Guidance

Ghana: bereavement information

Updated 27 March 2024

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. You should contact local lawyers for independent legal advice.

GHANA: bereavement information

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 & Development Office (FCDO), 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.

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.

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 & 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.

In Ghana, there is no statutory definition of next of kin. The closest that can come to a definition is the reference to a member of the family under Section 14(9) of the Wills Act, 1971 (Act 360), which sets out a list of persons who are deemed members of the family of the person who died. The courts have the jurisdiction to determine any issue relating to the estate of a person who died (Testate or Intestate). Same sex partners or spouses cannot be recognised under local law as next of kin.

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 only be available to the 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.

Local authorities usually communicate any further developments to the consulate who then passes on information to family of the deceased. Although local authorities will have the ability to make international calls, they are unlikely to do so and will route all information through the British High Commission. No information is withheld from the family.

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. The insurance company may have a list of approved funeral directors to help you make arrangements, or be able to cover some of the costs including cost of repatriation, which is the process of bringing the body home; Insurance providers may also help with medical, legal, interpretation and translation fees.

If the person who died had insurance, the insurance company will appoint a funeral director both locally and in the UK.

If you are not sure whether the person who died had insurance, check with their bank, credit card company or employer.

If the person who died did not have insurance, the next of kin or a formally appointed representative will usually have to appoint a funeral director and will usually be responsible for all costs. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office cannot help with any costs.

In some cases, funeral directors and lawyers may provide services on a pro bono basis. Pro bono work is done for free or for a reduced cost depending on your circumstances. This is decided on a case-by-case basis.

Appointing a funeral director

Following the death of a British national in Ghana, the next of kin, or a formally appointed representative, must decide whether to repatriate them to the UK, or carry out a local burial or cremation.

If you decide to bring the person who died to the UK for a 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 Ghana, you can find a list of funeral directors in Ghana.

It is important to remember that if the person who died was travelling with a tour operator, they can be a valuable source of assistance and advice. The next of kin should also be aware that all hospital bills should be paid before the body can be released.

We appreciate that the next of kin may not always live in the UK. Repatriations can be organised to most countries in the world.

The international funeral director will liaise with local undertakers to ensure that all necessary requirements are met in Ghana. When the person who died is to be repatriated, their remains must be embalmed and placed in a zinc-lined coffin. Local undertakers in Ghana are equipped to carry out these procedures. A local civil registry death certificate, plus the doctor’s death certificate (indicating cause of death), a certificate of embalmment, and a certificate giving permission to transfer the remains to the UK is required for repatriation. This will be arranged by the international funeral director or locally appointed funeral director.

Registering the death and obtaining a death certificate

You will need to register the death with the local authorities in the country where the person died. Sometimes a local funeral director can do this for you. You will usually need documents about you and the person who has died, which include information such as full name, date of birth and passport number.

You do not need to register the death with the UK authorities. The local death certificate can usually be used in the UK for most purposes, including probate. If it is not in English, you will need to obtain and pay for an official translation.

You must register the death with the Birth and Death Registry in Ghana to obtain a death certificate. You can do this yourself or appoint a funeral director to do this on your behalf.

To get a death certificate, you will need:

• the passport of the person who died
• the Cause of Death certificate- the hospital where the person died issues this within a week
• the post-mortem report, if the person died outside a hospital
• your passport

If the person who died suffered from an infectious condition, such as hepatitis or HIV, you must tell the local authorities, so they can take precautions against infection.

Post mortem examinations (autopsies)

Post-mortems are normally performed when the cause of death is unknown, unnatural, sudden or violent. Post-mortems are carried out by forensic doctors appointed by the court. Cultural or religious sensitivities may not be taken into account. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office cannot stop or interfere with the process.

In Ghana, government-appointed pathologists carry out post-mortems in a hospital. You may need to pay for the post-mortem, and should check what the cost will be.

During a post-mortem, small tissue samples and organs may be removed and retained for testing without the consent of the family. You will not automatically be told if this happens. You can request a post-mortem report from the pathologist.

