What to do after a British person dies in Mozambique
Find out about local procedures, burials and cremations, and returning the body to the UK.
If you are dealing with the death of a child, multiple deaths, a suspicious death or a case of murder or manslaughter, call +258 21 35 60 00.
Contacting the travel insurance company
If the person who died had insurance, contact their insurance company as soon as possible. Insurance providers may help to cover the cost of repatriation. Repatriation 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.
What to do if the person who died didn’t have insurance
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, a relative or a formally-appointed representative will usually have to appoint a funeral director and be responsible for all costs. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides a list of UK-based international funeral directors.
The FCDO 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.
Charities and organisations that offer support
Some UK-based charities and organisations may be able to provide help and information to people affected by a death abroad. The FCDO provides a list of UK-based charities and organisations.
Mortuary facilities
Mortuary facilities can vary throughout Mozambique. While most major towns and cities have mortuaries with temperature-controlled storage facilities, these may not be available in rural areas.
Registering the death and getting a death certificate
You must register the death in the country where the person died. In Mozambique, deaths are registered at the local Civil Registry Office, part of the Ministry of Justice in Mozambique. It is a legal obligation to register a death. An official Mozambican death certificate is usually released within 48 hours after its request.
If the death occurred in a hospital, the hospital will produce a ‘medical death certificate’. This should be taken to the Civil Registry Office, which will issue the official death certificate. A local funeral director can do this on your behalf.
If the death occurred outside a hospital, the local authorities will produce a police letter or a community leaders’ letter which can be submitted to the Civil Registry Office, instead of a medical death certificate.
The death certificate will be issued in Portuguese. You will need to obtain and pay for an official translation, the FCDO provides a list of English-speaking translators in Mozambique.
You do not need to register the death in the UK. The local death certificate can usually be used in the UK for most purposes, including probate.
If you wish, you can register the death with the Overseas Registration Unit (ORU). You can buy a UK-style death certificate, known as a Consular Death Registration certificate. The ORU will send a record to the General Register Office within 12 months.
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.
Dealing with a local post-mortem
Post-mortems are carried out by forensic doctors appointed by the court. Cultural or religious sensitivities may not be taken into account. The FCDO cannot stop or interfere with the process.
All foreign nationals who die in Mozambique must have a post-mortem. If you are the next of kin, you must pay for the post-mortem or ask the funeral director to pay for it as part of their service.
A local coroner will carry out the post-mortem and issue a post-mortem report. The fee for the post-mortem is 25,000 Meticais. The fee for the report is 1,000 Meticais.
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.
If a post-mortem was carried out in the country where the person died, you can ask for a copy of the report by contacting one of the following:
- your local UK coroner if you bring the body back to the UK
- the British embassy in Mozambique
- the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK
If you bring the body back to the UK, the UK coroner will automatically assume responsibility and open an inquest. The coroner can investigate the cause of death, and help with translation and interpretation of any medical findings.
Bringing the body home
If the person who died had insurance, find out if their insurance provider can help cover the cost of repatriation. Repatriation is the process of bringing the body home. If so, they will make all the necessary arrangements.
If the person who died is not covered by insurance, you will need to appoint an international funeral director yourself.
Local authorities will ask for photo identification of the person who died. The address of the funeral director in the UK will also need to be given to the local funeral director.
You will also need:
- the death certificate issued by the Civil Registry Office
- embalming certificate, prepared by the funeral home
- Certificate of transfer, if the person died outside Maputo, and their body needs to be moved within the country
- Repatriation permit, issued by the local Public Health Department. Funeral directors can have this issued and notarised on your behalf.
Locally issued certificates are in Portuguese, therefore translations are necessary if you wish to repatriate the body.
Repatriations normally take 8 to 10 days to complete. Local funeral directors are able to provide the special caskets necessary for international transportation.
Finding an international funeral director
A relative or a formally-appointed representative must appoint a UK-based international funeral director for the person who died to be repatriated to the UK. The FCDO provides a list of UK-based international funeral directors.
Local funeral directors will work with UK-based international funeral directors to make sure all the necessary requirements are met both locally and in the UK. This includes providing documents such as a local civil registry death certificate, a certificate of embalming and a certificate giving permission to transfer the remains to the UK.
Advice and financial assistance for repatriation
There are UK organisations and charities that may be able to offer assistance with repatriation.
Requesting a post-mortem in the UK
If you want to have a post-mortem in the UK after the body has been repatriated, you can request one from a UK coroner. The coroner will then decide if a post-mortem is needed. If you want the person who died to be cremated, you need to apply for a certificate from the coroner (form ‘Cremation 6’).
Bringing the ashes home
You should not have the person cremated abroad if you want a UK coroner to conduct an inquest into their death.
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 about specific restrictions or requirements, for example whether you can carry the ashes as hand luggage. To leave Mozambique with human ashes you will need to:
- show the certificate of cremation
- fill in a standard customs form when you arrive in the UK
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.
Burying or cremating the body locally
Cemeteries in Mozambique can be overcrowded and it is normal for plots to have more than one body placed in them. If this is an issue for the next of kin, the British embassy recommends that the body be repatriated to the UK.
To have a local burial or cremation, a relative or a formally-appointed representative needs to appoint a local funeral director.
The FCDO provides a list of English-speaking funeral directors in Mozambique.
The funeral director will be able to explain the local process.
Cremation is unusual in Mozambique and facilities are not widespread. In Maputo, the crematorium is basic and run by the Hindu community, although it is open to all faiths. You must submit a request to the local civil registry to cremate the body.
If a local burial or cremation takes place, there will not be a coroner’s inquest carried out in the UK.
Retrieving 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 ship them together with the body.
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.
Finding a translator
You may need a translator to help understand information from local authorities or get certain documents translated. The FCDO provides a list of English-speaking translators in Mozambique.
Finding a lawyer
You can apply to appoint a lawyer in certain circumstances, such as a suspicious death. The FCDO provides a list of English-speaking lawyers in Mozambique.
Cancelling a passport
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 need to complete a D1 form.
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.
Check you have done everything you need to do in the UK
Check this step-by-step guide for when someone dies to make sure you have done everything you need to do in the UK after someone has died. You can find information on:
- how to tell the government about the death
- UK pensions and benefits
- dealing with the estate of the person who died