Death Abroad

In case of serious illness or death of a Bulgarian citizen abroad, the Bulgarian foreign mission can assist by providing medical transfer for the ill, repatriation of the deceased, cremation or funeral abroad. The disposition with the body, the way and place of the funeral is performed according to the will of the deceased. In case there is no last wish (will) or it cannot be established otherwise, the right to disposition with the body is transferred to a spouse, children of age, parents, siblings of the deceased person. If there are no closer heirs, this right is given to the person with whom the deceased lived together with to their death.

In case of an application of the relatives of the deceased, the Bulgarian foreign mission can assist the transfer of the body or the urn with the ashes to Bulgaria. The repatriation of the deceased person from abroad can be done if all costs for the repatriation are covered by the relatives by depositing the sum in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or presenting the payment document for the transferred sum in the Bulgarian embassy (by the relatives or the insurance company).

When repatriating the coffin with the mortal remains it shall be accompanied by a Death Certificate issued by the local authorities (legalized by the Bulgarian embassy respectively) or if such a document cannot be issued at the time of repatriation – a certificate of the death issued by the embassy. Based on this document the municipality according to the permanent address of the deceased shall issue a Death Certificate.

In some countries cremation is obligatory according to the local legislation. In others due to religious reasons cremation and further transportation of the urn is impossible. In addition, due to meteorological reasons in some countries the deceased person cannot be transported in a coffin.

If necessary, the Bulgarian foreign mission can undertake preliminary actions to keep the legacy of the deceased by for instance making an inventory, taking stock and sealing the property. This holds especially in those countries where there is no administrative inheritance proceeding as well as in the cases when the heirs are incapable of disposing with the property of the deceased.

In case of money transfers, especially in the British and American world, generally money shall not be transferred through cheques as they do not have protection against unlawful payment. In cases of such money transfers SWIFT /Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication/ set up in 1977 by Western financial institutions has been well established.