Mortuary facilities

Mortuary facilities in Ghana are adequate but not of the same standard of those in the UK. It is possible for the next of kin or family to view and identify the body of the person who died.

Cold storage facilities are only readily available in larger towns. The fact that there are cold storage facilities in larger towns will have no impact on obtaining certificates required to repatriate the body. There is usually a fee for mortuary facilities in Ghana.

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 funeral director will usually be able to explain the options available, 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 either a private or government owned cemetery. A ceremony can be organised by the funeral director or a registered celebrant. You can make specific arrangements, depending on your cultural and/or religious beliefs.

Cremation is possible for foreign nationals in Ghana. If you are thinking of arranging a local burial or cremation, a burial or cremation certificate must be obtained. There are no regulations in Ghana to the local scattering of ashes, but given the sensibility of Ghanaians in matters relating to death, care must be taken about locations where such ashes are dispersed. Please seek advice from your local funeral director.

If you choose local cremation and wish to take the ashes back to the UK yourself, you can usually do so. Check with your airline or funeral director what documents you need to provide, restrictions, requirements and whether you can carry the ashes as hand luggage. When leaving Ghana with human ashes you will need to:

• show the certificate of cremation
• fill in a standard customs form when you arrive home

If it is not possible for you to transport the ashes yourself, a funeral director will be able to make the necessary arrangements. The FCDO provides a list of UK-based international funeral directors.

Bodies that will be repatriated to the UK must be embalmed and placed in a zinc-lined coffin. Embalming usually takes place after a post-mortem. To bring the body to the UK you will need:

• a death certificate
• an export licence

The funeral director will be able to explain the local process on how to obtain an export licence.

In Ghana, it is possible for a body to be donated to medical science. Family of the deceased can decide to arrange body donation through a local funeral director or an international funeral director. If family cannot afford to pay for a funeral, the body will be part of a mass burial.

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.

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.

Personal belongings found on the person who died at the time of death are given to the police if the family is not present.

If you choose to repatriate the body, instruct the local funeral director to collect all personal belongings from the police or court and send them together with the person who died.

If there is an investigation into the death, clothing may be retained as evidence and will not be returned until the court case is finished.

The FCDO cannot help with the cost of returning personal belongings to the family.

Please note, the British High Commission in Ghana cannot take responsibility for the personal belongings of the person who died.

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.

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 the 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.

Child deaths

Police in Ghana will hold a full investigation into any death, and this includes deaths involving children.

Social services in Ghana will only be involved where a child dies in their care or where there is an allegation of abuse leading to death.

There are no special procedures for neonatal and stillbirths in Ghana. Surrogacy is not recognised in Ghana.

Deaths in road traffic accidents

Police in Ghana will hold full investigations into any death - there are no separate procedures for deaths involving road traffic accidents.

Deaths investigated as murder or manslaughter

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 how the FCDO can help with murder and manslaughter abroad.

The police, judicial inquiries, the local equivalent of coroner’s inquests usually decides if a death should be investigated as murder or manslaughter. Local police will then lead the investigation. Family should note that police in Ghana can sometimes be poor in keeping families updated. You should consider retaining the services of a lawyer to provide advice or obtain regular updates.

Prosecutions can take a prolonged period once the police have completed their investigations and passed the file to the Attorney-General’s Department.

If a suspect has been detained but then let go, they can be investigated again if there is further relevant evidence. The murder rate in Ghana is low in comparison to the UK.

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.

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

Legal Aid

There is no legal aid scheme available in Ghana.

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

Compensation

Government-led compensation schemes for victims of crime are not available in Ghana. You can find information on UK compensation for victims of terrorism overseas

Additional support

Local support organisations

There are no charities in Ghana that can provide information, support or advice to bereaved families.

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

Some UK-based charities and organisations may be able to offer assistance, support and information to people affected by a death abroad. The FCDO provides a list of UK-based charities and organisations.