What happens if an expat dies in Spain? Repatriation, costs and paperwork

It isn't a pleasant topic, but it's one of the most practical things an expat can plan for. When someone dies in Spain, their family often faces tight deadlines, unfamiliar procedures and, if they want to bring the person home, significant costs. Planning ahead makes a very difficult moment easier.

The first hours and days

• A doctor certifies the death. If it happens at home, call the emergency number 112 or the person's GP. If it happens in hospital, the hospital handles it.

• Funerals in Spain happen quickly. Burial or cremation usually takes place within one to three days, which leaves little time for relatives abroad to travel or decide.

• The death is registered at the Spanish civil registry (Registro Civil), which issues the death certificate. The funeral company usually takes care of this.

• The consulate of the person's country can help families and, for some nationalities, record the death in the home country.

Repatriation: bringing someone home

Repatriating the body or ashes to another country involves:

1. Specific preparation of the body and a sealed coffin for international transport.

2. Authorisations and a mortuary passport or similar documents.

3. Coordination with an airline and with a funeral director in the destination country.

The cost of repatriating a body can easily run into several thousand euros, depending on the destination and the arrangements. Repatriating ashes is usually simpler and cheaper, but still involves paperwork.

How funeral insurance helps

Funeral insurance (seguro de decesos) is very common in Spain. A good policy organises the funeral through its network, so your family doesn't have to find a funeral director in the middle of the night, pays the covered costs directly and often includes help with paperwork after the death.

For expats, the key cover is repatriation. In Allianz funeral insurance (Allianz Decesos), the cover for foreign residents in Spain includes, according to the general conditions:

• The arrangements and costs of transferring the body to the airport nearest to the place chosen by the family in the insured person's country of origin, for burial or cremation there.

• A return ticket in tourist class, by plane or the most suitable public transport, for the person the family designates to accompany the body between Spain and the destination.

Conditions worth knowing:

1. Who it's for: people of a nationality other than Spanish, or with dual nationality (Spanish and that of their country of origin), who are legally resident in Spain.

2. Waiting period: the cover applies six months after the policy starts (or after the person is added to it). If the death is caused by an accident, it applies from day one.

3. How it's done: the transfer is carried out through the funeral company designated by the insurer, once the authorities grant the necessary permits, and provided there's no force majeure.

4. Renewal: the cover renews automatically every year.

That's why it's worth taking it out early, not when someone is already unwell. See our funeral insurance, which includes a plan with repatriation.

What your family will need afterwards

• Death certificates (ask for several copies, including an international one).

• Access to bank accounts, which banks usually freeze until the heirs are confirmed.

• The will, if there is one. A Spanish will makes this much faster: see do you need a Spanish will?.

• Filing inheritance tax within the deadline: see inheritance tax in Spain for expats.

How we can help

We've supported expat families in Murcia through these moments for more than 30 years. We can set up funeral cover with repatriation for you and your partner, and be the local contact your family calls. Talk to us in person in central Murcia or by WhatsApp or video call in English.

Take care of it now

Get a funeral insurance quote or contact us with any questions.