Nigeria - Exporting a Deceased Body

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Procedure

Apply In-Person

1. To apply for exporting a deceased body in person, any family member of the deceased must visit the Local Government Authority nearest to his/her location.
2. The address and contact details of the National Population Commission of Nigeria can be found in the following link: contact link
3. Before that, the family member must have obtained a medical certificate indicating the cause of death from licensed medical practitioner in Nigeria.
4. Keeping the certificate as an acknowledgment for the death, the LGA will issue a National Population Commission death certificate. The LGA may also demand an autopsy in case if the death has occurred under suspicious circumstances.
5. After obtaining a Certificate of Death, the applicant will have to make arrangements for embalming of the deceased.
6. Choose a funeral home of your choice and make the necessary arrangements for the embalming processes to be done with the deceased.
7. Also, approach the respective persons in the office and follow the prescribed procedures to obtain the documents required for the shipment of deceased (in case of export).
8. The applicant will also have to obtain a Consular Mortuary Certificate by approaching the deceased person’s native country’s Embassy/Consulate.
9. After that, the applicant should apply for and obtain a Health Permit/Warrant as a Burial Permit (in case of death from a contagious disease) from the local health authority.
10. An Importation Permit is also required to be obtained for the country of dead body’s reception.
11. The address and contact details of the Federal Ministry of Health can be found in the following page: contact link
12. Make sure that you are ready with all the documents as mentioned in the “Required documents” section of this page.
13. Then, the applicant has to make arrangements for the transportation of the mortal remains through any means as applicable.
14. The applicant can seek help about arranging transportation from his/her native country’s representative in Nigeria.
15. An official will be allocated for assistance and he/she will direct the person for getting the necessary things done and required documents arranged.
16. Follow the instructions and complete the required processes and obtain the required documents.
17. He/she will also instruct/help about getting quotes for the processes and documents. Do as directed and pay the necessary fees as well.
18. The responsible person must make necessary arrangements for receiving the deceased/dead body arriving from Nigeria.
19. He/she should also keep everything ready for the funeral service and burial/cremation of the deceased. This way, the export of a deceased/dead body from Nigeria will be done appropriately.

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Required Documents

• Medical Certificate/Death confirmation by hospital/Medical Practitioner
• Nigerian Death Certificate obtained from the National Population Commission
• Mortuary Certificate from Embassy
• Local Mortician Affidavit
• Health Permit/Warrant for burial
• Any additional document (as required)

Office Locations & Contacts

Port Health Services unit - Head Office,
Federal Ministry of Health
Federal Secretariat Complex

Shehu Shagari Way, Garki,
Abuja P.M.B. 083, Garki-Abuja
Tel: 234-9-523-8367
E-mail: [email protected]
Website :Link

Eligibility

Any family member or relative living in Nigeria, who wishes to export the deceased body of his /her family member or relative, can apply.

Fees

Various costs to be paid will be explained by the representative or can be obtained from the respective offices.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.

e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
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Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
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sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
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e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M".

Instructions

• Applicants are advised to complete the application form neatly and completely with absolute legibility and appropriateness to avoid rejections. Also, all the required documents must be furnished completely.
• The process of obtaining a death certificate is relatively straight forward if a person dies at a medical facility or at another location under known medical circumstances, or in an obvious accident.
• Please note that only one original death certificate will ever be issued from the National Population Commission of Nigeria.
• Standard practice in Nigeria is that all bodies are embalmed prior to transport or burial, usually within 24 hours of death when possible.

Required Information

• Names, Physical and Postal Address of Applicant
• Identification Card number of the applicant
• Contact details
• Name of the responsible person in the host country
• Address and other required particulars
• Passport number
• Banking particulars

Need for the Document

Any deceased person in Nigeria who belongs to a foreign country and in a case where his/her body needs to be repatriated and buried on the grounds of his/her country of birth, the person responsible must follow the above procedure for getting it done officially.

Information which might help

• When a person dies under suspicious circumstances the police may require an autopsy. The LGA or police may also require an autopsy when an accident is assumed, but not confirmed, to be the cause of death.
• The body may be taken to a morgue, which is associated with a hospital facility, for an autopsy to be performed.
• Embalming is generally performed before in-country transport due to the lack of quality, refrigerated transport in Nigeria and the poor quality of roads, which leads to long transport times.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

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Others

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