Death of a relative abroad

The steps, in order

1. 1

   Notify the local authority without delay

   The police or hospital in the country must be informed immediately: it is the local authority that draws up the death certificate, and nothing can progress without it. Ask when and where the act will be available.

2. 2

   What to know firstThe consulate provides information and assistance but does not investigate the cause of death or pay the costs.

   Report the death to the competent Belgian consulate

   Call the Belgian diplomatic post in the country as soon as possible. Outside its opening hours, contact FPS Foreign Affairs on +32 2 501 81 11. The consulate explains local procedures, helps with repatriating the remains and personal effects, and issues the documents needed for transport, including a mortuary laissez-passer.

3. 3

   Call the deceased's insurance or assistance centre

   If the deceased had travel insurance or assistance through a health-insurance fund — Mutas: +32 2 272 09 00 through MC or +32 2 272 08 70 through Solidaris — the assistance centre organises and pays for repatriation according to the contract. Call before committing to a local company, because costs agreed without approval may not be reimbursed.

4. 4

   Choose: repatriation of the body or burial on site

   For repatriation, a funeral company and the assistance centre organise the transport while the consulate provides the documents. For a local burial or cremation, the family makes arrangements with a local funeral director. In both cases, the insurer or family pays, never the Belgian State. Obtain prices for both options before deciding.

5. 5

   Request five to six official copies of the death certificate

   Each public authority, bank or insurer will ask for an original, and obtaining one remotely after returning is much harder. Request all copies at once. Outside the European Union, if the local authority does not draw up a death certificate, notify the Belgian career consulate: it can draw one up within 30 days of the death.

6. 6

   What to know firstArrange legalisation, apostilles and translations locally while you are still in the country; doing so remotely is much slower and more expensive. Rates and procedures were checked in August 2026. If unsure about a step, call the Belgian diplomatic post or FPS Foreign Affairs on +32 2 501 81 11.

   Legalise or apostille the certificate, then have it translated

   A foreign certificate is valid evidence in Belgium if it was drawn up by the competent authority in the usual form. It often still needs to be legalised or apostilled and translated into French, Dutch or German by a sworn translator. Rules vary by country: check https://diplomatie.belgium.be/fr/legalisation-de-documents/criteres-de-recherche-legalisation and use the eLegalization platform at https://elegalisation.cloud.diplomatie.be. Allow about 25 € per document at the rate in force on 1 August 2026. Do this BEFORE leaving the country.

7. 7

   Register the death certificate in Belgium

   The certificate is entered in the Database of Civil Status Records (BAEC) by the registrar of the last municipality where the deceased was registered, or otherwise by the City of Brussels. Registration is not compulsory but is strongly recommended: without a certificate recognised in Belgium, banking, inheritance and pension procedures may be blocked.

8. 8

   Notify the services concerned when returning

   Notify the municipality for registration, the deceased person's bank to block the accounts, their health-insurance fund, employer and insurers, the notary handling the estate and the Federal Pension Service on +32 78 15 1765 from abroad. Registration of the certificate is sometimes said to trigger certain notifications automatically, including pensions. Do not rely on that: call the Federal Pension Service to confirm that the case has been closed.