Guidance

Albania: bereavement information

Updated 31 March 2021

Disclaimer

This information is not meant to be definitive, nor is it to be taken as a substitute for independent legal advice. Neither His Majesty’s Government nor its staff take any responsibility for the accuracy of the information, nor accept liability for any loss, costs, damage or expense that you might suffer as a result of relying on the information. Some of the information may not be relevant to your circumstances. The language used is intended to be general and factual and is not meant to cause offence.

Introduction

When a relative or friend dies abroad, the different procedures, laws or language can cause additional distress. You may be uncertain about what to do or who to contact.

This country specific information is designed to help you through some of the practical arrangements you may need to make. It supplements the general information on death abroad produced by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which applies to all countries.

Please note, as each country has its own laws and customs when a death occurs, it may not be possible to make the arrangements that you prefer, or at the time you would like.

1. How to contact the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

There is a lot of information below, but you may have questions. You can speak to someone by phone 24/7, any day of the year by contacting the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London on 0207 008 1500.

If you are not in the UK, you can find the contact details of the nearest British Embassy online.

The priority of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is to provide assistance to British nationals overseas who need the most help. The level and type of assistance they can offer is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case.

2. Next of kin

The next of kin of the person who died will usually need to make decisions and practical arrangements. The next of kin can sometimes appoint another person to act on their behalf.

If you are not the next of kin, they will need to be informed. If required, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office can help you do this.

There is no legal definition of next of kin in the UK. Please note that if there is a disagreement over who is the next of kin, or the person who died did not choose a next of kin, this can cause additional complications.

When someone dies in Albania and the next of kin is in the UK or abroad, Albanian authorities normally notify the British Embassy in Tirana. The British Embassy Tirana will do whatever they can to trace the next of kin as soon as possible and would ask the UK police to pass on the sad news. However, if the next of kin is in Albania they might also be notified about the death directly by someone else, for example a doctor or a local social worker / police officer.

In Albania the seniority of next of kin is usually as follows:

• spouse / partner
• adult child (i.e. over 18 years old)
• parent
• adult sibling (i.e. over 18 years old)
• an adult with sufficient relationship to the deceased
• an ex-partner is not regarded as next of kin
• Albanian law does not recognize same sex marriages or civil partnerships, but on bereavement cases a same-sex partner or civil partner can be regarded as next of kin

3. Release of information to next of kin

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office will try to obtain as much information as possible after your relative or friend has died abroad. Some of this may be only available to next of kin. Consular officers may be able to obtain this themselves, or they may put you in touch directly with the authorities overseas. They may be able to provide you with details of others who can advocate on your behalf such as lawyers, charities, or other organisations.

Access to information concerning a death is restricted until a Coroner has reviewed the evidence such as the post-mortem report which is issued by the local Forensics. The Albanian authorities will usually not provide this information directly to next of kin, or to third parties, including our Embassy, until after the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. The release of any information will usually take up from 3 to 4 weeks but it can take longer in some more complicated instances. The Albanian authorities, due to limited English speaker’s human resources, liaise with our Embassy to pass on developments to the next of kin.

4. Insurance

It is very important to check if the person who died had insurance. If they had insurance, contact the insurance company as soon as possible. They may have a list of approved funeral directors to help you make arrangements, or be able to cover some of the costs. If the person who died did not have insurance, the next of kin will usually have to appoint a funeral director and will usually be responsible for all costs. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office cannot help with these costs.

5. Appointing a funeral director

If you decide to bring the deceased to the UK for the funeral or cremation, you may only need to appoint an international funeral director. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office produces a list of international funeral directors based in the UK.

