Guidance

Morocco: bereavement: death abroad

Updated 16 July 2021

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, 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.

Disclaimer

This information is not meant to be definitive, nor is it to be taken as a substitute for independent legal advice. Neither Her 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.

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 and Commonwealth Office in London on 0207 008 1500.

If you are not in the UK, see 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.

Essential information

1. 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.

When someone dies in Morocco and the next of kin is in the UK or abroad, Moroccan authorities normally notify the British Embassy in Rabat. The Consular team in the British Embassy 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 also might be notified about the death directly by someone else. For example, a local friend of the deceased.

A living partner/spouse/civil partner, a child, a parent, or an adult with sufficient relationship to the deceased (in that order), will be recognised by the authorities in Morocco.

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. 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 such as post-mortem and police reports may be restricted until the investigating judge has reviewed the evidence. The Moroccan authorities will not usually provide this information directly to next of kin, nor to third parties, including our Consulates, until after the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. The release of any information will usually take several months and in some more complicated instances, years.

If you want to apply for a copy of the post-mortem and police reports, you must apply for it yourself or through a lawyer. Once ready, the report can be made available to the family, upon request. Your appointed lawyer or the British consulate can request it in writing from the Prosecutor.

Our consular staff can provide lists of English-speaking lawyers throughout Morocco. The release of any information can take many months, and the documents will be issued in Arabic.

3. 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.

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 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.

The responsibility for paying undertakers’ fees rests with the executor of the estate or the insurance company and it is possible that before transporting a body the undertaker might ask for guarantees that the costs will be paid.

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 and Commonwealth Office cannot help with these costs.

4. 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 a local or an international funeral director. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office produces a list of international funeral directors based in the UK.

Consular authorities will liaise with them to obtain the relevant authorisation to release the body for local burial or repatriation. This is only granted once the authorisation for local burial is authorised in the country of final destination. We recommend the appointment of an international funeral director, in order to facilitate those arrangements upon arrival.

Please note that no inquest will take place in the UK if a local burial is arranged.

If you decide to hold a funeral in Morocco, please note that there is one local funeral company in Morocco who has the legal status to repatriate non-Muslim foreigners who passed away in Morocco. The company has branches in the major cities and it is called Compagnie Marocaine de Pompes Funèbres. They are equipped to carry out repatriation procedures and will provide the special coffins or caskets required for the international carriage of human remains. They will also coordinate with the consulate as well as the local authorities to arrange any necessary documentation such as a local civil registry death certificate, a certificate of embalming and a certificate giving permission to transfer the remains to the UK.

A relative/next of kin or a formally appointed representative must instruct a local funeral director in Morocco or an international funeral director in the UK for the remains to be repatriated to the UK, or buried in Morocco (cremation is not allowed in Morocco). 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.

5. 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 funeral director can do this for you

The Moroccan local authorities will issue a death certificate (in Arabic or/and French), upon presentation of a medical certificate. As this certificate will not only mention date and place of birth of the deceased, but also his/her parents’ names, it is essential that the next of kin can provide these details (including the mother’s maiden name). With this information, the certificate will be produced more rapidly.

Please note that the death certificates do not give details of the cause of death like in the UK.

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.

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.

• see list of lawyers in Morocco

• you can register a death in the UK

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 on GOV.UK.

6. Post mortem examinations (autopsies)

Post-mortems, also known as autopsies, are normally performed in circumstances where the causes of the death are not natural, or in case the deceased is a foreigner. The King’s Prosecutor will automatically request an autopsy to be carried out by forensic doctors appointed by the court, sometimes called pathologists. A doctor in a state hospital may also request a post-mortem for a death by natural causes when the cause of death is unclear. Cultural or religious sensitivities may not be taken into account.

During a post-mortem, small tissue samples and organs may be removed for testing, including toxicological studies at the discretion of the forensic doctor, without the consent of the deceased’s next of kin. You will not be told automatically if this happens. This is done in order to better understand the cause of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that might be present. It can be crucial to establish cause of death in cases where criminal or civil legal procedures may eventuate. The Moroccan authorities will not charge next of kin to conduct a post-mortem.

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.

Autopsy does not block repatriation or burial from taking place. The deceased can be buried (Cremation is not allowed) in Morocco or returned to the UK before tests on removed samples are completed. We are not aware of cases where organs have been retained.

Organs cannot be removed for any purpose other than testing without the consent of the deceased (for research) or next of kin (for transplants).

Once ready, the Autopsy report can be made available to the family, upon request. The next of Kin or the consular authorities will request it in writing from the General Prosecutor. Please note that there can be delays in obtaining a copy of the report which can take up to two months or more. The report will be issued in Arabic.

7. Mortuary facilities

In Morocco, it is not normally necessary for the deceased to be identified by the next of kin. Identification can also be carried out by means of documentation such as a passport or by fingerprints.

There are morgues in the major hospitals and in the Bureaux d’Hygiène Municipale of major cities. Smaller cities will not have cold storage facilities. Authorisation from the local authorities is needed to transfer the remains of a body to a different wilaya (administrative district).

8. Burial, cremation, repatriation

The next of kin of the person who has died will usually need to decide between a local burial, cremation (not an option in Morocco) or 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.

Local burial: if you choose to proceed with a local burial in Morocco, you will need to instruct a Moroccan funeral director. The British Consulates in Morocco can provide a list of local and international funeral directors on request. If an English-speaking firm is not available, consular staff can help you to communicate with the funeral directors in Morocco.

Please note that in Morocco ‘burial’ often means a grave. Rights to this are normally paid for once and held forever. The next of Kin has the right to arrange for a grave stone of their choice (funeral directors in Morocco can provide further information on this).

No inquest will take place in the UK if a local burial is arranged. For more information on inquests, see the information on UK coroners and inquests.

