Guidance

Colombia: bereavement pack

Updated 13 August 2024

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.

1. 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 Foreign, Commonwealth & 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.

2. How to contact the Foreign, Commonwealth & 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 & Development Office in London on 0207 008 5000

If you are not in the UK, you can find the contact details of the nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate

The priority of the Foreign, Commonwealth & 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.

3. 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, as well as a family liaison officer.

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

We recommend that either the appointed person or the Next of Kin carefully reads this guide to take into consideration the relevant steps from the UK and other country, given that the next of kin may not be in a position to digest all this data. 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 Colombia and the next of kin is in the UK or abroad, Colombian authorities normally notify the British Embassy.

The British Embassy can also be contacted by the International Affairs Team from the Prosecutor’s Office, whether there is an investigation to determine the cause of death, aiming to find the next of kin. The British Embassy will do whatever they can to trace the next of kin as soon as possible and will ask the UK police to pass on the sad news, at any day/nightime.

If the next of kin’s contact details are available or known by Colombian authorities such as the Local Police, DIJIN (Central Directorate of the Judicial Police and Intelligence) or Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office), they might also contact the next of kin directly. There have been unfortunate cases when local officials contact the next of kin in the UK directly (via email, phone, text or even social media). We understand this can be extremely upsetting for the family.

The next of kin might also be notified about the death directly by someone else, for example a hotel manager, a doctor, a social worker, or a police officer abroad.

In Colombia, the next of kin can be any relative of the person who died (legal partner, parent, children, and other relatives) or a formally appointed representative. Same sex partners or spouses are recognised under local law.

Next of kin should be aware that Colombian procedures differ significantly to those in the United Kingdom and that, while we understand your need for arrangements to be made quickly, this is not always possible due to the identification processes and local laws.

Colombian authorities might ask for proof of next of kin, the designated person or to the family liaison officer, aiming to establish the connection with the deceased.

Colombian authorities might ask for proof the person being the next of kin, the designated person or the family liaison officer, aiming to establish the connection with the deceased.

3.1. Steps for the next of kin

Please note that, for historical reasons related to the country’s conflict, procedures related a repatriation or death can appear long and bureaucratic compared to the UK.

You must ensure that you have all the necessary paperwork before you arrange a burial, cremation or repatriation.

Following the death of a British national in Colombia, their next of kin, or a formally appointed representative, must:

• comply with the local authority’s process to formally identify the deceased. See numeral four on this guide for further details

• check if the deceased was covered by travel insurance, it is important for the next of kin to contact the insurance company without delay. If there is no insurance cover, the cost of repatriation or burial will need to be met by the family. Neither the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office nor our Embassy in Colombia have the budget to meet these costs. See numeral five on this guide for further details

• designate a local undertaker in Colombia and a funeral home in the UK. The local undertaker will make arrangements on your behalf, they will obtain and oversee the required paperwork based on your instructions. If there is an insurance policy in place, the UK insurance company and designated UK funeral home will instruct the local undertaker and will co-ordinate the relevant payment. If there is not an insurance payment, we recommend that you discuss payment method and deadline as soon as possible, to avoid unnecessary delays. See numeral six on this guide for further details

• decide whether to repatriate the deceased to the UK or carry out a local burial or cremation. Consular Staff in London will pass on to the Embassy in Colombia the wishes of the next of kin about repatriation or local burial, and details of who is taking responsibility for the costs involved. We will do our best to ensure these wishes are carried out. See numeral eleven on this guide for further details

3.2. Release of information to next of kin

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development 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, such as the Prosecutor assigned to the case, once they have provided their contact details and their consent to be contacted directly. They may be able to provide you with details of others who can advocate on your behalf such as lawyers, charities, or other organisations.

Colombian authorities do not often have the ability to make international calls to inform next of kin of developments in the UK.

With the next of kin’s consent, Consular Officers would request information about the investigation developments to the International Affairs Team from the Prosecutor’s Office and to the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office). However, the release of any information in Colombia can take weeks or months, the documents will be in Spanish and will often be available only to the family or a formally appointed representative.

The locally appointed funeral director might also follow up on the developments and would keep the family informed. 

We may put you in touch directly with the forensic officers or Prosecutors assigned to the case when you have further enquiries, yet they will not always speak English. In these cases, we ask the next of kin in the UK or abroad, or the formally appointed representative or third party, to have an interpreter or a friend who speaks Spanish. An indicative list of local private interpreters can be found here.

