When someone dies in Ghana
The process when a British national dies in Ghana, including registering the death, funerals and cremations, and bringing the person’s body to the UK.
Contacting the insurance company
If the person who died had insurance, contact their insurance company as soon as possible. Read the general guidance on what to do when someone dies abroad if you’re not sure if they had insurance.
The insurance company should appoint a funeral director in Ghana and the UK. They may also cover the cost of bringing the person’s body to the UK (repatriation) and help with any medical, legal, interpretation and translation fees.
Registering the death
The death must be registered at the local births and deaths registry office. Your funeral director can normally do this for you.
You will usually need information and documents about you and the person who has died, which includes:
- full names
- dates of birth
- your passport
- passport of the person who died
- the cause of death certificate – the hospital where the person died usually issues this within a week
- the post-mortem report if the person died outside a hospital
Getting a death certificate
After registering the death, you will get a death certificate. It’s worth asking for extra copies of the death certificate, as you might need them to show to people later.
Post mortems in Ghana
A post mortem is a medical examination of the body. There might be one in Ghana if the cause of death is unknown, unnatural, sudden or violent. In Ghana, government-appointed pathologists carry out post mortems in a hospital.
Cultural or religious sensitivities may not be taken into account. Small tissue samples and organs may be removed for testing without the family’s permission. You will not automatically be told if this happens. You can request a post-mortem report from the pathologist. You may need to pay for this report.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) cannot stop or interfere with the process of a post mortem.
Burying or cremating the body in Ghana
You need a local funeral director to arrange a burial or cremation in Ghana. Your funeral director will usually be able to explain the options available and the costs, and help you make arrangements.
It is possible to cremate the body of a foreign national. Ask your funeral director for advice if you want to scatter the ashes in Ghana and take care about where you do this.
In Ghana, it is possible to donate a body to medical science. The family of the person who died 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.
You should not have the person cremated abroad if you want a coroner in England and Wales to conduct an inquest into their death. In Scotland, a further investigation may still be possible.
Bringing the body to the UK
Ask your funeral director about options for bringing the person’s body to the UK from Ghana.
When taking the person’s body to the UK from Ghana, you will need:
- a death certificate
- an export licence
- your passport
The funeral director will be able to explain how to get an export licence.
The body must be embalmed and placed in a zinc-lined coffin to be brought to the UK. Embalming usually takes place after post mortem.
Bringing the ashes to the UK
Ask your funeral director about the rules for bringing ashes to the UK.
Bringing the ashes to the UK yourself
If you choose local cremation and wish to take the ashes back to the UK yourself, you can usually do so.
If you are taking the ashes with you when you leave Ghana, you will need to:
- show the certificate of cremation
- follow local regulations about leaving Ghana with ashes – your funeral director can give you more information
- tell the airline in advance
- fill in a standard customs form when you arrive home
Arranging for the ashes to be taken to 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. You may not be able to send them by post or courier. Ashes can be shipped by air freight, although this can be expensive.
Getting the person’s belongings back
If the person who died had insurance, check with the insurance company if this covers the return of their belongings.
Belongings the person had with them when they died are normally given to the family, or the Ghanaian police if the family is not present.
If you bring the person’s body to the UK, you can ask your local funeral director to collect all the belongings and transport them together with the person who died.
The police may keep the person’s belongings as evidence if there is an investigation into the death. They will only be returned when the court case is over.
The FCDO cannot help with the cost of returning personal belongings to the family.
The British High Commission in Ghana cannot take responsibility for the personal belongings of the person who died.
Finding a Ghanaian lawyer
You may need a lawyer to help you understand the Ghanaian legal system when someone has died. Check local lawyers in Ghana. The High Commission in Ghana cannot give you legal advice or pay for legal costs.
Telling the UK authorities
Although you do not have to register the death in the UK, when someone dies abroad you still need to tell the UK authorities. Read general guidance on what to do when someone dies abroad to find out what to do.
Contacting the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
You can contact the FCDO if you still need advice:
- in the UK call +44 (0)20 7008 5000
- see how to get help from the UK government abroad