Transport of human remains

ISSUANCE OF A COVERING LETTER FOR TRANSPORT OF HUMAN REMAINS

Transport of human remains, either decedent's body or cremated ashes, to the Republic of Serbia requires a written document -permit called SPROVODNICA. The following documents and procedures are required:

  1. The form sprovodnica should be filled out by the family member
  2. Certificate of Death - long form or Statement of Death, original, legalized by Global Affairs of Canada (JLAC Department) or in case you lice in BC or Alberta, you can do it in one of their local provincial offices (the list of provincial offices)
  3. A valid Serbian passport belonging to the deceased
  4. The burial-transit permit issued by Canadian authorities for transport of the human remains outside of Canada
  5. The statement that the deceased did not die of any contagious disease, issued by the local health authority (not Funeral Home)
  6. Certificate issued by a Funeral Home stating that the human remains were not previously buried, that they were prepared for transport according to the international regulations and placed in a hermetically sealed metal/zinc box.
  7. A statement from the funeral home as proof that the deceased person was identified and that casket contains nothing but the remains of the named deceased,
  8. Medical report which contains the cause of death
  9. A letter from the Funeral home stating the flight itinerary, place (town) to which the remains are being shipped, point of entry into the Republic of Serbia and full name of the escort, if any,
  10. The consular fee in the amount of 80 CAD (ways to pay). (10 CAD for Sprovodnica and 70 CAD for legalization of a Death Certificate by this Embassy)
  11. A self-addressed prepaid return envelope (envelope is not required if applying in person at the Embassy) (shipping by mail service)

In addition:

  • If the deceased is not a citizen of the Republic of Serbia, it will be necessary to present a foreign identification document and a certificate of the burial place provided by the cemetery in the Republic of Serbia.
  • If the cause of death was a plague or smallpox Sprovodnica may be granted only with the consent of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia.
  • If the remains are to be only transported through the territory of Republic of Serbia, beside above-listed documents a permit (Sprovodnica) from the country of burial must also be obtained before the transportation is permitted.
  • Numbers 5, 6 and 7 do not refer to transfer of the urn. In that case, it is necessary to provide the Certificate of Cremation.

Important:

Current processing time at Global Affairs of Canada is 9 weeks. If you live in British Columbia or Alberta, you may finish this step of legalization at one of local provincial offices of GAC (the list of provincial offices)