When someone dies in Azerbaijan
The process when a British national dies in Azerbaijan, including registering the death, funerals and cremations, and bringing the person’s body to the UK.
Contacting the insurance company
If the person who died had insurance, contact their insurance company as soon as possible. Read the general guidance on what to do when someone dies abroad if you’re not sure if they had insurance.
The insurance company should appoint a funeral director in Azerbaijan and the UK. They may also cover the cost of bringing the person’s body to the UK (repatriation) and help with any medical, legal, interpretation and translation fees.
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.
Registering the death
The death must be registered at the local registry office in Azerbaijan. Your funeral director can normally do this for you. Once registered, a Death Certificate (in the Azerbaijani language) stating the cause of the death will be issued by the district Registration Department or ASAN Service.
Death certificates cannot be issued without submitting Form AZS-106 (medical death certificate) along with the passport copy. This document is issued by the Medical Court Examination Department in the district where the death take took place. Burial or repatriation cannot take place without first obtaining the death certificate. You will need information and documents about the person who has died, including their:
- birth certificate, showing their place of birth and parents’ names
- religion
- official identity document (for example their British passport)
- spouse’s details (if applicable)
- marriage certificate (if applicable)
- divorce papers
You do not have to register the death of a British national that occurs overseas, in this case Azerbaijan, 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.
You can sometimes apply for a consular death registration. This is not mandatory and cannot be used instead of a death certificate from the country where the person died. It is only available in some countries. If you want to do this, you can find more information about a consular death registration and apply online.
Getting a death certificate
After registering the death, you will get a local death certificate. You can get it translated into English yourself.
Post mortems in Azerbaijan
A post mortem is a medical examination of the body. All foreign nationals who die in Azerbaijan undergo a compulsory post‑mortem, especially in cases where the body is to be repatriated to the UK. This could be done without the family’s permission. You will not automatically be told if this happens.
Upon notification of a death outside a hospital, the emergency services will attend the scene of the death. They will:
- verify the death
- inform the district police of the death
The district police will arrange for the deceased to be transported to the mortuary in the district where the death took place. At the mortuary an post mortem, also known as autopsy will be carried out.
A post-mortem is normally performed in all cases and certainly when the death is not by natural causes. Post-mortems are carried out by forensic doctors appointed by the hospital or by the court sometimes called pathologists.
Autopsies are always carried out for foreign nationals, usually within 24 hours. The autopsy will be undertaken by the district Medical Court Examination Department and a Medical Death Certificate Form (AZS-106) will be issued once the cause of death is established. This is the document based on which local death certificate is issued. Organs are retained with the deceased. The results of the autopsy are made available to the police but can sometimes take several days. If the next of kin require a copy of the autopsy report they will need to make a written application to the Central Medical Examination Court.
The deceased will remain in the mortuary until after the autopsy takes place. Once this has taken place the deceased will be released for either burial or repatriation.
The Azerbaijan authorities will not charge next of kin to conduct a post-mortem. Access to information concerning a death is restricted until a Coroner has reviewed the evidence such as post-mortem and police reports. The Azerbaijan authorities will usually not provide this information directly to next of kin, or to third parties, including our Embassies, until after the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. The release of any information will usually take several months and in some more complicated instances, years.
Mortuary facilities
In Azerbaijan mortuaries are usually attached to local hospitals. Cold storage facilities are available in Baku city. In the regions facilities may not be consistent with Baku standards.
Burying or cremating the body in Azerbaijan
You need a local funeral directorto arrange a burial or cremation in Azerbaijan. 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.
In Azerbaijan the burial or repatriation cannot take place without first obtaining the death certificate. Local burial is possible but there are no local cremation facilities. If the next of kin decides to bury the person in Azerbaijan, then the UK will not carry out an inquest when the remains are not returned to the UK. For more information on inquests, see the information on UK coroners and inquests.
If you choose a local burial, you will need to instruct a local funeral director and they can make the necessary arrangements with either a private of government owned cemetery. A ceremony can be organised by the funeral director or a registered celebrant. You can make specific arrangements depending on your cultural and/or religious beliefs.
Organ donation from the dead body is not possible under the current laws of Azerbaijan.
Bringing the body to the UK
If the deceased was insured you should immediately contact the insurance company to establish if they are able to cover for the repatriation expenses and make the necessary arrangements. You may need the insurance policy number and the associated 24 hour medical emergency contact number to do this.
If the travel insurance company confirm that there is a current policy, you should not appoint your own funeral director or be pressurised by local funeral agencies to do so. It will be the insurance company that will appoint the funeral director both locally and in the UK. Once funeral director is appointed, ask him about options for bringing the person’s body to the UK from Azerbaijan.
When taking the person’s body to the UK from Azerbaijan you will need to
- a local death certificate
- permission to remove the person’s body from the coroner
- passport of the person who died
- no objection letter from the British Embassy
- flight arrangements
The only direct flights between the UK and Azerbaijan are with Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL).
Bringing the ashes to the UK
This option is not available, as cremation is not practiced in Azerbaijan. There are no facilities in the country to carry out cremation, and therefore ashes cannot be provided locally.
Getting the person’s belongings back
Belongings the person had with them when they died are normally given to you or the Azerbaijani police.
If you bring the person’s body to the UK, you can ask your local funeral director to collect all the belongings from the police and transport them together.
If they were a Azerbaijanian resident you may not be able to take the belongings as they may be part of their estate. Get legal advice if this happens.
Belongings may be kept as evidence if there is an investigation into the death. This will only be returned when the court case is over.
Please note, the British Embassy cannot take responsibility for the personal belongings of the person who died.
Finding a Azerbaijani-language translator
You may need a translator to help you understand local rules or get documents translated. The official language in Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani. Local authorities do not provide services in English.
Check official translators in Azerbaijan. The embassy in Azerbaijan cannot provide translation services or pay for translation costs.
Finding a lawyer in Azerbaijan
You may need a lawyer to help you understand the local legal system in Azerbaijan when someone has died. Check English-speaking lawyers in Azerbaijan. The embassy in Azerbaijan cannot give you legal advice or pay for legal costs.
Telling the UK authorities
Although you do not have to register the death in the UK, when someone dies abroad you still need to tell the UK authorities. Read general guidance on what to do when someone dies abroad to find out what to do.
Contacting the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
You can contact the FCDO if you still need advice:
- in the UK call +44 (0)20 7008 5000
- see how to get help from the UK government abroad