Guidance

Grenada: bereavement pack

Updated 23 September 2024

Disclaimer

This information is provided by the British Government for the convenience of enquirers, but neither His Majesty’s Government nor any official of the Consulate take any responsibility for the accuracy of the information, nor accept liability for any loss, costs, damage or expense which you might suffer as a result of relying on the information supplied. It is not a substitute for obtaining your own legal advice.

Information Source: Consular Guidance & Local information

The death of a relative or a friend can be a traumatic experience. When the death occurs overseas, family and friends in the UK can feel additional distress as they are unfamiliar with foreign procedures and perhaps are unable to communicate in the language of the country where the death occurred. The British High Commission Bridgetown in Barbados are ready to help as far as they can. You may be uncertain about what to do next or who to contact for advice. These notes are designed to help you through the practical arrangements you will need to make. You should be aware that Grenadian 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.

Whilst care has been taken in compiling these notes, no legal liability for their contents is accepted by the British High Commission or HM Government. The use of the terms body, body parts, remains, deceased etc. are not meant to offend you in any way. We realise that we are referring to your loved one and we mean no disrespect to the person you have lost.

Standard Procedures – what happens when someone dies

When someone dies in Grenada and the next of kin is in the UK or abroad, the Grenadian authorities normally notify the British High Commission in the area where the person has died. British Consulates 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 you might also be notified about the death directly by someone else, for example a doctor, a social worker or a police officer.

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

• spouse/partner/civil partner
• adult child (over 18 years old)
• parent
• adult sibling (over 18 years old)
• an adult with sufficient relationship to the deceased
• an ex-partner is not regarded as next of kin

A relative or a formally appointed representative must instruct a local funeral director in Grenada or an international funeral director in the UK for a body to be repatriated to the UK or buried or cremated in Grenada. 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 24hr 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 pressurised 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. If there is no insurance cover, unfortunately funds for repatriation or burial will need to be met by the family. The British High Commission Bridgetown does not have budgets to meet these costs. A recommended funeral director is listed at the end of this document. In Grenada 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 driving licence, identification card or by fingerprints, dental records or DNA.

Local death certificate

Registration of the death

The Grenada Authorities will issue a death certificate in English. The documents required for the registration of a death of a non-national include Birth Certificate, proof of nationality, e.g. UK passport. Upon issue of the Medical Certificate of Death by a Registered Medical Practitioner, the certificate is taken to one of the seven District Offices and the death is registered. The official Death Certificate is then taken by the Funeral Director or family member for the official seal to be placed on the certificate and this is done at the Registrar General’s Department. This is likely to be issued within 1-2 days. Grenadian death certificates do not give details of the cause of death, as would be the case in the UK.

Deaths in Grenada may be registered with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in the UK. This form of death registration is not compulsory. However, the advantages are that a) you will have a British form of a death certificate b) a permanent and accessible record of the death will be kept at the General Register Office in the United Kingdom.

To receive a British form death certificate, an application should be made online at www.gov.uk/register-a-death. There is a statutory fee for this which is payable online when making the application.

Following the issue of the death certificate, an inspector from the Department of Health will examine the body to ensure there are no communicable diseases and verify the embalming documentation. Once this has been carried out satisfactorily the funeral directors will make arrangements for repatriation.

British passport cancellation

In order to avoid identity fraud a deceased person’s passport should be sent to the British High Commission Bridgetown together with the death certificate and D01 form or direct to HM Passport Office in the UK. The form can be obtained on the link below. Next of kin can request the passport to be returned after cancellation. Likewise, if the passport has been lost or mislaid, relatives should get in contact with either the British High Commission for instructions on reporting the loss of the passport.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-to-do-with-a-passport-when-the-passport-holder-has-died

Repatriation

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 repatriation. If the deceased was not covered by insurance, you will need to appoint a local undertaker in Grenada or an international funeral director in the UK. There are facilities in Grenada catering for Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Jewish burial. There is one crematorium at La Qua Brothers Funeral Home.