There is information that might be withheld from the family if there is an active investigation after the death, as a result of the circumstances associated to it. The Prosecutor’s Office would classify the information as ‘reserved’ and might not be released to the Consular Officers, nor the next of kin during the investigation stage.

4. Identification

Following the death of a British national in Colombia, their next of kin, or a formally appointed representative or third party, must comply with the local authority’s process to formally identify the deceased.

In Colombia, all deaths require formal identification. All identification procedures are based on the principle of comparison between pre-mortem and post-mortem data relating to a person. This means that the next of kin will need to supply evidence to confirm the deceased’s identity. This can be done by supplying one or all the following options suggested by the Colombia’s Coroner’s Office:

• the fingerprint records of the deceased. The Consular Officers often signpost Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office) to contact Interpol Colombia, which will contact Interpol UK, to confirm if fingerprints are available with the purpose of identifying the deceased. The British Embassy does not get involved in such processes. The requests can take days or weeks

• a complete dental record. Following the request of the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office), the Consular Officers would contact you, the formally appointed representative or third party, to find and provide, when available, panoramic radiograph and/or dental x-rays, to be shared for the full identification processes according to local laws. The Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office) advises families to inform them directly or via the Consular Officers as soon as possible, whether the loved one had any dental treatment or any particularities that might be significant for identification processes. These processes might take days or weeks

• DNA samples from a close relative (usually the mother or father, or child of the person who died). Following the request from the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office), the Consular Officers would contact you, the formally appointed representative or third party, to provide: a DNA test result or a sample from a close relative. To comply with local requirements, we may put you in touch directly with the forensic officers, yet they will not always speak English. These processes often take several months

Due to the above, the identification processes in Colombia can take several weeks if there is insufficient evidence to confirm the deceased’s identity or whether the requests made by Colombian authorities to the families take longer than expected to be actioned. You should bear in mind that unfortunately, it is not possible to start the repatriation arrangements without formal identification completed by Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office).

5. 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 & Development Office cannot help with these costs.

6. 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 & Development Office produces a list of international funeral directors based in the UK

If you decide to hold a funeral or cremation in Colombia, you can find a list of funeral directors here

You will need to contact the funeral director directly and request their services. The most commonly used undertaker in Colombia is Funeraria Gaviria. Funeraria Gaviria is a well-equipped company, used to working with foreigners, and has at least one English-speaking staff member.

Once a local undertaker has been selected, you will need to send an authorisation letter (Power of Attorney) directly to them, or through the British Embassy Colombia. You might need to include a copy of the next of kin’s passport attached to the authorisation. This is to confirm kindship with your beloved one. The local undertaker will then be in charge of obtaining all the required paperwork locally. 

The Power of Attorney should specify what procedures in Colombia the local funeral director must carry out and it should include the full name and ID number from a representative from the local funeral director. The Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office) will not accept an authorisation letter addressed to a funeral company.

If your loved one had insurance, the insurance company may assign a funeral director in the UK and then in Colombia to liaise directly with them. The local authorities will need to be told if the person suffered from an infectious condition such as COVID-19, hepatitis or HIV so they can take precautions against infection.

7. Registering the death and obtaining a death certificate

Once the Colombian Prosecutor’s Office has issued a notarial document in Spanish confirming the death, you will need to register the death with the local authorities in the country where the person died. A local funeral director can do this for you, since they are familiar with the local procedures. You will usually need documents about you as next of kin and the person who has died, which include information such as full name, date of birth and passport number.

In Colombia, the following list of people have the duty to report a death:

• the surviving spouse
• the people who live in the house where the death occurred
• the doctor who attended the deceased in their last illness
• the funeral home that leads the burial processes
• the director or administrator of the barracks, convent, hospital, clinic, asylum, jail or public or private establishment where the event occurred
• the police authority that finds a corpse of an unknown person or that is not claimed

You must first obtain a “positive death certificate” (certificado de defunción positivo), issued by a doctor, in order to officially register a death at the Registry Office (only available in Spanish).

The following list of translators is provided by the British Embassy for your convenience, but neither His Majesty’s Government, nor any official of the Consulate, take any responsibility for the competence or probity of any translator on the list or for the consequence of any legal action initiated or advice.

The death certificate can only be issued and will be valid once the death has been registered.

The next of kin, any friend, relative or the funeral director can request the death certificate. It is important to complete this process within 2 days after the death.

This certificate is free of charge, and it usually takes around 2 days to obtain. It will be issued in Spanish and these certificates no longer include de cause of death.