If you decide to hold a funeral in Albania, you can find a list of funeral directors in Albania. A relative or a formally appointed representative should instruct a funeral director in Albania or an international funeral director in the UK for a body to be repatriated to the UK, or buried in Albania. However if the deceased was insured you should immediately contact the insurance company to establish if they are able to cover for the repatriation expenses and make the necessary arrangements. You may need the insurance policy number and the associated 24 hour medical emergency contact number to do this. If the travel insurance company confirm that there is a current policy, you should not appoint your own funeral director or be pressurized by local funeral agencies to do so. It will be the insurance company that will appoint the funeral director both locally and in the UK. In Albania it is not normally necessary for the deceased to be identified by the next of kin. Identification can be carried out by means of documentation such as a passport or by fingerprints or DNA.

6. Registering the death and obtaining a death certificate

Local undertakers will register the death with the relevant state authorities and will arrange for an Albanian death certificate to accompany the remains. In order to register the death the funeral director will ask for the original birth certificate of the deceased. In Albania the local authorities do not usually recognize certified copies of birth certificates but should you face issues with either the local undertaker or another local authority in Albania regarding the certified copy of the birth certificate please liaise with the British Embassy in Tirana and they may be able to send a letter to the local authorities to clarify the situation. We strongly advise requesting copies of the international death certificate when discussing repatriation arrangements with the international or the local undertaker. However if you need to obtain copies direct from the state government where the person died, contact the relevant state Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages. The local authorities will need to be told if the person suffered from an infectious condition such as hepatitis or HIV so they can take precautions against infection.

7. Consular death registration

You do not have to register the death of a British national that occurs overseas with the UK authorities. You can sometimes apply for a consular death registration. This is not mandatory and cannot be used instead of a death certificate from the country where the person died. It is only available in some countries. If you wish to do this, you can find more information and apply online.

8. Post mortem examinations (autopsies)

In Albania, autopsies are mandatory. An autopsy is always carried out when an infant dies. There are two types of autopsies carried out in Albania as per Albanian Law (No 7830 dated 15.06.1994): * clinical autopsy * forensic autopsy

Clinical Autopsy It is carried out when a person dies in a health institution and the designated Chief of Health Services requests an autopsy to determine the cause of death. If the death occurred outside a health institution or if an autopsy is not requested by the responsible Chief of Health Services, an autopsy is not carried out unless requested by the next of kin or by the person himself/herself in writing before his/her death.

Forensic Autopsy It is obligatory when ordered in writing by the prosecutor or the court to determine the cause of criminal deaths or other deaths occurring in suspicious circumstances. A Forensic Autopsy is carried out in all following cases:

• In all cases when the death has been caused by the use of violence
• In all sudden deaths, within or outside health institutions, and in all other cases when the cause of death is not known
• In all cases when infants die outside of health institutions
• In all cases when unknown persons have died or dead persons have been found in a decayed state
• In those cases when a person has died in a health institution and their relatives claim that they received either inappropriate medical treatment or an inaccurate diagnosis from doctors

If it is necessary to remove parts of organs for microscopic examination, these may be kept in the forensic archives. In cases where organs are removed for toxicology, they are normally stored in the refrigerator for 3-6 months. The consent of the family is not always obtained before organs are removed.

In the case of Clinical Autopsies, only oral explanations are given to the next of kin. In the case of Forensic Autopsies, the report is delivered to the Ministry of Justice in Albania. There is no provision for families of the deceased to apply for a copy of the autopsy report, although the Consular team at the British Embassy in Tirana can liaise with local authorities and try to obtain a copy of the report.

In some cases it may be necessary to have a further autopsy in the UK even though one has been carried out overseas and, when repatriation is to England or Wales, it is probable that the Coroner will wish to hold an inquest.

9. Mortuary facilities

The main mortuary (morgue) is located at the University Hospital Centre in Tirana (known as Q.S.U.T). The morgue has refrigeration facilities, an autopsy ward and a preparation ward. Although the mortuary in Tirana has the same basic facilities as mortuaries in Western European countries, it is less sophisticated in terms of equipment and functionality compared to UK standards. There is a fee for the use of the morgue facilities (payable in local currency).

