Repatriation from the United Kingdom to Turkey
When someone dies in the UK and is to be returned to Turkey for the funeral, the process brings together the UK coroner's formalities, the receiving formalities in Turkey, and the flight itself. Turkey is reached by air, with regular services to its main airports. We manage the full journey and the paperwork on both sides, so the family in Turkey does not have to travel to the UK or deal with British offices in English. Our repatriation hub sets out the essentials if you are just starting.
Taking a body out of England and Wales follows a set UK procedure; the receiving requirements in Turkey then govern the documents that accompany the deceased and the way the coffin is prepared. Turkey is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so where the Turkish authorities require a UK public document to be legalised, it can be apostilled in the UK rather than passing through a longer legalisation chain.
Telling the coroner: removing a body out of England and Wales
Before a deceased person can be taken out of England and Wales, the law requires that the coroner for the district be given at least four clear days' notice (the Removal of Bodies Regulations 1954). The coroner then issues an acknowledgement — the "out of England" notice — confirming there is no objection to removal, and can release the deceased sooner where satisfied that no further enquiries are needed. We complete this notification and obtain the acknowledgement on the family's behalf. In Scotland the equivalent authority is the procurator fiscal; in Northern Ireland, the coroner.
Arriving in Turkey: the receiving formalities
In Turkey the death is recorded with the Population / Civil Registry Directorate (Nüfus Müdürlüğü), and the receiving funeral director obtains the permission needed to bring the deceased into the country and arrange the funeral. The deceased travels with the UK death certificate, the coroner's out-of-England acknowledgement, and certificates of embalming and freedom from infection, apostilled where the Turkish authorities require it. We prepare the document file and coordinate directly with the funeral director in Turkey.
Preparation and transport
The deceased is embalmed and placed in a sealed, transport-standard coffin that meets the airline requirements for international carriage. We then arrange air freight to the airport nearest the place of the funeral, where the receiving funeral director takes the deceased into their care. Our team collects the deceased from the UK hospital, mortuary or funeral home and manages the flight to the destination airport, coordinating the handover to the funeral in Turkey.
Timelines and what affects them
A repatriation from the UK to Turkey typically takes 5–7 days from first contact, the deceased travelling roughly 2,500 km by air. The main factors are the four clear days' notice to the coroner (which can sometimes be shortened at the coroner's discretion), any apostille of the UK documents for the Turkish authorities, and flight availability to the destination region. Where the death has been referred to the coroner for investigation, the timeline can be longer.
This estimate is counted from when the death is registered, and our team does everything possible to complete the repatriation sooner.
Costs and financial support
We confirm a firm quote at first contact, with no hidden costs. The agreed price is settled once the flight is confirmed, with no deposit or advance required, before your loved one departs; we then stay with you through arrival, the final paperwork and registering the death in Turkey. The figure depends on the destination region in Turkey, the flight charges, and any UK funeral-home and mortuary fees. A UK estate, a life-insurance policy or the deceased's own arrangements may cover part of the cost, and we are glad to discuss this openly.
Why families choose Funero UK
We handle the UK coroner's formalities, the Turkish receiving requirements and the transport as one coordinated process, keeping both sides of the family informed and remaining contactable 24/7. You can read more about repatriating a body from the UK in our guidance.