Cremation: (not allowed and not an option in Morocco)

Repatriation: if you decide on a repatriation and the deceased is covered by travel insurance, you should immediately contact the insurance company to establish if they are able to cover for the repatriation expenses and make the relevant arrangements. If the 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.

If the deceased is not covered by insurance, you will need to appoint a funeral director in Morocco or an international funeral director yourself.

Moroccan funeral directors in Morocco have links with international funeral directors in the UK and they will work well together to ensure that all the necessary requirements are met in Morocco and in the UK. They are also equipped to carry out repatriation procedures. They will also arrange any necessary documentation.

Local formalities for repatriation normally take 2 to 3 days to complete. In certain circumstances, immediate repatriation may not always be possible. Consular staff will try to tell you as soon as possible if this is the case.

9. Return of personal belongings

Personal belongings found on the deceased at the time of death are either returned to the family if they so request and if they are present, at their expense, through liaison with the Moroccan undertaker or held by the police.

If the next of kin chooses repatriation, it is advisable to instruct the local undertaker to obtain the belongings from the police or court and to ship them together with the body. If there is an investigation into the death, the deceased’s belongings can be retained as evidence and is not returned until the court case is finished.

Please note, the British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate cannot take responsibility for the personal belongings of the person who died.

10. 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 on GOV.UK.

11. British passport cancellation

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

• see form and instructions

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.

Further information

12. Child deaths

There are no separate procedures for deaths involving children or babies in Morocco. Police will hold a full investigation into any death, other than of natural causes.

13. Deaths in road traffic accidents

There are no separate procedures for deaths involving road traffic accidents.

Police or Examining Magistrate interfere in suspicious deaths and road traffic accidents.

All police/judicial documents will be produced in Arabic and/or French. The police will not make a copy of their report available to the family directly. This will only be made available through the lawyer whom the family has appointed.

The Moroccan police and judiciary systems differ from the UK systems in many ways. We cannot advise on legal procedures, and we recommend that you make enquiries through a Moroccan lawyer.

• see list of lawyers in Morocco

14. 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 organisations.

• find out more about what FCDO can do

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.

If a death is regarded as suspicious, the Police in Morocco will investigate in full. If a perpetrator is identified, they will be charged by the relevant Public Prosecutor and normally detained until the trial hearing.

The time from arrest to trial can be lengthy and in some complicated cases can take years (between 12 and 24 months).

15. 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 Her Majesty’s Coroner. Please note, an inquest will usually only happens 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.

In Morocco, the cause of death is not given on the death certificate, and coroners do not generally have access to judicial files from Morocco. Consequently, coroners may order a post-mortem as part of the inquest. Coroners can request copies of post-mortem reports but these will only be provided once any judicial proceedings are completed. In some instances, this can take many months.

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 Foreign and Commonwealth Office guide on Death Abroad.

16. Legal aid

Legal aid is not available for foreigners in Morocco.

17. Compensation

Any government scheme in murder/manslaughter/terrorism cases is decided on a case by case basis. There are no routine application procedures which might be applicable to foreign nationals that we are aware of.

• find information on UK compensation for victims of terrorism overseas

18. Translation and Interpretation

Arabic and Amazigh are the two official languages of Morocco. Documents are usually produced in Arabic and/or French. English is not widely used in Morocco. The majority of the local administration and organisations communicate in Arabic or French.

Therefore, you may need to use an official translator when dealing with Moroccan procedures.

• see list of interpreters and translators in Morocco

Additional support

19. Support organisations in the UK

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

20. List of local funeral directors

To assist persons requiring the services of an undertaker the addresses of local undertakers in Morocco are given below.

Neither Her Majesty’s Government nor Her Majesty’s Representatives abroad can act as guarantor of the competence or probity of any particular firm or agent on this list, nor take any responsibility whatsoever in regard to the consequence of employing any undertaking agent.

The responsibility for paying undertakers’ fees rests with the executor of the estate or the insurance company and it is possible that before transporting a body the undertaker might ask for guarantees that the costs will be paid.

AGADIR : CMPF

4, BD Mohammed V – Immeuble “Mauritania”
Tel : 0528 84 06 26 Fax : 0528 84 81 47
Dépôt : Av. Allal Ben Abdellah – Immeuble “Arsalane”
Tel : 0528 82 44 96.

CASABLANCA: CMPF

56, Av. Mers Sultan
Tel : 0522 49 16 16 (Ligne groupée) Fax : 0522 22 22 11
Dépôt : 272, BD de Bordeaux Tel : 0522 27 66 99

FES : CMPF

No7, rue Iyass Ibnou Mouaouiya
Tel : 0535 65 33 23

MARRAKECH: CMPF

58, Bd Mohamed Zerktouni – Gueliz
Tel : 0524 44 84 51 Fax : 0524 43 38 14
Dépôt : 13, rue Tarik Ibnou Ziad Tel : 0524 43 18 55

MEKNES: CMPF

8, rue Antsirabe –
Tel : 0535 52 09 14 Fax : 0535 52 01 94

OUJDA: CMPF

2, rue Ibnou Nafiss –
Tel : 0536 70 30 25 Fax : 0536 70 30 21

RABAT: CMPF

5, rue Soussa
Tel : 0537 70 60 17 Fax : 0537 70 90 80
Dépôt : Route de Casablanca Tel : 0537 69 23 19

TANGER: CMPF

42, rue Al Mansour Addahbi
Tel : 0539 94 10 27 Fax : 0539 32 59 50
Dépôt : 23, rue Quadiaro « Lotissement Inemex »
Tel : 0539 32 36 20

TETOUAN: CMPF

8, rue Azilal – Hay Touta-
Tel : 0539 97 40 88