If someone close to you has passed away abroad, we take care of bringing them home to Romania. You don't need to fly out, fight with paperwork in a language you don't speak, or chase a Romanian consulate on your own — we do all of that for you. From the moment you call us, we coordinate the local funeral home in the country where the death happened, the embalming and sealed casket required for international transport, the mortuary passport, the airline or road carrier, and the pickup at the Romanian airport or border. Most cases close in 3–5 business days from Western Europe, 7–14 days from the US or Canada. Total cost, all-in, lands between €2,500 and €8,000 depending on country and transport.
bringing them home — from anywhere. Illustrative image.
INDICATIVE COSTS BY COUNTRY
Repatriation duration and cost — main diaspora countries
For Romanian citizens deceased abroad, repatriation takes on average 3–14 days, with total cost between €2,500 and €8,000. Differences come from distance, transport type (road vs. air), and consular formality complexity.
Indicative repatriation costs by country
Country
Diaspora cities
Duration
Total cost
Transport
Italy
Milan, Rome, Turin, Bologna
3–5 days
€2,500–4,500
Road or air
Spain
Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia
3–5 days
€2,500–4,500
Air (preferred)
Germany
Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt
4–7 days
€3,000–5,500
Road or air
United Kingdom
London, Manchester, Birmingham
5–7 days
€2,800–4,000
Road or air (post-Brexit)
France
Paris, Lyon, Marseille
3–5 days
€2,000–3,500
Road or air
Austria · Belgium · Netherlands
Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam
3–5 days
€2,500–4,500
Road
USA · Canada
New York, Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles
7–14 days
from $4,900
Intercontinental air
Illustrative image: route planning — every repatriation has its own itinerary, set on the first call.
Illustrative image: the pickup in Romania — our team meets the flight at Otopeni cargo.
Repatriation is the legal process of shipping a deceased person across borders for burial or cremation. The rules are set by international treaties (the Berlin and Strasbourg agreements) and a layer of country-specific paperwork on top.
Practically, there are two sides to it: the side abroad — local death registration, embalming under EU or international standards, a zinc-sealed casket, the mortuary passport stamped by the Romanian consulate or the local health authority, and booking the flight or road carrier — and the Romanian side — meeting the carrier at the airport or border, clearing the deceased through customs and health authorities here, and taking them straight to the church, cemetery, or crematorium you chose. We run both sides from one phone call.
Where we bring people home from — most common routes
From Italy — by far the most frequent route, with a large Romanian community in Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, Rome and Turin. Typically 3–5 days, €2,500–4,500 all-in.
From Spain — Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Castellón. 3–5 days, €2,500–4,500. Air transport usually faster than road from southern Spain.
From Germany — Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, the Ruhr area. 4–7 days, €3,000–5,500.
From the United Kingdom — London, Manchester, Birmingham. Post-Brexit paperwork adds a day or two: 5–7 days, €3,500–6,000.
From France — Paris, Lyon, Marseille. 3–5 days, €2,500–4,500.
From Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands — Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam. 3–5 days, €2,500–4,500.
From the USA and Canada — New York, Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles. 7–14 days because of intercontinental flights and consular processing. €5,000–8,000.
From anywhere else — Israel, UAE, Turkey, Australia, etc. — call us with the city and we'll quote you within the hour.
How the process unfolds, day by day
Day 1–2: You call. We learn what happened, where the body is right now (hospital, home, morgue), and whether a Romanian consulate is already involved. We brief our partner funeral home in that country and they go pick the deceased up. You sign one power of attorney — sent to you by email — and that's enough to authorise us on both sides.
Day 2–4: The partner in the origin country handles local death registration, performs the embalming under EU or international standards, fits the zinc-sealed casket, and applies for the mortuary passport. If the death happened on a weekend, expect one extra day here.
Day 3–7: The Romanian consulate stamps the mortuary passport and issues the consular note required by the airline or road carrier. We book the flight or truck and confirm the arrival window with you.
Day of transport: We're there in person when the carrier arrives in Romania — Otopeni airport for most cases — clear customs and the health inspection, and drive the deceased straight to where you've chosen to hold the ceremony.
Day of the funeral: We organise everything in Romania — church or chapel, priest, cemetery or crematorium, wreaths, the memorial meal. You don't have to coordinate vendors or chase paperwork at this stage either.
