Repatriating without the right passport

The official regulations of the country where the person passed away, and where the person is being repatriated, both have to be observed and respected. So what happens when you receive a repatriation request back to a country where the deceased is not a national, and is not in possession of the appropriate passport?

Recently our international operative was faced with such a request, involving repatriation from the UK back to Belarus. However, the deceased had a Russian passport and therefore did not meet the official criteria for repatriation in accordance with Belarus regulations.

At Rowland Brothers International, our operations team will always take on any challenge in order to assist a grieving family in getting their loved one repatriated home for their funeral and final resting. We will explore every possibility, and if we can find a way, we will always go the extra mile to complete the request.

Negotiating with the embassy

Our international operative made an appointment with the Belarusian embassy to discuss the matter and find a solution to allow repatriation to take place. Family members were not present in the UK; however, they confirmed that their loved one, although not possessing a Belarusian passport, did hold a residency permit for Belarus.

The embassy agreed to have the family in Belarus telephone them so they could discuss the matter directly – and then subsequently they would contact us to communicate if they would grant permission for the repatriation to take place or not.

Arrangements were made for this phone call to take place, and the Belarusian embassy agreed based on the valid residency permit that they would allow the repatriation and would issue a special transit permit for entry to Belarus.

Arranging a land-based transfer

Due to the current international situation, there were no flights available for a direct repatriation to Belarus. Therefore, our international operative reached out to our overseas funeral agent in Poland for assistance with a road transfer from Warsaw to the final destination in Belarus. This was agreed, and the Belarusian embassy issued a transit permit and sent it directly to the Polish embassy in London.

Our international operative then proceeded to follow all of the formalities with the official translation of all documents: obtaining the apostille of documents with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and arranging an appointment at the Polish embassy to collect the transit permit for repatriation to Belarus via Poland.

This particular case involved a postmortem by our UK-based coroner, and the transportation of the deceased’s luggage alongside the coffin. The timeline was longer than a straightforward repatriation due to all the circumstances surrounding the case.

Preparations were carried out in London

Collection of the deceased, the embalming and preparation for transfer, the placement of the deceased in the coffin, and transfer of the coffin and luggage to Heathrow Airport were all completed by the Rowland Brothers Funeral Home premises in Croydon. Our international operative ensured that all procedures were completed in time for the flight.

The deceased and their luggage arrived in Warsaw, where they were collected by our overseas funeral agent in Poland, and delivered the next day to the family in Belarus for final funeral arrangements.

The family thanked our international operative and everyone involved for all of the time spent resolving matters, the effort and patience of all throughout and the excellent handling of the repatriation arrangements in getting their loved one home for final resting. Another successful RBI repatriation completed by our team.