The next of kin, any friend or relative can request a [copy of the death certificate.] (https://www.registraduria.gov.co/Registro-de-defuncion.html)

We recommend that the death certificate is also legalised (apostilled) in Colombia, so it can be valid internationally. This can be done by the local undertaker or by any person in Colombia, using the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia’s website. Having this apostille is usually a requirement in the case of a repatriation.

8. UK death registration

You do not have to register the death of a British national that occurs overseas with the UK authorities. This is not mandatory and cannot be used instead of a local death certificate from the country where the person died. However, if you wish to do so, you can find more information on registering a death and apply online. The local death certificate can usually be used in the UK for most purposes, including probate. You will need to obtain and pay for an official translation.

9. Postmortem examinations (autopsies)

Under Colombian law, an autopsy is mandatory in the event of a violent death or a death where the cause is still to be established. In these cases, a post-mortem examination must be carried out. Autopsies are generally classified as Medical-legal and Clinical. They are medical-legal when performed for judicial investigation purposes and are clinical in all other cases.

Among the main objectives of the medical-legal autopsies are the following:

a) to establish the causes of death, the existence of associated pathologies and other particularities of the individual and his/her environment

b) to provide the necessary information to fill in the death certificate

c) to verify or establish the time of death

d) to help establish the circumstances in which the death occurred and the manner in which it was produced (homicide, suicide, accident, natural or undetermined), as well as the mechanism or agent of death

e) when applicable, establish the probable time of survival and the events or attitudes of possible occurrence during this period, taking into account the nature of the injuries causing death

The autopsies referred to in this Decree shall be performed as soon as possible after the time of death.

It is not normal for human organs and tissue to be removed, but there is a ruling for the donation of organs and tissues for teaching and research purposes (according to current national legislation, Law 9 of 1979, Law 73 of 1988, Decree 786 of 1990 and Resolution 002640 of 2005 from the Ministry of Social Protection). In practice though, the Colombian authorities will not apply this ruling to foreign nationals, without consent.

The results of the Post-mortem examination should be issued within 45 working days of the death. However, it can take longer depending on the death circumstances and the progress of the investigation. Some cases have taken up to 4 months.

Post-mortem examinations might take longer due to delays on completing the identification processes mentioned on numeral seven.

All the documents will be in Spanish only and they will be available to the family. In some cases, copies are sent to the British Embassy for internal records.

Given that the death certificate does not contain information on the cause of death, the results of the autopsy will not alter the death certificate.

Once the Post-mortem examination processes have been completed, two documents are issued:

1. an Individual Death Certificate, which has the characteristics of being unique, individual, and clearly specifies the identity of the deceased and the place and date of death. In addition to other information for statistical purposes

2. an autopsy protocol containing detailed results of the examination of the corpse results of the examination of the corpse. A clear determination of the cause and of death and the doctor’s opinion on the manner of death

10. Mortuary facilities

The main cities in Colombia will have good mortuary facilities where the body will be kept until the next of kin is informed. However, rural areas or smaller cities have very limited mortuary facilities (some none at all) and a decision of what the next of kin wants to do with the person who died, will need to be made quickly.

It is paramount that the next of kin proceeds quickly with the local requirements of the formal identification of the deceased, as well as with the appointment of a local funeral home, who can transfer the remains to Bogota as soon as possible.

There are no costs of keeping the person who died at the mortuary, however local authorities will sometimes pressure Consular Officials and also the next of kin, to make a decision quickly, due to limited spaces in certain areas or adequate refrigeration.

11. Burial, cremation, repatriation

The next of kin of the person who has died will usually need to decide between a local burial, cremation or bringing the person home, which is known as repatriation.  Your local funeral director will usually be able to explain the options available, the costs, and help you make arrangements.

You will need to clearly instruct your selected local funeral director for local burial, cremation or repatriation. Local funeral directors are often well-equipped companies, used to working with foreigners, and have at least one English-speaking staff member. For all local arrangements, the designated local undertaker will be in charge of gathering all the documents.

Local burials are possible for foreign nationals and your local selected funeral director will usually be able to explain the options available, the costs, and help you make arrangements. Please note if a local burial or cremation 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.

If you decide to select the cremation option, you will need to obtain an authorization from the Prosecutor leading the investigation seeking to establish the cause of death.

It will only be possible to choose cremation, if the cause of death is deemed to be a natural death. Please note that repatriation of ashes is done only if the person died of a natural cause.

