Guidance

Costa Rica: bereavement information

Updated 21 January 2020

1. Disclaimer

This information is not meant to be definitive, nor is it to be taken as a substitute for independent legal advice. Neither His Majesty’s Government nor its staff takes any responsibility for the accuracy of the information, nor accepts liability for any loss, costs, damage or expense that you might suffer as a result of relying on the information. Some of the information may not be relevant to your circumstances. The language used is intended to be general and factual and is not meant to cause offence.

2. Introduction

When a relative or friend dies abroad, the different procedures, laws or language can cause additional distress. You may be uncertain about what to do or who to contact.

This country specific information is designed to help you through some of the practical arrangements you may need to make. It supplements the general information on death abroad produced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which applies to all countries.

Please note, as each country has its own laws and customs when a death occurs, it may not be possible to make the arrangements that you prefer, or at the time you would like.

3. How to contact the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

There is a lot of information below, but you may have questions. You can speak to someone by phone 24/7, any day of the year by contacting the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London on 0207 008 1500.

If you are not in the UK, you can find the contact details of the nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate.

The priority of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is to provide assistance to British nationals overseas who need the most help. The level and type of assistance they can offer is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case.

4. Next of kin

The next of kin of the person who died will usually need to make decisions and practical arrangements. The next of kin can sometimes appoint another person to act on their behalf.

If you are not the next of kin, they will need to be informed. If required, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office can help you do this.

There is no legal definition of next of kin in the UK. Please note that if there is a disagreement over who is the next of kin, or the person who died did not choose a next of kin, this can cause additional complications.

In Costa Rica the ‘seniority’ of next of kin is usually as follows:

• spouse/Partner/Civil Partner (same sex partners are not recognised in all cases under Costa Rica local law or practice)
• child
• parents
• siblings
• any ‘third degree’ blood relative

5. Release of information to next of kin

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will try to obtain as much information as possible after your relative or friend has died abroad. Some of this may be only available to next of kin. Consular officers may be able to obtain this themselves, or they may put you in touch directly with the authorities overseas. They may be able to provide you with details of others who can advocate on your behalf such as lawyers, charities, or other organisations.

The Oficina de Asesoría Técnica y Relaciones Internacionales (OATRI) is the local Costa Rican Authority in charge of keeping the family informed of any developments in local proceedings. The family may not automatically be informed of developments in the investigation, so it may be helpful to file a complaint (“denuncia”) with the local authorities, which should make this more reliable. The family can contact the British Consulate for more information.

6. Insurance

It is very important to check if the person who died had insurance. If they had insurance, contact the insurance company as soon as possible. They may have a list of approved funeral directors to help you make arrangements, or be able to cover some of the costs.

If the person who died did not have insurance, the next of kin will usually have to appoint a funeral director and will usually be responsible for all costs. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office cannot help with these costs.

7. Appointing a funeral director

If you decide to bring the deceased to the UK for the funeral or cremation, you may only need to appoint an international funeral director. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office produces a list of international funeral directors based in the UK.

If you decide to hold a funeral or cremation in Costa Rica, you can find a list of funeral directors in Costa Rica.

The family must instruct a local funeral director in Costa Rica, or an international funeral director in the UK, in order for a body to be repatriated to the UK, or buried or cremated in Costa Rica.

8. Registering the death and obtaining a death certificate

You will need to register the death with the local authorities in the country where the person died. Sometimes a funeral director can do this for you. You will usually need documents about you and the person who has died, which include information such as full name, date of birth and passport number.

The local authorities will need to be told if the person suffered from an infectious condition such as hepatitis or HIV so they can take precautions against infection.

You do not need to register the death with the UK authorities. The local death certificate can usually be used in the UK for most purposes, including probate. If it is not in English, you will need to obtain and pay for an official translation.

Costa Rica will issue initially a temporary death certificate in Spanish. After two to three months a certified copy can be obtained from the ‘Registro Civil’. Where an autopsy has been carried out, the initial death certificate will state ‘Cause of Death - Still under Study’. Once all the examination results are completed, a ‘final’ certificate is issued. The final certificate may take up to six months, if the investigation is still open.

The final death certificate includes information such as name, surname, age, ID number, nationality, gender, name and surname of parents, cause of death, place and date of death.

You do not have to register the death of a British National, which occurs overseas, with the UK authorities. Still, if you wish to register the death in the UK you can find more details on how to do so on the following website: https://www.gov.uk/register-a-death This carries a statutory fee.

9. Post mortem examinations (autopsies)

If a body is to be transferred to any other country, a post mortem examination (autopsy) is always carried out by the official authorities. The exception is where a person has obviously died of natural causes and is over 75 years old. In this case the family can request an autopsy carried out by the funeral directors.

The organs are not retained and remain with the body.

The post mortem report can be made available to the family via a request from the Embassy. It is usually released within one month; however, it may take more time depending on how long it takes the authorities to complete all the laboratory examinations. The report will be made in Spanish and the next of kin won’t be charged for the post mortem examination. To apply for a Costa Rican death certificate from the Costa Rica National Registry, please visit this link and complete the mandatory fields.

10. Mortuary facilities

The main mortuary in Costa Rica is located in San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia. It has cold storage facilities and bodies can be kept there for up to 2 months. After 2 months, if the body has not been claimed, it will be buried in San José or can be donated for medical study. There is a secondary – smaller – mortuary in Liberia, Guanacaste. It also offers cold storage, as do some public and private hospitals. There is no cost for the next of kin when the person who died is kept at the mortuary.