Documents we obtain on your behalf
International death certificate, translated and legalised
Mortuary passport — the document that lets the casket cross borders
Embalming certificate matching EU or international standards
Sanitary clearance for transport, both at origin and on arrival in Romania
Consular note verbale from the Romanian embassy or consulate
Customs and health-inspection paperwork for the Romanian airport or border
Power of attorney you sign once, authorising us at both ends
How much it actually costs and what drives the price
Within the EU — Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Austria, Benelux — you'll spend €2,500–5,500 all-in. That covers the embalming, the sealed casket, every piece of paperwork, the flight or truck, and the pickup once we're in Romania. The cheaper end of the range is road transport from a close country; the higher end is air transport, urgency, or a remote starting city.
Outside the EU — the US, Canada, Australia, Asia — expect €5,000–8,000. The jump is because of intercontinental air freight, more complex consular processing, and translating documents into Romanian.
On payment: families usually pay out of pocket. Sometimes a life-insurance policy the deceased held covers part of it — we'll check that with you. The Romanian state funeral aid (9,192 RON in 2026) also applies if the person was insured or retired here; we claim it on your behalf once the deceased arrives in Romania, and it offsets the local-side ceremony costs.
Cremate abroad first — a cheaper alternative families ask about
If the deceased's wish or the family's preference allows it, having the cremation done in the country where the death happened — and then flying or shipping just the urn back to Romania — costs significantly less and is much faster. An urn isn't a casket; you don't need a mortuary passport, sealed transport, or much consular paperwork. Total cost lands around €1,500–3,000, and the urn often arrives in Romania within a week.
We can arrange this end-to-end as well — local cremation, the urn ships back, and a memorial service here. Worth asking us about if costs or speed matter for your family.
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
What families ask about bringing a loved one home from abroad
How fast can you bring someone home from Italy or Spain?
Three to five business days is normal. Day one we coordinate the pickup and start the paperwork; days two and three the partner there does the embalming, the casket, and the mortuary passport; days four and five we move the deceased to Romania and meet the flight or truck. If something stalls — usually the consulate on a weekend, or an airline delay — you'd see a day or two extra.
Do I need to fly out to handle anything personally?
Almost never. The whole point of using us is that you stay home. You'll sign one power of attorney we email you, and we run both ends. The only situations that pull family abroad are unusual ones — a death from violence, a complex autopsy, a body needing identification — and even then, we'll tell you exactly what's needed before you book any flights.
Can we just bring the ashes back instead of a casket?
Yes, and many families choose this because it's faster and cheaper. The deceased is cremated in the country where the death happened (4–7 days at a local crematorium), and the urn is shipped or flown back to Romania. Total cost €1,500–3,000 vs. €2,500–5,500 for a sealed casket. No mortuary passport needed, just a cremation certificate and travel paperwork for the urn.
What if the person who passed away wasn't a Romanian citizen?
We can still bring them to Romania, but there's extra consular work — the Romanian side needs an approval and the country of citizenship needs to release the body. Add €500–1,000 to the cost and a day or two to the timeline. We've handled mixed-citizenship cases before; just tell us the situation when you call.
Does the Romanian funeral aid (9,192 RON) apply to repatriations?
Yes, if the deceased was insured or retired in Romania. We claim the aid through assignment of rights once the deceased arrives back here. It doesn't cancel out the international cost (which is €2,500–8,000), but it covers a meaningful chunk of the Romanian ceremony side — casket, transport, pomana, paperwork.
What about the deceased's personal belongings — clothes, phone, jewellery?
The partner funeral home abroad makes a written inventory at pickup. Belongings travel separately from the body, usually by courier or via the Romanian consulate's diplomatic bag, and reach you 1–2 weeks after the funeral. Anything you'd specifically like sent (or kept), tell us at the start.
Does repatriation include a burial plot here in Romania?
No — the repatriation quote covers everything up to the deceased arriving in Romania and the funeral itself. If your family doesn't already have a burial plot, we arrange a new cemetery concession separately. Tell us where you want it (Bucharest, the deceased's home village, anywhere else) and we'll handle it.
RELATED SERVICES
Related services we provide
Funeral transport in Romania
Airport or border pickup, drive to the church, cemetery, or crematorium.
