How repatriation from the Netherlands works
It all starts with a phone call. We take over coordination with our partner in the Netherlands, who collects the deceased, carries out the embalming required for international transport, and prepares the coffin.
The Dutch death certificate (overlijdensakte) is obtained from the local administration (gemeente) of the locality where the death occurred. To transport the coffin across the border, a transport authorization is required (laissez-passer / verlof tot vervoer van een lijk), issued by the competent Dutch authority. If the local authority does not issue it, the authorization can be obtained through the diplomatic mission.
The Netherlands is a party to the 1937 Berlin Arrangement on the international transport of the deceased, like Romania. For the coffin to enter Romania, the Romanian side also requires the acceptance of the cemetery administration where the burial will take place, in line with local public-health rules.
The Dutch transport authorization
The key document of repatriation from the Netherlands is the authorization to transport the body across the border (laissez-passer / verlof tot vervoer van een lijk). It describes the identity of the deceased, the coffin, the route, and the destination, and allows the coffin to leave the Netherlands.
The authorization is issued once the death certificate (overlijdensakte) and the embalming certificate are presented. If the death was sudden or unexplained, the case may pass through the forensic doctor, which can add a few days. Our Dutch partner obtains the authorization directly, without the family needing to travel.
How long it takes and what it costs
For most cases from the Netherlands, repatriation takes 3–5 days from the first call to arrival in Romania. The total cost, between €2,500 and €4,500, covers embalming, the transport-compliant coffin, the Dutch documents, the transport authorization, and door-to-door transport.
The price difference comes from the departure region and from any storage fees, if document preparation takes longer. The road journey through Germany, Austria, and Hungary takes around a day and a half to Romania's western border. We give you a firm estimate from the very first call.
Cities and regional specifics
We repatriate from anywhere in the Netherlands. Most cases come from the Randstad area — Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht — home to the largest part of the Romanian community, but we also cover Eindhoven, Groningen, and Maastricht.
Because the Netherlands is a small, well-connected country, internal distances are short, and our local partner can collect the deceased quickly, in any city. Transport to Romania is almost always by road; the air option, from Amsterdam-Schiphol, is used rarely.
The Romanian consulate in the Netherlands
Romania has an embassy in The Hague, with consular responsibilities for Romanian citizens in the Netherlands. Appointments for consular services are made through the econsulat.ro portal. If the local Dutch authority does not issue the transport authorization, it can be obtained through the embassy.
In most cases, the Dutch documents and the transport authorization are sufficient, and our local partner handles the formalities without the family needing to travel to the consulate.
The documents required
- The overlijdensakte (Dutch death certificate), issued by the gemeente, with a legalized translation into Romanian
- The laissez-passer / verlof tot vervoer van een lijk (cross-border transport authorization)
- The embalming certificate, required for international transport
- Clearance from the forensic doctor, when the death was sudden or unexplained
- The deceased's ID or passport
- The acceptance of the cemetery administration in Romania and transcription of the death certificate, on arrival
What we do for the family
Dutch documents pass through the gemeente and the transport authority — hard to follow from a distance, in another language. We coordinate the Dutch side through our partners and the Romanian side directly, so the family has a single point of contact: collection, embalming, transport authorization, then transcription of documents, the ceremony, and the burial plot in Romania.
We answer day and night. Many families call us from the Netherlands, by phone or WhatsApp, while they're still there. Read the full repatriation guide or the mortuary passport guide. If you're weighing several destinations, see also repatriation from Belgium or from Germany.
We don't run up unexplained costs. Before any procedure begins, we give you the full estimate in writing — what it includes and what it doesn't.