Guidance

New Zealand: bereavement information

Updated 29 April 2024

© Crown copyright 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-zealand-bereavement-pack-information/new-zealand-bereavement-guide

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 & 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.

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 1500.

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

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.

When someone dies in New Zealand and the next of kin is in the UK or abroad, New Zealand authorities normally notify the British Consulate 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 New Zealand, the seniority of next of kin is usually as follows:

  • spouse/partner/civil partner
  • adult child (i.e. over 18 years old)
  • parent
  • adult sibling
  • an adult with sufficient relationship to the deceased

An ex-partner is not regarded as next of kin.

Formal identification of the deceased is carried out by police, normally through having the body viewed by someone who knows the deceased. It does not have to be done by the 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.

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.

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.

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 or cremation in New Zealand, you can find a list of funeral directors in New Zealand: Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand.

A relative or a formally appointed representative must instruct a local funeral director in New Zealand or an international funeral director in the UK for a body to be repatriated to the UK, or buried or cremated in New Zealand. 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. Neither the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office nor our Consulates in New Zealand have budgets to meet these costs. See our separate list of UK international funeral directors and Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand. In New Zealand the funeral sector is not regulated, the largest industry group is the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand.

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. 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.

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.

In New Zealand, local undertakers will register the death with the relevant authorities and will arrange for a New Zealand death certificate to accompany the remains.

In order to register the death, the funeral director will ask you for some information.This is likely to be:

Full name of the deceased, gender, date of birth (if born outside New Zealand, town and city of birth), date and place of death, residential address, usual occupation, whether married, father’s full name and occupation, and mother’s full name and occupation.

If you need to obtain a death certificate direct from the New Zealand authorities, these are issued by the Department of Internal Affairs - Births, Deaths and Marriages Section. You can order a certificate online, by post, in person or by phone.

Postal address is:

P O Box 10526,
Wellington 6143, New Zealand
Phone number: +64 9 339 0852

Online application: Department of Internal Affairs

In person: Find nearest DIA office

The cost for the certificate is $NZ33.

You are not able to register the death at the British High Commission in New Zealand.

Post-mortem examinations (autopsies)

An autopsy, which is also known as a post-mortem, is normally performed when the death is not by natural causes.

Post-mortems are carried out by a pathologist (specially trained doctor) who will try and do the post-mortem as soon as possible – usually it’s the next working day. Where deaths need to be investigated by the coroner, the deceased will be transferred to the hospital morgue or nearest coronial mortuary, depending on location. At this point the coroner will require formal identification of the person who has died.

During a post-mortem, small tissue samples and organs may be removed and retained for testing, including toxicological studies. 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.

It is possible for the next of kin to object to an autopsy taking place or to request an external only or partial autopsy. The Coroner will take into account cultural or religious sensitivities. Coronial staff will often contact next of kin to explain the need for an autopsy and to inform them of the possible complications in the event that one is not undertaken. This can result in a death certificate having limited information as to cause of death which can impact on matters involving travel insurance and estate settlement. A body can normally be released for burial, cremation or repatriation once the autopsy is completed.

A brief autopsy report summarising the cause of death is usually available within 24 to 48 hours and is available through the Coroner’s Office.

Mortuary facilities

New Zealand mortuary facilities are of similar standard to the UK. If someone dies while in hospital, the attending doctor is able to complete a death certificate and the hospital has ensured all legal documentation and procedures are completed, the deceased can be released immediately to the nominated funeral director. However, if you wish, the deceased can be taken to the hospital mortuary to allow you more time to make decisions.

Cold storage facilities are readily available throughout New Zealand however, in rural locations where the funeral home does not have such capabilities, the deceased will need to travel to the nearest centre that does have such facilities for burial preparation.

Burial, cremation and 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, the costs, and help you make arrangements.

If you choose a local burial, you will need to instruct a local funeral director, they can make the necessary arrangements with either a private or local authority owned cemetery. You can make specific arrangements depending on your cultural and/or religious beliefs.

If you are thinking of arranging a local cremation, please take advice from your local funeral director. Most crematoriums in New Zealand are able to host a funeral service, you can make specific arrangements with your funeral director depending on you cultural and/or religious beliefs. Many local council authorities allow for ashes to be scattered in publicly owned areas, but you should contact the presiding council to comply with any local restrictions.

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 New Zealand or an international funeral director in the UK.

The majority of undertakers in New Zealand are equipped to carry out repatriation procedures and will provide full information about the process.

If the decision has been made to cremate locally and the next of kin wishes to transport the ashes to the UK in person, this is possible. Please see our death abroad guidance. We also advise to check in advance with the airline about specific airline restrictions. If the decision has been made to transport the ashes unaccompanied, you will need the assistance of a funeral director as neither New Zealand Post nor the international courier companies will carry human remains.

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.

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 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, High Commission or Consulate 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 on gov.uk.

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”.

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.

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.

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.

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 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s guide on Death Abroad.

In New Zealand, a Coroner will hold an inquiry to find out more about when and how the person has died. Inquiries are usually opened soon after the death but sometimes it can take weeks for the coroner to decide if there should be an inquiry. There has to be an inquiry in New Zealand if the person appears to have died from unexplained, violent or suspicious circumstances, such as: accidents, suicides or homicides; deaths that have occurred in prison, police custody, under a mental health compulsory treatment order, in a drug and alcohol institution or in care.

A Coroner may decide to 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. The Coroner may decide to hold an inquest to gather more information about the cause and circumstances of a death. An inquest must be held in certain circumstances, for example, if the death is in custody. In other cases, the Coroner might decide to hold an inquest if it is in the public interest. For example, where there is significant doubt about the facts or if holding an inquest might help prevent future deaths. It may take one to three years for the Coroner to release the final report.

Organ donation

In New Zealand, there is no official register to donate organs. Following a death, health professionals will ask family if they are aware of the deceased’s wishes about donation. The New Zealand driver licence indicates whether you are a donor. Please contact the Organ Donation New Zealand or a health professional to discuss further.

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 New Zealand authorities will usually not provide this information directly to next of kin, or to third parties, including our Consulates, until after the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. The release of any information will usually take several months or, in some more complicated instances, years.

Legal Aid is a New Zealand Government legal service dealing mainly with family law and criminal legal matters. They provide free legal advice as well as court representation, and grants of legal aid funds to pay for a legal aid lawyer or a private solicitor. For further information on this, or how to find a lawyer if you need one, see our list of lawyers.

If the cause of death was accidental, there may be financial assistance available from ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) to help with funeral costs. A one-off discretionary grant is available to assist eligible family who have lost a loved one to a homicide through Victims Assistance Scheme (VAS). In some cases, this grant is also available after a death which results from another criminal act for which charges have been laid by Police. Work and Income (MSD) may help if the deceased was on a New Zealand benefit or low income. Either agency can be contacted direct or by the funeral director.

Compensation

If the cause of death was accidental, there may be financial assistance available from Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) to help with financial costs.

You can find information on UK compensation for victims of terrorism overseas online.

Pensions and bereavement support payments

Spouses and civil partners of British nationals that have died may be able to get:

Additional support

The following organisations in New Zealand may be able to 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.

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