Funeral repatriation from India
Bringing someone home from India
We arrange everything in India and the flight home, wherever home is, and send you one written quote before anything is booked.
- Typical time
- 4 to 6 weeks
- Local documents
- 14 to 30 days at least, often 4 to 6 weeks
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What is different about India
- The police are involved in most cases. A No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the local police is needed before the body can leave.
- Post-mortem examinations are common when the person who died was a foreign national.
- Embalming needs to happen quickly in the heat, and the best facilities are in the large cities.
- Delhi and Mumbai are the main cargo hubs, and many routes connect through the Gulf.
What can take longer
- A pending police investigation, which holds up the NOC
- Procedures that differ from state to state
- National and state public holidays
- The monsoon, June to September, in some regions
Typical time 14 to 21 days in a straightforward case, 4 to 6 weeks for most, and 8 to 16 weeks or longer with a post-mortem or investigation.
Documents usually needed
- Indian death certificate
- No Objection Certificate from the local police
- Police report
- Post-mortem report, if one was carried out
- Embalming certificate
- Freedom from infection certificate from the health authority
- Passport and visa details of the person who died
- Airline cargo documents
You do not need any of these to ask for a quote. We tell you what is needed for your case, and the funeral director where they died obtains most of them.
What we arrange
- Collection from the hospital or mortuary
- Mortuary care, and embalming where it is required
- A coffin suitable for air transport, usually zinc-lined
- Local registration and the export documents
- The cargo flight, with the airline's human remains service
- Collection at the arrival airport and delivery to your funeral director or chosen funeral home
If your family prefers, we can arrange cremation where they died and send the ashes home. Cremation and ashes
What it costs
From further afield, repatriation typically costs £5,000 to £12,000, sometimes more. Bringing ashes home costs much less. Cremation is widely available in India, where it is the usual Hindu and Sikh practice.
Within Europe
£3,000 to £7,000
For example from Spain, France, Greece or Italy.
From further afield
£5,000 to £12,000 or more
Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australasia.
Bringing ashes home
Often £1,000 to £3,000
After cremation where they died.
Typical ranges from published UK funeral sector guides (2026) for routes to and from the UK. Routes between other countries are often in a similar range but can differ. Figures in pounds sterling. Your written quote is the figure for your case. What affects the cost
If they had travel insurance
Many travel policies cover repatriation. Some insurers want to approve the provider and the cost before anything is booked, so tell us who the insurer is. You can send our written quote to them for approval first.
Faith and timing
If your faith asks for burial within a day or two, ritual washing, or cremation by the family, tell us at the start. We plan around it as far as the local authorities and the airline allow, and tell you plainly what the timing will be.
How it works
Tell us what has happened
Where they died, where home is, and how to reach you. Documents are not needed for the quote.
We reply within the hour
By email, day or night, with the few details we still need.
We check the requirements
The official rules for leaving the country where they died and for arriving home, and any faith or timing needs you tell us about.
You receive one written quote
It sets out what is included and what is not. Nothing is booked until you accept it.
We arrange everything
When you accept, we tell you which funeral directors are carrying out each stage. Then we arrange the documents, the coffin for air travel and the flight, and keep you updated until they arrive home.
Bringing someone home from India
Send the details any time, or message us on WhatsApp. Asking costs nothing.