In this guide
For repatriation of remains to Peru, a licensed U.S. funeral provider prepares the body, the family gathers certified death documents and has the required ones visaed by the Peruvian consulate, and an airline carries the body as cargo to a receiving provider in Peru. We do not publish a cost range for a body on this route, so ask each provider for a written quote that includes everything. Eternimax coordinates each step. This is not legal advice.
What repatriation to Peru involves
Repatriation means returning a person who died in the United States to Peru for a wake, burial or cremation. Many Peruvian families in New Jersey, New York, Florida, Virginia and California ask for it. Eternimax is not a funeral home and not an insurer. We coordinate independent, licensed providers in the U.S., the airline cargo booking and the receiving provider in Peru, so the family has one point of contact. One gap we often see is that a provider quotes only to the destination airport and leaves the final reception out. Coordination covers that gap.
Step by step: from the U.S. to Peru
Confirm who holds the body and who decides
Hospital, medical examiner or a funeral home may have custody. Only the legal next of kin can authorize release.
Order certified death certificates
Request several copies from the state or county. Old or cropped copies are often rejected.
Contact the Peruvian consulate
Ask it which documents it must visa and whether the death certificate needs an apostille or another legalization. Confirm with the consulate before booking.
Choose body or ashes
A body needs embalming and a hermetically sealed container. Ashes need a cremation certificate and a suitable urn.
Book cargo and confirm the air waybill (AWB)
The airline needs the receiving provider's details. Do not set the wake date or buy tickets until the AWB exists.
Health authorization and customs in Peru
The receiving provider handles the local health authorization and the airport release, usually through Lima.
Ground transport and service
The provider carries the body to the city, town or highland village the family chose.
Documents you will usually need
- Certified death certificate with cause of death: from the state or county.
- Apostille or legalization: from the issuing state's authority, or another step if the consulate asks. Sources we found disagree on this point, so confirm with the consulate.
- Death certificate or embalming certificate visaed by the Peruvian consulate: a Peruvian health procedure for remains from abroad lists this. We could not confirm which agency issues the authorization today, so confirm with the consulate.
- Embalming certificate and sealed-container statement for a body, or cremation certificate for ashes: from the U.S. provider. Do not confuse the two lists. A body and ashes need different papers.
- Passport or ID of the deceased and the applicant's ID, plus proof of relationship.
- Receiving provider details in Peru, destination cemetery if there is a burial, and the payment of local fees.
What the cost includes
A repatriation total usually combines:
- the U.S. provider's services, embalming, transfer and container;
- certified copies, apostille, consular fees and translations;
- airline cargo fees, which vary by route and weight;
- receiving provider charges: airport reception, ground transport, casket and wake;
- coordination.
Extras that may appear later: storage days, a rush apostille, restoration for an open-casket wake, a casket upgrade, home delivery and the separate shipping of belongings.
Estimates are for general information only. They are not a quote or an offer. Final costs depend on the providers, the airline, the destination and the family's choices.
Peru is a longer route than Central America, and a mountain town can add a day or more of ground transport. See our repatriation cost guide for how each part adds up.
Body or ashes?
| Body | Ashes | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | We price this case by case | We price this case by case; cremation in Peru with ashes to the U.S., US$6,000–7,500 in cases we have coordinated |
| Preparation | Embalming, hermetic container | Cremation, urn |
| Transport | Airline cargo with AWB | Cargo, or carried by a relative in many cases |
| Paperwork | More documents and approvals | Cremation and death certificates |
| Good when | The family wants a wake and burial in Peru | Cost, speed or flexibility matter |
Cremation in the U.S. and cremation in Peru are different services. If the body travels and is cremated there, the body cost applies. TSA allows cremated remains in carry-on and checked bags but will not open a container, and an urn that blocks the X-ray image may not be allowed. Confirm with the airline. Our body or ashes guide compares them in detail.
Support from Peru's government
Peru's Foreign Ministry has guided and assisted families in individual cases, including a repatriation from the United States reported in the Peruvian press. We could not confirm a standing fund or fixed amounts. The consulate is the place to ask whether any assistance applies to your situation, and to do it before you pay a provider.
From Peru to the U.S.
Many families ask us the reverse: cremate in Peru and send the ashes to the United States. A Peruvian provider handles the death registration, cremation and certificates, and we coordinate the international shipment and the delivery to the family. In cases we have coordinated, cremation in Peru plus shipping ashes to the U.S. has fallen in the range of US$6,000 to US$7,500, as an estimate. Some providers in Peru quote only with prior approval or only to the destination airport, so ask what is included. Bringing a body into the U.S. generally requires a death certificate with cause of death unless embalmed or cremated, and non-cremated remains must travel in a leak-proof container, according to the CDC.
Common mistakes
- Buying tickets or setting the wake date before the AWB is issued.
- Mixing up the paperwork for a body and for ashes.
- Not asking the consulate which documents it must visa.
- Using an old or cropped certificate and ordering too few copies.
- Assuming belongings travel with the body.
- Several relatives giving different instructions.
How Eternimax helps
Eternimax is a coordination company, not a funeral home. We work with independent, licensed providers in the U.S. and Peru, explain what each price includes before you decide, send written updates at each step and stay with the family until the service ends. We do not give legal or immigration advice. The membership is not insurance and not a prepaid funeral plan, and repatriation is a separate service.
Talk with a coordinator. One call. One coordinator. We assist in English and Spanish. +1 (866) 978-5207 · Write to us
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send a body to Peru from the U.S.?
We do not publish a range for a body from the U.S. to Peru, because we do not have enough completed cases on that route. The total depends on the departure city, the airline route, the container and whether there is a wake. We give a written breakdown before you commit. This is not a quote.
How much does it cost to ship ashes between Peru and the U.S.?
In cases we have coordinated, cremation in Peru plus shipping the ashes to the U.S. has fallen in the range of US$6,000–7,500. For cremating in the U.S. and sending the ashes to Peru we do not publish a range. These are estimates, not quotes.
What does the Peruvian consulate do in a repatriation?
The consulate guides the family and visas the documents that Peru's health authority asks for when remains arrive from abroad. A Peruvian health procedure lists a death certificate or embalming certificate visaed by the Peruvian consulate. Confirm the current list and fees with the consulate before booking.
How long does repatriation to Peru take?
In cases we have coordinated, the transfer typically takes about 5 business days once the body is released and no medical examiner or police are involved. With a medical examiner or police it typically takes 10 or more. The apostille typically adds 5 to 9 business days. No provider can promise a date.
Is the Eternimax membership a repatriation plan?
No. The membership covers coordination services in the country where your loved one lives, and repatriation is a separate service. The membership is not insurance and not a prepaid funeral plan.
Does the Peruvian government help pay for repatriation?
Peru's Foreign Ministry has assisted families in individual cases, for example guiding a family through a repatriation from the United States. We could not confirm a standing fund or amounts, so ask the consulate whether any support applies to you.
Official sources
- Gob.pe — Autorización sanitaria para traslado de cadáver o restos humanos
- Expreso — Cancillería asiste en repatriación de restos de peruana fallecida en Oklahoma
- TSA — Cremated remains
- CDC — Importing human remains into the United States
Links to the official sources. Requirements change: always check the current version.
General information
This guide is general information. It is not legal, medical, immigration or tax advice and does not replace a professional licensed in your jurisdiction. Requirements, timelines and costs are determined by the providers and authorities in each case and may change. Eternimax coordinates between the parties and does not itself perform funeral or other regulated services.