10. Burial, cremation, repatriation

The next of kin of the person who has died will usually need to decide between a local burial and bringing the person home, which is known as repatriation. Your funeral director will usually be able to explain the options available, the costs, and help you make arrangements. If you choose a local burial, you will need to instruct a local funeral director and they can make the necessary arrangements with a government owned cemetery. A ceremony can be organized by the funeral director. You can make specific arrangements depending on your cultural and/or religious beliefs.

Cremation is not an option in Albania.

Please note if a local burial takes place, then an inquest in the UK will not be possible. For more information on inquests, see the information on UK coroners and inquests.

11. Return of personal belongings

Personal belongings found on the deceased at the time of death are either handed over to the family, if they are present, or taken by the police. If the next of kin chooses repatriation, it is advisable to instruct the local undertaker to collect the belongings from the police and to ship personal belongings together with the body. If there is an investigation into the death, the deceased’s clothing can be retained as evidence and is not returned until the court case is finished. Please note, the British Embassy Tirana cannot take responsibility for the personal belongings of the person who died.

12. Steps to take in the UK

You can find more information on the steps to take in the UK online. This includes information on arranging the funeral, telling the government about the death, UK pensions and benefits, and dealing with the estate of the person who died. There is a step-by-step guide about what to do when someone dies.

13. British passport cancellation

In order to avoid identity fraud, the passport of the person who died should be cancelled with HM Passport Office (HMPO). To do this, you will need to complete a “D1 form”.

The form and instructions on where to send it is available online.

If you plan to repatriate the person who died to the UK, you may require their passport to do this. In these circumstances, you should cancel the passport after they have been repatriated.

14. Child deaths

Prosecution in Albania will hold a full investigation into any death and there are no separate procedures for deaths involving children.

15. Deaths in road traffic accidents

Prosecution in Albania will hold a full investigations into any death and there are no separate procedures for deaths involving road traffic accidents.

16. Deaths investigated as murder or manslaughter

If the local authorities have confirmed that they are investigating the death as a murder or manslaughter a dedicated team within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be available to provide support, including by referring you to a specialised organisation. You can find more about how the FCDO can help with murder and manslaughter abroad.

Investigation procedures and the time from arrest to trial can be lengthy and, in some complicated cases can take years.

You should note that if the deceased is repatriated to parts of the UK a coroner or procurator fiscal may decide to hold an inquest. See the section on UK Coroners and inquests below.

17. UK coroners and inquests

If you repatriate the person who died to England and Wales, there may be an inquest. The decision on when to hold an inquest is made by HM Coroner. Please note, an inquest will usually only happen in certain situations, for example, when someone has died in suspicious, unnatural, and violent circumstances or whilst in detention.

If you repatriate the person who died to Scotland, the Procurator Fiscal may decide to call for a Fatal Accidents or Injuries Inquiry.

If you repatriate the person who died to Northern Ireland, there will be no coronial inquest or further inquiry.

Please note, Procurators Fiscal and Coroners do not have jurisdiction in another country, nor do they seek to apportion blame to a named individual.
You can find more information on Coroners and the Procurator Fiscal in the FCDO guide on death abroad.

18. Legal Aid

Legal aid is not available for foreign nationals in Albania however foreign citizens who would like to require legal aid especially if it’s related to criminal/penal cases can make a request to the State Commission for Legal Help in the Ministry of Justice, Albania.

For further information on this, or how to find a lawyer if you need one, see our list of lawyers.

19. Compensation

There is no government compensation scheme in Albania.

Information on UK compensation for victims of terrorism overseas.

20. Translation and Interpretation

Lists of English speaking translators and interpreters in Albania.

21. Additional support

21.1 Local support organisations

There are no charities that support bereaved families in Albania.

21.2 Support organisations in the UK

In the UK, there are many organisations that can help bereaved families. Some of these are listed in the guide coping with death abroad.

24. Annex

List of local funeral directors