Death of a close family member

If a close family member has died outside Finland, you can get advice for the burial, cremation and transport arrangements from the local Finnish diplomatic mission. You can find the contact details of Finnish diplomatic missions on the website Finland abroadOpens in a new window..

Contact the insurance company of the deceased person to check whether they had an insurance policy covering transport to Finland.

If the deceased person is transported to Finland, the transport is usually organised by the funeral home assigned for the task by the close family members.

The expatriate and tourist ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church are also available for help (in Finnish)Opens in a new window..

The close family members of the deceased person must take care of numerous practical matters, such as baggage, emptying of the deceased person’s dwelling or closing of their bank accounts. You can conclude an agreement on these matters with a local agent or a local law firm. You can request contact details of local law firms from the Finnish diplomatic mission in the country.

Declaring a death occurring in a foreign country is the task of a local doctor or the local police. The cause of death is investigated and the deceased person is handled in accordance with the legislation of the country in question.

The Finnish diplomatic mission is notified of the death by the local authorities or a local hospital. The diplomatic mission may also be notified of the matter by a tourist guide or a local funeral home. The Finnish diplomatic mission will notify the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which will forward the information to the police department of the deceased person’s home municipality. The police will notify the close family members of the deceased person unless the family members have already received the information through other channels.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency must be notified of a death that has occurred outside Finland so that the day of death can be entered in the Population Information System. If the deceased person was a Finnish citizen, the notification can also be made to the Finnish diplomatic mission.

You must attach to the notification the original copy of the death certificate supplied by the authorities of the country of death or an extract from the population register containing the details of the death. You may have to legalise the foreign document or have it translated. The purpose of the legalisation is to verify that the party issuing the document has the right to issue it.

Legalisation and translation of foreign documents – Digital and Population Data Services AgencyOpens in a new window.

The family members of the deceased person can also ask a local funeral home to request, translate and legalise the official death certificate.

The deceased person can be buried in Finland or in a foreign country. If the deceased person is buried in Finland, the transport arrangements are the responsibility of the funeral home selected for the task by the family members or an insurance company. Both a foreign and a Finnish funeral home can take part in the transport, in which case they agree on the arrangements between themselves. Two different funeral homes can be used: one for the transport and another for the funeral arrangements.

The deceased person can be transported to Finland in a coffin or an urn. In both cases, the family members or the funeral home responsible for the arrangements should contact the police of the deceased person’s last home municipality or the police of the municipality where the deceased person will be buried.

Investigating the cause of death is the responsibility of the authorities in the country of death. The burial can take place after the deceased person and the accompanying documents have been handed over to the funeral home. No separate burial permit is required.

When a deceased person is transported between countries, the legislation of the country of departure is observed. For example, not all countries hand over a coffin or an urn to a private person for transport.

If the deceased person is buried outside Finland, assistance for the funeral arrangements is provided by local expatriate and tourist ministers. For information on arranging a funeral in a foreign country, visit the website of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (in Finnish)Opens in a new window..

The practices and legislation concerning funerals (such as the length of time between the death and the funeral ceremony) vary from country to country.

If the deceased person had an insurance policy covering transport to Finland, the expenses are paid by the insurance company. Travel insurance usually covers the cost of transporting the deceased person from the foreign location to their home municipality in Finland or the cost of the funeral held in the foreign country. The insurance company is also responsible for the transport arrangements.

If the deceased person did not have any insurance policy covering the cost of transport to Finland, the estate or the family members are responsible for the costs. The transport costs can be substantial.

If the deceased person is transported to Finland at the request of the Finnish authorities, the transport costs are paid from public funds.

If the deceased person’s family members do not see to it that the deceased person is buried, cremated or transported to Finland, the Finnish diplomatic mission in the country of death will contact the local authorities. In such cases, the deceased person is buried or cremated in accordance with local practice.

If the deceased person does not have any assets or insurance policy and the family members do not pay the burial or transport costs, the authorities in the country of death will bury the deceased person in a grave of unknown persons.

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