Prior to issuing death certificate, a doctor will sign a letter confirming there are no communicable diseases and an embalmer certifier verifies and signs embalming documentation. Once this has been carried out satisfactorily the funeral directors will make arrangements for repatriation.

If a local burial or cremation takes place, it will not be possible for an inquest into the death to take place in the UK. Although the undertaker cannot begin preparing the body until the local coroner has released the body, the funeral director can provide guidance and can organise the necessary local documents. Embalming, which is a more complicated procedure, is optional and is more expensive. Please note that in the case of a sudden death, when a UK Coroner might request an autopsy in the UK, embalming might hinder some of the autopsy results.

If the decision has been made to cremate locally and the next of kin wish to transport the ashes to the UK in person this is possible. We advise to check in advance with the airline about specific airline restrictions. If the ashes are being shipped (either by air or sea) than the local funeral home would make all the necessary and arrange with the UK funeral home to collect them. If someone is travelling back to the UK, then the remains must be in their carry on and on them, they must have the death certificate and the cremation certificate to allow travel.

Clothing and personal belongings

The International funeral directors do not accept personal effects as a matter of course. The Directors will arrange for the deceased to be repatriated in the clothes they were wearing. In the case of a tourist with no accompanying companion or friends, the hotel will usually be asked to liaise and return personal effects to the next of kin.

Local burial

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.

Local cremation

If you are thinking of arranging a local cremation, please take advice from your local funeral director. There is one crematorium at La Qua Brothers Funeral Home in Grenada and it is also able to host funeral services, you can make specific arrangements with your funeral director depending on you cultural and/or religious beliefs. If you decide to cremate the body and are not repatriating the ashes, there are several options available to you. The cremation ashes can be strewn or buried in the Garden of Remembrance at La Qua and Brothers Funeral Home. The crematorium has nitches where urns may be place but these are on a rental basis and if not renewed periodically the ashes will be strewn or buried. The alternative is to remove the cremated ashes from the crematorium in a suitable urn for disposal elsewhere. This maybe burying in a grave or strewing the ashes in some favourite spot. If the next of kin wishes to transport the ashes back to the UK.

Autopsy/post-mortem

In Grenada a post-mortem is carried out to establish the cause of a sudden death. Post-mortems are usually carried out within 2-3 days from the deceased being placed in the mortuary. A copy of the death certificate is provided to the next of kin.

A copy of the post-mortem report is not usually provided to the family. In order to obtain a copy of the report, a request must be made to the appropriate authority and a discretionary fee is charged. The British High Commission can request a copy on behalf of the next of kin, although it is more usually done on behalf of the local British Coroner conducting an inquest into the death.

There have been no documented cases of a hospital or mortuary seeking to retain organs of foreign persons, either with or without the consent of the next of kin. There are mortuary facilities at the Grenada General Hospital, which maintains a limited number of cold storage areas. The two funeral directors in Grenada maintain cold storage areas also and, except in a case where mass casualties may arise, these facilities are adequate.

Inquests

The Coroner, who is a magistrate, will investigate deaths that are ‘unnatural’ such as accidents, suicides or homicides; deaths that have occurred in prison or in care, or have unknown causes. A coroner will investigate the circumstances surrounding the death to find out the identity of the deceased person, when and where they died, how they died and the medical cause of death. In the event of a suspicious death, or death due to a road traffic accident, the local Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is called to the scene to carry out a full investigation to determine the cause of the death. The case is then referred to the Chief Magistrate who then authorises the District Doctor to visit the scene to verify the death. The funeral home is then contacted by the police to remove the body. The magistrate makes the decision on which pathologist is to carry out the post mortem. After the post-mortem, the report is submitted to the magistrate who then authorises the release of the body to the family. If an inquest is required the report would not be released until after that had taken place. If the police are unable to establish a criminal cause of the death, a magistrate will order a coroner’s inquest. Coroner’s inquests can be slow and, in certain cases, can take up to two years before they are completed. The coroner will compile a report. This is not usually provided to the family, but the British High Commission may request a copy on their behalf. If the Police believe criminal activity is involved they will complete the investigation and pass the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions Office (DPP). When/if the DPP is satisfied there are grounds for prosecution, a preliminary enquiry will be opened in the magistrate court. Both the prosecution and defence are invited to give evidence. When the enquiry is completed the magistrate will assign the case to the assizes in the High Court. The prosecution can request that a committal be made on papers, however the defence counsel must agree to this. The police do not normally pass a copy of their investigative file to the family and requests from the British High Commission to obtain such files have been turned down in the past.

