. Call the FCDO Emergency Travel Line in London: 020 7008 5000 (available 24 hours).
3. Appoint a specialist UK repatriation company. They will take over coordination with the local funeral director, hospital, and documentation authorities.

If the death occurred in western Fiji, Lautoka Hospital has the relevant facility. For all other areas, CWMH Suva is the main pathology location.

Step 2: Outer Island Deaths

If the death occurred on the Yasawa Islands, the Mamanuca Islands, or anywhere in the Lau Group, the body must be transferred by inter-island boat or charter aircraft to Viti Levu (the main island) before any documentation can proceed. This transfer phase takes one to three days depending on the location and available transport. It is the main cause of timeline extension in Fiji repatriations.

Step 3: Police Report and Post-Mortem

All unnatural deaths — accidents, drownings, cardiac events abroad — require a police report. For deaths where the cause is not immediately clear, a post-mortem at CWMH Suva is required. Routine natural-cause deaths may avoid full post-mortem, but this is determined by the attending doctor and police.

Step 4: Scuba Diving and Water Activity Deaths

Fiji is a major international dive destination. Diving deaths — from decompression incidents, equipment failure, or drowning — require specialist forensic examination. There is no hyperbaric recompression chamber of national significance in Fiji. Decompression illness requiring treatment must be evacuated to Australia or New Zealand; by the time it becomes a repatriation case rather than a medical emergency, the individual has usually died.

Post-mortem in these cases involves specific examination protocols that may require waiting for an available forensic pathologist with relevant experience.

Step 5: Documentation

1. Death certificate from the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry, Suva.
2. Police closure report.
3. Post-mortem report (where applicable).
4. Ministry of Health export permit.
5. Embalming to IATA standards with accompanying certificate.
6. Air waybill and cargo documentation.

Step 6: Cargo Routing

All cargo connections to the UK operate via Sydney (Fiji Airways or Qantas) or Melbourne, with onward connections from Australia to London Heathrow. Auckland (Air New Zealand) is also used. There are no direct Fiji-UK cargo options. Transit times from Nadi (NAN) to Heathrow are typically 28 to 36 hours.

Further Information

• Repatriation from Fiji overview
• Bringing ashes home from Fiji
• British High Commission Suva — contact details