Just recently, I have found out a little information that I like to share with you. A friend has recently passed away while overseas. His remain was repatriated back to Malaysia with the assistance from family members, friends here and abroad and most of all with the assistance from Chartis TravelGuard coordinators. There are several procedures to adhere to before the mortal remain can be repatriated to the home country.
Here are the overview of the procedures involved.
The main documents required are the Death Certificate, Police Report and Medical or Hospital Report of the Death and Autopsy report if any. Thereafter, it has to be notified to our home country Embassy or Consulate office in the foreign country. The foreign country may require the deceased's family or next of kin to claim the mortal remain from the local hospital or mortuary or funeral parlor.
First, the deceased family members that are going to travel to the foreign country to claim the mortal remain have to apply for traveling documents such as a passport or temporary travel pass and visa through the local Malaysian Immigration Office This can be quickly arrange under special emergency circumstance such as this.
Next, the family member/s traveling will have to book and secure the earliest flight to go to the nearest airport to the city or town where the deceased's died and his remain is located. The pre-trip preparation will require the planning such as some cash and currency to bring for the travels and lodging expenses and the other cost related to the repatriation documentations. The clothing to wear and bring as the weather may be different from our Malaysian weather. It will be better if we can inform the Malaysian Embassy or Consulate Office in that foreign country through our Foreign Ministry at Wisma Putra, Putrajaya, Malaysia of our travel and repatriation arrangements and the assistance required from them. Therefore, we need other family members or friends at home to prepare and coordinate this as the traveling member/s may not have the time to do all this before taking off to the foreign land.
The family members that are not traveling can at the same time arrange with the local undertaker who preferably have the expertise to handle custom clearance of the documentations at the airport when the cargo arrived safely in Malaysian soil.
The family members traveling to the foreign country will have to get in touch with the friends or hospital or hotel which the deceased's death have been notified through them to pick them up at the airport to ease the arrival in a strange and foreign land and to get the best help that they could provide or to contact the airport authorities such as the local airline counter, police and the embassy staff.
After that, it is going directly to hospital or mortuary or the funeral parlor to view the deceased's remain face to face. The family members have to be strong emotionally and prepared for acceptance of the death due to whatever causes and strange circumstances.
Thereafter, it the the filing of documents to claim the remain which may be a gargantuan tasks for the family members as we may be required to follow the procedures that are unfamiliar to our own home country. Important to retrieve and collect the deceased's passport or traveling visa from the hospital or hotel or police there. It may require us to go from their local government department to another authorities to obtain the certificates and traveling release and to have the remain placed in the special casket for it to be put on a flight to our home country. There are several certificates such as fumigation, disinfectants and seals that need the notary and the Malaysian embassy or consular office to witness the documents and sealing of the casket.
It is then that the next procedure is activated. Time to book for the flight home for the family members and the mortal remain in the special casket by cargo. The local travel or ticketing agent at the foreign land will have to prepare special airway bills for the shipment subject to the availability of the flight for the cargo space to our home country and the connecting flight if there is no direct flight to our home city. Therefore, the family members can choose to accompany the casket on the same flight home or fly home earlier depending on the flights schedule availability. However, if there is no direct flight from the foreign land to our home city, we may have to appoint another local undertaker at the main Airport such as Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to clear the custom documentations and declarations and prepare another airway bill for the onward flight to the next home destination.
Upon arrival at the home city airport, the family members of the deceased will have to lodge a local police report at the nearest police station and surrender the deceased's death certificate,the Malaysian embassy or consular letter, passport and visa when making the report while the local undertaker arranged for receiving the casket at the cargo complex. the deceased's travel documents will eventually have to be surrendered to the Immigration Office. Usually the local undertaker will assist in the arrangement for the burial certificate and prepare the other funeral rites for the family if requested at the point of arrival and journey home.
The local undertaker will then transfer the mortal remain of the deceased to another casket according to the family's request and then proceed to home of the deceased or the funeral parlor.
Therefore, it is important to note that whenever we travel overseas to foreign lands, we are not only stranger to their foreign laws but when we actually leave many inconveniences for our loved ones if we are to depart for good in a strange land as our loved ones or family members may or may not have been to that country and do not speak or write a word of their local languages.
Only those who have undergone real life experiences can shed more on these than I do of their encounters and give useful tips for our benefit. Having someone, especially from the locals in the foreign land to assist us in time like this is very crucial and important so that things could be done smoothly and we can go home quickly with the deceased's mortal remain. The whole process could take three to six days depending on how fast things are done and the flight and cargo space availability to home country from the foreign land.
In conclusion, it is best to travel with a travel insurance at all time that provides benefits such as emergency evacuation and repatriation of mortal remain besides the accidental death and permanent disability lump sum payments, accidental and medical expenses, flight delays, flights cancellations and curtailments, lost of luggage and travel documents. Chartis TravelGuard is one travel insurance plan that you should consider when you book your next flight out of the country. However, we must also take note of the exclusions as some of the benefits are subject to our pre-existing health and physical conditions or exclusion such as war at the country and etc.
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