The Italian Consular authorities provide assistance when repatriating human remains and ashes of Italian citizens who pass away abroad.
Please note that the flight to repatriate human remains and ashes SHALL BE BOOKED ONLY AFTER that the General Consulate issues the mortuary passport.
Once the family of the decedent hires a funeral home, the funeral home must send an e-mail including the name of the decedent in the subject line (following this example: MAIDEN NAME – MARRIED NAME, Firstname: human remains / ashes) to assistenza.newyork@esteri.it, attaching all necessary documents (listed below) as a PDF file, before obtaining Apostilles.
The Consulate will inspect the documents and request the authorization to the Comune of final destination.
Once the Consulate receives the authorization, it will make an appointment for the Funeral Home to bring in the apostilled originals (obtained in the meantime) and a money order to cover the consular fees.
The current amount for the consular fees is available here.
List of required documents
- For repatriation of human remains
- 2 long-form Death Certificates with Apostille. Please note that married women’s maiden name MUST show.
- 1 complete and accurate translation of the long-form Death Certificate, for the purpose of registering the death certificate in Italy.
- proof of citizenship. For an Italian citizen: Italian passport (even if expired) with visa or permanent resident card, and birth certificate, if available. For naturalized U.S. citizens: old Italian passport, or the naturalization certificate, and birth certificate, if available). This is necessary for the purpose of registering the death certificate in Italy.
- 1 apostilled medical certificate on doctor’s or hospital’s letterhead, stating the cause of death.
- 1 apostilled Health Department certificate related to the presence of communicable diseases in the area where the death occurred.
- 1 apostilled affidavit from funeral home director (please use template, on your letterhead).
- 1 data sheet (please fill out our form accurately)
- death certificate registration form to be signed by a member of the decedent’s family.
- For repatriation of ashes
- 2 long-form Death Certificates with Apostille. Please note that married women’s maiden name MUST show.
- 1 complete and accurate translation of the long-form Death Certificate, for the purpose of registering the death certificate in Italy.
- proof of citizenship (for an Italian citizen: Italian passport with visa or permanent resident card; for naturalized U.S. citizens: birth certificate with the old Italian passport, or naturalization certificate). This is necessary for the purpose of registering the death certificate in Italy.
- 1 apostilled cremation certificate.
- 1 data sheet (please fill out our form accurately)
- death certificate registration form to be signed by a member of the decedent’s family