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.
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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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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.
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General information, with no figures we can't verify.
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