If the person died of natural causes, the undertakers in Colombia will arrange for all the paperwork and the process.

In the case of natural deaths, burial may be replaced by cremation of the corpse in approved crematoria. Cremation is not permitted in cases of violent death. However, if a complete autopsy has been performed, which must be certified by the medical examiner and the type of case assessed, the authority may authorise cremation.

Whether it was not natural death the Judicial police pathologists and the appointed forensic doctor must undertake an autopsy in order to establish the cause of death and are also responsible for carrying out preservation work. In violent deaths, it is compulsory to carry out a forensic autopsy of the corpse in order to convert it into forensic and judicial evidence. Once the local requirements of the formal identification of the deceased have been completed and the Prosecutor leading the investigation confirms that the body can be released, you will need to appoint a local funeral director, send an authorisation letter (Power of Attorney) directly to them, or through the British Embassy Colombia (see numeral six for further reference), and share your wishes with them about local burial, cremation or repatriation. Your beloved’s body can also be donated to medical science in Colombia. Please contact the Consular Officials at the British Embassy Colombia if this is something you wish to consider.

Please note that local burials or cremations procedures and requirements vary depending on the current circumstances in the country or the world (i.e. a pandemic or civil unrests). Please consult all details with local funeral director for further details.

12. Repatriation and burial of ashes/remains

Most funeral directors in Colombia provide an embalming service to preserve a body before repatriation. This cost is already included in other funeral arrangements.

If the deceased was covered by travel insurance, the insurance company will normally have a standing agreement with an international funeral director in the UK to arrange repatriations. If the deceased was not covered by insurance, next of kin will need to appoint an undertaker in Colombia or an International funeral director themselves (See numeral 10 for further reference).

The British Embassy Colombia does not provide any authorisation nor documentation associated to carry out with the repatriation of the remains or ashes from British Citizens who die in Colombia.

If the next of kin decides to repatriate the remains, they will have to send written consent to repatriate or release the individual to the local undertaker.

Once a local undertaker has been selected, you will need to send an authorisation letter (Power of Attorney) directly to them, or through the British Embassy Colombia. You might need to include a copy of the next of kin’s passport attached to the authorisation. This is to confirm kindship with your beloved one. The local undertaker will then be in charge of obtaining all the required paperwork locally. 

The Power of Attorney should specify what procedures in Colombia the local funeral director must carry out and it should include the full name and ID number from a representative from the local funeral director. The Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office) will not accept an authorisation letter addressed to a funeral company.

The local transportation of the human remains is arranged by the local funeral director. The body would normally be transferred to Bogota, from where the repatriation to the UK would take place.

In some cases, family members can travel with the ashes as hand luggage, rather than cargo (in which case the above airfare does not apply). This must be requested directly with the funeral director. It is important to note that the funeral director will need full details of the family’s planned itinerary including any transit stops, in order to arrange the necessary paperwork. Ashes are provided in a sealed urn with the necessary paperwork for travel.

The Colombian authorities have strict procedures regarding the identification of bodies. The law requires bodies be identified via fingerprints, dental records or DNA tests. Please note that if these are not available, repatriation of ashes/remains will take longer.

13. Return of personal belongings

If the person who died had insurance, check with the insurance company if this covers the return of their personal belongings.

If there is an ongoing investigation to determine the cause of death (i.e. murder or manslaughter), the personal belongings from the person who died (such as personal documents, clothing, bags, mobile phone and/or bank or personal cards) will be stored by the Prosecutor as part of the evidence.

If you have been in direct contact with the Prosecutor leading the investigation, you can ask them when the belongings would be released and ready for collection. Consular officials can also support you with this.

Consular officials can request that the Prosecutor shares an inventory of personal belongings with the Next of Kin, family and/or relatives. You can also do that if you have been in contact with the Prosecutor.

Once the Prosecutor has confirmed that the belongings are ready for collection, which can take weeks or months, the next of kin, family or relatives will usually need to pay an international courier company. If an appointed funeral director is repatriating the deceased, they can send the personal effects at an extra cost. Funeral directors will not send mobile phones or any electronic devices. The funeral director will arrange another way to get these objects to you (i.e. courier).

You may decide to travel to Colombia to collect the deceased’s belongings. You will need to provide proof of kindship (i.e. passport, birth certificate) to be able to collect all the items, including electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers or tablets

Families can raise concerns or complaints directly to the local authorities, funeral home, insurance company or through the British Embassy consular officials.