In some cases, the condition of the body does not allow its identification through anthropomorphic characteristics (such physical appearance, weight, height, eye colour, hair colour, scars, tattoos, teeth, etc.), therefore a DNA test will be required. In said cases, the family’s collaboration will be needed for DNA samples from direct family members (preferably father, mother or children). Bodies that require identification through DNA tests take longer to be returned to the family due to the analysis involved.

11. Burial, cremation, repatriation

The next of kin of the person who has died will usually need to decide between a local burial, cremation or bringing the person home, which is known as repatriation. Your funeral director will usually be able to explain the options available, the costs, and help you make arrangements.

If a family member is present in Costa Rica and requests the body then it can be released to them for repatriation or local burial. If no family member is present, the Embassy can act on behalf of the family and, under their instructions, appoint a funeral director who will arrange all the required permissions for the body to be release.

There are funeral directors who are accustomed to working with international repatriations and they are usually efficient. At the appropriate time, quotes can be obtained from three of the main companies.

Local burial is available, within a variety of prices. There are now three local cremation facilities.

Bodies are not usually embalmed in the Judicial Mortuary. The funeral directors, upon request, can embalm them if a repatriation is being carried out, in order to preserve the body during transit

Please note if a local burial or cremation takes place, then an inquest in the UK will not be possible. For more information on inquests, see the information on UK coroners and inquests.

12. Return of personal belongings

The International Repatriation Company or the local funeral director can arrange the return of personal belongings (this will include a shipment fee, if applicable). The Costa Rican authorities can send a list of belongings to the family for them to choose which items they wish returned.

Please note, the British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate cannot take responsibility for the personal belongings of the person who died.

13. Steps to take in the UK

You can find more information on the steps to take in the UK online. This includes information on arranging the funeral, telling the government about the death, UK pensions and benefits, and dealing with the estate of the person who died. There is a step-by-step guide about what to do when someone dies.

14. British passport cancellation

In order to avoid identity fraud, the passport of the person who died should be cancelled with HM Passport Office (HMPO). To do this, you will need to complete a “D1 form”.

The the form and instructions on where to send the passport is available online.

If you plan to repatriate the person who died to the UK, you may require their passport to do this. In these circumstances, you should cancel the passport after they have been repatriated.

15. Child deaths

Police and local authorities in Costa Rica will hold a full investigation into any death and there are no separate procedures for deaths involving children. Social services will be involved only in specific circumstances.

16. Deaths in road traffic accidents

Police and local authorities in Costa Rica will hold a full investigation into any death and there are no separate procedures for deaths involving road traffic accidents.

17. Deaths investigated as murder or manslaughter

If the local police have confirmed that they are investigating the death as a murder or manslaughter a dedicated team within the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will be available to provide support, including by referring you to a specialised organisation. You can find more about how the FCDO can help with murder and manslaughter abroad.

You should note that if the deceased is repatriated to parts of the UK a coroner or procurator fiscal may decide to hold an inquest. See the section on UK Coroners and inquests below.

The law is very strict in Costa Rica and a judge will go to the scene of the accident. When he/she is satisfied about the cause of death (as far as it is possible at the scene) then, and only then, is the body taken to the Judicial Morgue.

The judge leads the investigation at the scene and then the case is put into the hands of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), Costa Rica’s investigative police (CID equivalent).

17.1 Will the police make a copy of their report available to the family?

A copy of the report can sometimes be obtained through the British Embassy. This can take a considerable time and may be dependent on the family having made their wishes known to OATRI.

Investigations regarding deaths allegedly caused by negligence have the potential to take a long time in Costa Rica. It is necessary for the families, and sometimes the Embassy (with the consent of the family), to actively participate in the proceedings. Local authorities may not be prompt in their updates to the family.

17.2 What happens if the police apprehend a suspect and the State decides to prosecute?

The autopsy and the medical report are sent to the Public Ministry and they forward the documents to the Prosecutor’s Office in the region where the incident occurred. The Embassy, or the attorney representing the deceased and the family, can be present in criminal proceedings as civil parties. The Prosecutor’s Office handling the case is in charge of providing information regarding the judicial process and guidelines to follow. The suspect goes before a judge and if there is sufficient evidence from the preliminary investigation then the person is kept ‘on remand’, initially for three months.

18. UK coroners and inquests

If you repatriate the person who died to England and Wales, there may be an inquest. The decision on when to hold an inquest is made by His Majesty’s Coroner. Please note, an inquest will usually only happen in certain situations, for example, when someone has died in suspicious, unnatural, and violent circumstances or whilst in detention. If the person who died is cremated and only their ashes are brought home, there will not be an inquest.

If you repatriate the person who died to Scotland, the Procurator Fiscal may decide to call for a Fatal Accidents or Injuries Inquiry.

If you repatriate the person who died to Northern Ireland, there will be no coronial inquest or further inquiry.

Please note, Procurators Fiscal and Coroners do not have jurisdiction in another country, nor do they seek to apportion blame to a named individual.

You can find more information on Coroners and the Procurator Fiscal in the FCDO guide on death abroad.

19. Legal Aid

The Public Defender is pro bono, but legal aid as it is known in the UK, is not available.

A list of local lawyers can be found at this link.

20. Compensation

There is no special law on compensation for foreigners. The foreigner who feels entitled to compensation from the State or any individual may apply to the judicial authorities whenever it is shown that there is harm that is compensable.

You can find information on UK compensation for victims of terrorism overseas.

21. Translation and interpretation

The official language used in Costa Rica is Spanish. Even though English is used widely, official documents will be issued by the Costa Rican authorities in Spanish. The local authorities are not obligated to provide official translation or interpretation in English.

If required, a list of translators and interpreters can be found in this link.

22. Additional support

22.1 Support organisations in the UK

In the UK, there are many organisations that can help bereaved families. Some of these are listed in the guide coping with death abroad.