The first 72 hours
What to do in the first hours and days: where your loved one is, who decides, how to choose a provider and what to ask the consulate.
Resource center
What you need to know, explained calmly.
Clear, free guides written by the Eternimax team, with official sources. Read online, print, or share with your family.
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Guides & tools
How international repatriation works
The stages, who handles each part, the documents usually requested, U.S. requirements for bringing remains in, and transferring ashes.
A checklist for the family
Printable: the information worth having at hand and the questions to ask the provider before you authorize anything.
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Resources
Repatriation guides by country
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Brazil: Steps, Documents and Costs
How families usually send a body or ashes from the U.S. to Brazil: consular registration, sanitary paperwork, urn rules and what affects the cost.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Colombia: Steps, Documents and Costs
What families need to send a loved one's body or ashes from the U.S. to Colombia, or from Colombia to the U.S.: steps, documents and what affects the cost.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Ecuador: Steps, Documents and Costs
How to send a loved one's body or ashes from the U.S. to Ecuador, or bring ashes from Ecuador to the U.S.: steps, documents, support programs and what affects the cost.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to El Salvador: Steps, Documents and Costs
Plain steps, documents and what affects the cost of sending a loved one's body or ashes from the United States to El Salvador.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Guatemala: Steps, Documents and Costs
Plain steps, documents and what affects the cost of sending a loved one's body or ashes from the United States to Guatemala.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Honduras: Steps, Documents and Costs
Plain steps, documents and typical cost ranges for sending a loved one's body or ashes from the United States to Honduras.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Mexico: Steps, Documents and Costs
Plain steps, documents and what affects the cost of sending a loved one's body or ashes from the United States to Mexico.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Nicaragua: Steps, Documents and Costs
How families usually send a body or ashes from the U.S. to Nicaragua: the death-certificate registration step, consular options and what affects the cost.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Peru: Steps, Documents and Costs
How to send a loved one's body or ashes from the U.S. to Peru, or bring ashes from Peru to the U.S.: steps, documents, consular role and what affects the cost.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Spain: Steps, Documents and Costs
How a body or ashes get from the U.S. to Spain: the consulate's authorization, the funeral home's SISAEX request and what changes the cost.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic: Steps, Documents and Costs
How to send a loved one's body or ashes from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic, what documents you need, typical cost ranges and where Dominican consulates can help.
How to Repatriate Remains from the U.S. to Venezuela: Steps, Documents and Costs
What families usually need to send a body or ashes from the U.S. to Venezuela, what the consular situation means, and what drives the cost.
Resources
Costs, explained
Cremation Cost in the US: Direct Cremation vs. Cremation With a Service
What cremation costs in the US, what is and is not included, and what changes if the ashes will travel to another country.
How Much Does a Funeral Cost in the US? National Medians and What Is Included
National median costs for burial and cremation services, what is inside a funeral bill and how to ask for prices in writing.
Repatriation Cost: What International Funeral Shipping Really Includes
A component-by-component look at what international repatriation costs, ranges from cases we have coordinated and how to get one written all-in quote.
Shipping Ashes Internationally: Rules, Documents and Body vs. Ashes
USPS and TSA rules for cremated remains, the documents to prepare and how to choose between sending a body or ashes to another country.
Resources
Documents and paperwork
How to Get a Death Certificate Apostilled in the U.S.
A plain-language guide to getting a U.S. death certificate apostilled for use abroad: who issues it, who certifies it and what slows it down.
What to Do When a Family Member Dies Abroad
Clear first steps for families when a loved one dies away from their country, in either direction, and how embassies and consulates fit in.
Resources
Planning ahead
Final Expense Planning for Parents Who Live in Latin America or Spain
A neutral guide for adult children in the U.S. with parents in Latin America or Spain: the options for final expenses, what to ask and what to avoid.
Membership vs. Burial Insurance: What Is the Difference?
A plain comparison of burial or final expense insurance and Eternimax's local coordination service, so you can choose what fits your family.
Resources
For organizations
Airline Cargo for Human Remains: A Guide for U.S. Funeral Homes
A practical guide for U.S. funeral directors shipping remains by air internationally: known shipper, containers, documents and coordination at the destination.
Glossary
The words you'll hear, in plain language.
Apostille, airway bill, medical examiner… A glossary to help you understand every provider and authority.
- Apostille
- A single certificate issued by an authority so that a public document from one country is recognized in another, among the countries party to the Hague Convention. It replaces consular legalization.
- Airway bill
- The transport document the airline or cargo agent issues for a shipment. In a repatriation, it identifies the transfer and travels with it to the destination.
- Medical examiner
- A physician with legal authority to investigate sudden, violent or unexplained deaths and determine their cause.
- Burial-transit permit
- An authorization issued by the local authority to move a person who has died and carry out final disposition. In the United States, the funeral home usually obtains it.
- Consulate
- A country's office abroad that serves its citizens. In a repatriation, it often issues or reviews documents for the transfer of its nationals.
- Next of kin
- The relative with the closest relationship to the person who died. Each jurisdiction's law defines the order.
Editorial policy
How we write these guides.
Official sources
We cite government agencies, published regulations and consulates, with direct links.
Real experience
Written by the team that coordinates international cases.
Kept current
We review every guide at least every six months and show the date.
No promises
General information, with no figures we can't verify.
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