Legal aid

Grenada placed a reserve on the right to free legal assistance when acceding to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973. Therefore free legal assistance does not exist in Barbados. Defendants may make a case to the Court for legal assistance but approval is rare and usually limited to cases of murder involving family members.

Compensation

As far as we are aware, there is no Government criminal compensation scheme in existence in Grenada. The family can take legal action in cases of wrongful death. In such cases, the magistrate could authorise compensation payment by the perpetrator up to EC$5000, or the case could be taken to the High Court where there is no financial limit. This can be a slow process in Grenada. Release of Information

Access to information concerning a death is restricted until a Coroner has reviewed the evidence such as post-mortem and police reports. The Grenada authorities will usually not provide this information directly to next of kin, or to third parties, including our High Commissions, until after the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. The release of any information can take several months and in some more complicated instances, years.

Organ donation

There is no organ donation program currently in Grenada.

Donation of bodies to medical science

In Grenada it is possible to donate a body to medical science after death but the intention to donate must have been formally registered with the appropriate Ministry of Health, the deceased, prior to death. It is not possible for next of kin to make that decision after someone dies. If the deceased has registered to donate it is still possible for the next of kin to refuse to comply with those wishes as the beneficiary (the hospital or nominated university) is unlikely to accept a body in the event that this would distress the family.

UK coroners

The Coroner in England and Wales is obliged by law to hold an inquest into the cause of any unnatural or violent death of a person whose remains lie in his or her area, even if the death occurred overseas and a post-mortem has already been carried out before repatriation of the remains to the UK. Coroners may order a second post mortem (i.e. subsequent to the first post mortem carried out abroad), as part of the inquest and it is at this stage that families are often made aware that organs have been removed and not replaced. Coroners can request copies of post-mortem and police reports from the Barbadian authorities via the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. However, these will only be provided once any judicial proceedings are completed. In some instances this can take many months. UK coroners can compel witnesses to give evidence from England and Wales but not from abroad.

In Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) deals with the investigation of all sudden, suspicious, accidental, unexpected and unexplained deaths which occur in Scotland. However, the COPFS does not have the jurisdiction to investigate deaths that occur outside Scotland apart from in a few limited circumstances. Generally, those circumstances include terrorism, cases where the death may have been caused in Scotland but the person died outside Scotland and cases where the death was as a result of murder or culpable homicide caused by another British citizen or subject.

Coroners in Northern Ireland are not obliged to hold an inquest into cause of death. However, next of kin can apply for a judicial review if no inquest is held. There will be no Coroner’s inquest when the remains are buried or cremated locally. Further information about the role of UK Coroners is available on the FDCO publication: Guide for Bereaved Families.

Local funeral homes

The following list covers the two funeral homes in Grenada please note that both funeral homes handle repatriation to the United Kingdom.

La Qua Brothers Funeral Homes
Director: Thomas LaQua
P.O Box 240
Cemetery Hill
St. George’s
Tel: 1473 440-2302/2208/3282
Mobile: 1473 409-5034

Email: ,laqua@spiceisle.com>

Otway Bailey Funeral Home
Director: Clinton Bailey
Managing Director: Nicholas Bailey/Lesley Bailey
The Careenage
St. George’s
Tel: 1473 440-0532

Email: otwaybailey@gmail.com