Ramsaier Funeral Directors · Stuttgart · since 1895

We bring the deceased home.

Repatriation to and from 234 countries and territories. We handle the paperwork, the consulates and the transport.

Where should the repatriation go?

Frequently requested Türkiye Serbia Croatia Italy Greece Kosovo Poland Morocco

0711 74 20 01Available day and night

All countries by continent

Open the continent your destination lies in – or use the search above.

Europe 49 countries

Asia 49 countries

Africa 58 countries

North America 5 countries

Central & South America 50 countries

Australia & Oceania 23 countries

Repatriation of the deceased

Your partner for a funeral abroad

Ramsaier Funeral Directors, based in Stuttgart and Leinfelden-Echterdingen, specialise in repatriating bodies and transferring urns abroad. If you need help bringing a deceased person home, call us or send us an email. We will talk you through the options and the costs involved.

Repatriation across borders involves a great deal of bureaucracy. We handle all of it for you – from registering the death to obtaining the mortuary passport and having the documents certified by the consulate.

Our services

What we take care of

When someone dies far from home, the family often wishes to bury them in their own country. We handle the formalities and the entire organisation.

01 · Service

We deal with every bureaucratic hurdle and organise the funeral in full. The relevant consulates and embassies set the requirements – we obtain them and put them into practice.

02 · Certification

Since 2006, TÜV Süd has audited our service quality and customer satisfaction. We score above average in the annual reviews, and the recommendation rate from the audits stands at 100 per cent.

03 · Execution

Our transfer coffins are solid pine, mahogany-stained and high-gloss lacquered – suitable for burial at the destination. The zinc-lined coffin has a viewing window so the family can say goodbye face to face.

Coffin transfer

By air or by hearse

Once we have all the details about the deceased and the destination, we prepare a quotation. Depending on the distance we weigh up with the family which route makes more sense – every country has its own IATA air freight rates, and therefore different costs.

Import rules are set by the destination country. The Berlin Agreement of 1937 governs transport by road, air and sea; the provisions of the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement represent the maximum that any signatory state may require.

The body is placed in a transfer coffin with a zinc liner in accordance with international rules – solid wood, at least two centimetres thick. For air transport a pressure equalisation valve is fitted where required. If you wish, we will arrange a funeral service in Germany beforehand.

Urn transfer

The ashes travel as hand luggage

With an urn transfer, the cremation takes place before the journey and the ashes travel in a sealed capsule. The family decides whether to hold a service with the body beforehand – afterwards, an open-coffin farewell is no longer possible.

Once cremation has taken place there are no longer any health concerns. With an urn pass, the family may carry the urn abroad themselves, as hand luggage on a flight or by car.

Sending it by insured post or courier is possible, but we advise against it – nobody carries the risk of loss on your behalf. Compared with a coffin transfer, an urn transfer is usually the less expensive option, and it is possible to any country.

The process

From collection to arrival

Six steps, all of which we handle. You will not need to visit a single authority – only in exceptional cases does a consulate require the family to appear in person.

01 · Collection and care

We collect the deceased from the place of death. Depending on cultural and religious background we arrange ritual washing and prayers, along with hygienic care and, if desired, dressing in their own clothes.

02 · International rules

The transfer coffin is hermetically soldered, screwed shut and wrapped in jute. For air transport the consignment must be neutrally packaged so that it is not recognisable as a coffin. Some countries require embalming – we carry this out.

03 · Service in Germany

If you wish, we arrange a funeral service in the home town in Germany before the transfer, so that family and friends nearby can say goodbye.

04 · Official procedures

We register the death and obtain the mortuary passport. This requires the death certificate, the medical certificate of death, a doctor’s confirmation, civil status documents and our certificate of proper encoffining. Where the cause of death is unclear, clearance from the public prosecutor is also needed.

05 · Consulate

The German documents must be certified by the consulate of the destination country. We are in constant contact with embassies and consulates general and handle this for you.

06 · Transport

We calculate whether road or air is cheaper and book through our air freight forwarders. Years of working with specialist forwarders keep the prices fair.

Other cultures

We know funeral rites from around the world

Funeral rites serve a dignified farewell and help the bereaved to grieve. In some cultures the safe journey to the afterlife is central, in others the belief in return. How the deceased is treated is always shaped by religious understanding – and we follow it.

Islam

We arrange the ritual washing prescribed in the Quran and ensure a prompt burial.

Judaism

According to religious law and tradition, in coordination with the Chevra Kadisha.

Orthodoxy

Candles, incense and icons belong to the lying-in-state, as does the open farewell.

Hinduism

We make sure the ashes can be scattered in the Ganges without delay.

Buddhism

Singing bowls, meditation and accompaniment according to the teachings of the Buddha.

Who we are

In Stuttgart since 1895

Since 1895 our name has stood for help, competence and integrity in times of bereavement. Our funeral home in Stuttgart and Leinfelden-Echterdingen specialises in repatriating the deceased and is familiar with everything that goes with it.

We work closely with consulates and embassies and have extensive experience with international transfers. We know the procedures, the religious particularities and the rules of each individual country – which secures a swift transport at a fair price.

For a no-obligation quotation or any open questions, you can reach us at any time by phone or email.

We are here for you

Talk to us before you decide anything

One call is enough. We will tell you what needs to happen in your case, which papers are required and what to expect – at night and at weekends too.