Death in a family is one of the most harrowing experiences one can have. In most cases, the family can grieve fully only after burying their dead and completing all the formalities.
But this isn’t automatically the case here in Dubai since considerations abound: Did the deceased die a natural death? Did the deceased want to be buried here or in his home country? How and how soon can you repatriate the deceased?

Natural deaths are simpler to handle than, say, deaths due to an accident or crime. In this case, we will address the repatriation process and documents needed for a non-Muslim expatriate who dies a natural death.


1) Any deaths occurring outside a hospital must be reported to the police by dialling 999.
2) Upon arrival, the police will fill out an initial death report and transfer the deceased to the Rashid Hospital Mortuary or Police Mortuary. The process for registering deaths will vary at this point, depending on the deceased’s religion and country of origin.
3) If the death occurred in a hospital, get a death notification from the hospital. Go to the police station nearest to the deceased’s residence to register his death.
4) Once the deceased is at the Rashid Hospital Mortuary, Rashid Hospital will determine the cause of death and issue a report. This is confirmation of the deceased’s death. Bear in mind that the initial documents issued by police have to be submitted along with the deceased’s passport and visa (original and copy). A fee of Dh60 has to be paid.
5) Upon completing the examination, the Rashid Mortuary will issue a death notification. Make sure to have it stamped by police at the hospital.
6) Head to the police station again with all your documents: the death declaration and the deceased’s passport and visa page. The police will issue a no objection certificate (NOC) addressed to Al Baraha Hospital, Ministry of Health to issue the death certificate (Dh60).
7) While at the station, also request additional NOCs addressed to the following: (1) the airport for repatriation of the human remains (2) the mortuary for embalming (3) and the hospital for release of the body (if the deceased died in the hospital).
8) Once all the documents are ready, take them to the Preventive Medicine Department of Al Baraha Hospital. This is where the ‘official death certificate’ will be issued. Note that all documents issued at government agencies are in Arabic. Non-Arabic speaking countries will require the certificates to be translated if you are repatriating the deceased.
9) After that, proceed to the Ministry of Labour and Immigration for visa and labour card cancellation. This process does not require the sponsor’s signature.
10) Register the deceased’s death at his or her local embassy or consulate. The mission will then cancel the passport and register the death in the home country. It must also issue an NOC so you can repatriate the body.
11) If a relative or someone is accompanying the human remains in the flight, book a ticket and cargo. Check the process with your airline of choice as different airlines have different formalities.
12) Then, go to the Medical Fitness Centre in Al Muhaisnah to book the embalming time. You will have to go back to the mortuary where the body is being kept so you can identify the body before it is transported to the centre for embalming. Pay Dh100 for the embalming charges, a minimum of Dh1,750 for a standard coffin, and Dh210 for the ambulance to transport the body to the airport.
13) Supposing all goes well and the deceased does not have contagious diseases, the embalming will take place. You may purchase a coffin there as well.
14) The Medical Fitness Centre will issue the embalming certificate. For Indians, this has to be attested at the consulate.
15) The centre will transport the body through DNATA. DNATA will handle the body at Cargo Village and process the required documentation. Along with the original NOC from police, you will need to request another NOC from the Cargo Village police station. The NOC you got from the embassy is needed here as well. Make sure you have a minimum of eight copies of ALL the documents, including the ticket copy. They also need to be translated if the country of destination is non-Arab. Submit these documents and all previously obtained documents to the DNATA export office in Cargo Village.
16) Once there, the human remains will be labelled as human remains, scanned, and then shipped to your country of destination after all the shipping costs are paid.
17) Make sure you have arranged for a funeral service company at your country of destination to receive the body.


As you can see, heaps of paperwork are needed to repatriate just one body. Ensure you get them all issued, translated and copied as needed.
C.P. Matthew, co-founder and chief coordinator at Valley of Love, said the process usually takes one to two days. Valley of Love is a non-profit organisation that has helped repatriate more than 3,000 human remains over the past 15 years.
Matthew said residents should bear in mind that government offices close at 2pm, so everything has to be done quickly so that you can finish in one or two days. Matthew said there are room for improvement in the process and steps that can be refined and removed to make the process efficient.
“We have requested from the government to set up a one-window system to help the relatives finish all the formalities. It will also help the family in their grieving process because the whole process for the paperwork starts as soon as the person dies,” Matthew said.
Currently, residents working on getting the documents done have to go from one point of the city to the next and a lot of time is wasted in the process.
“It is very tedious. For example, this labour class people, for them to go to Rashid Hospital, to Al Muhaisnah, and Al Baraha, it’s very tedious for them. First of all, a person has lost a family member. And they don’t get any time to [grieve] because they have to start the process right away. And these people have no means of transportation nor money. It’s very tedious even for a normal person,” Pam Gauri, hospital coordinator at Valley of Love, said.
He said it will also help if the booking for the embalming at the centre is made online. This saves time, petrol and effort for everyone.