Please note, the British Embassy Bogota cannot take responsibility for the personal belongings of the person who died.

14. 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 when someone dies

You can find information about UK pensions and the Department for Work and Pension contact details in the following links:

• International Pensions Centre
• pensions if you retire abroad

For any queries to the International Pension Service, please refer to:

State pension

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 218 7777
Textphone: +44 (0) 191 218 7280 British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

15. British passport cancellation

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

The form and instructions on where to send passport 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.

16. Death of a child

There are no specific procedures for the death of a child. Funeral directors will be able to provide all the information updated about these specific cases.

Child deaths are not investigated differently from adult deaths, except for such cases that include necropsy protocols, depending on the case and its circumstances, which are responsibility of the Colombian judicial system.

There is no specific authorisation required for burial, cremation or repatriation of a child’s body if the family is in Colombia and can sign the temporary custody of the body at the cemetery. When the family is unable to complete the in-person forms and/or claim the body, the child may be buried days later by the Funeral Home.

If the case is a foetal deaths or unregistered new-borns, the medical death certificate is registered under the parents’ name (mother’s name predominately). The procedures for neonatal and stillbirths are to get the medical certificate of death or the death certificate in cases where the birth certificate has been registered and, the burial or cremation permit. In the case of cremation, the mother’s authorisation is required if the child was not registered or one of the parents authorisation, if the child was registered.

Surrogacy is still an unregulated matter in Colombia. All subjects related to these cases has been merely jurisprudential and there are still loopholes. Funeral Directors advise surrogate mothers to notify British parents to accompany the whole process after the death of a child.

Funeral Directors offer bereavement therapy as social support services to those who require it. They are usually part of a social support network with different governmental bodies that provide support for the provision of funeral services, for instance in cases where there are no financial resources, among others.

17. Deaths in road traffic accidents and deaths investigated as murder or manslaughter

In Colombia, if a death is considered suspicious or linked to a road traffic accident, the Prosecutor’s Office will request to the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (Colombia’s Coroner’s Office) to analyse the cause of death. Once the cause of death has been established, the Prosecutor’s Office will decide if the legal process should be closed or remain open for further investigation.

If the police apprehend a suspect and the State decides to prosecute, the following is likely to happen:

• arrest generally leads to detention in a police cell. In theory, individuals should be charged within 36 hours, although they may be held without charge for 3 or 4 days

• Colombian law requires that individuals be charged in front of a criminal prosecutor within 36 hours of being detained

• by law, the remand period should not exceed 6 months

• at the first hearing before a prosecutor individuals should be notified of your rights. After the Prosecutor has reached a decision, he has between 18 to 24 months to resolve the case

If the local police have confirmed that they are investigating the death as a murder or manslaughter, a dedicated team within the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will be available to provide support, including by referring you to a specialised organisation. You can find more about helping British people abroad in cases of murder and manslaughter

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.

18. 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 His Majesty’s 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 the person who died is cremated and only their ashes are brought home, there will not be an inquest.

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

19. Legal Aid

If the individual (next of kin, family, relatives) cannot afford a private lawyer, Prosecutor leading the death circumstances should appoint a public defender, but the quality varies and they usually only speak Spanish. The quality and response from the public defendant vary and they usually only speak Spanish. There are some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Colombia with lawyers who are prepared to work for free.

We can give you the following list of local English-speaking lawyers available here.

You will want to consider the benefits of local legal representation and to discuss all the costs beforehand with the legal representative. In no circumstances can we pay your legal or interpretation costs.

20. Compensation

You can find information on UK compensation for victims of terrorism overseas www.gov.uk/compensation-victim-terrorist-attack

21. Translation and interpretation

The official language in Colombia is Spanish. All official documents will be issued in Spanish.

Not all local authorities will have English-speaking staff members nor will feel comfortable sharing information in English with the next of kin. Any relevant document that the next of kin, family, relatives or appointed representative want to share with the Prosecutor or with local authorities, should be translated to Spanish.

An interpreter will only be provided by local authorities in court for legal proceedings.

For other processes, such as the confirmation of the identity of the body, the family will need to get an interpreter or Spanish-speaking friend.

The following list of local translators is provided by the British Embassy for your convenience, but neither His Majesty’s Government, nor any official of the Consulate, take any responsibility for the competence or probity of any translator on the list or for the consequence of any legal action initiated or advice.

Additional support

22. Local support organisations

Funeral directors can guide bereaved families. Refer to the list of local funeral directors in Colombia

23. 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.