Who to Contact If a Singaporean Dies Overseas

MFA keeps the contact details for each Singapore Overseas Mission on its own site, so they stay current. Use MFA's Find an Overseas Mission page and pick the country or city where the death happened. We link to MFA instead of copying numbers, because they change.

If there is no Singapore mission in that country, call the MFA duty line on [+65 6379 8800](tel:+6563798800). MFA confirmed the same line applies in countries without a resident mission.

1. Call MFA on +65 6379 8800, or the nearest Singapore mission. MFA's consular officers can notify the next of kin, provide a list of undertakers for reference, and liaise with the foreign authorities where necessary. 2. Check the caller. If someone calls or messages you claiming to be a consular officer, the Singapore Government Directory (SGDI) lets you verify the name, email and phone number. 3. Call the travel insurer's emergency line before you appoint a funeral director overseas, if the person was insured. Some insurers only pay for services they arranged or approved. 4. Choose an undertaker. MFA can give you a list for reference, but neither the Singapore Government nor the missions vouch for an undertaker's service or reliability. Ask for itemised costs in writing. 5. Report the death to ICA once you have the overseas death certificate. The report is online and free. Ask your funeral director to confirm the current steps.

• Notify the next of kin of the death • Provide a list of undertakers for reference • Liaise with foreign authorities, where necessary • Help transfer funds from the next of kin to the undertaker, but only in countries with a Singapore mission, and only if the next of kin cannot pay the undertaker directly

• Investigate the death or give legal advice • Make a police report on the family's behalf • Make insurance claims on the family's behalf • Pay outstanding bills or debts • Pay for burial, cremation, repatriation, administrative or legal expenses • Send personal items back to Singapore • Interpret or translate documents in a foreign language into English • Stop or hasten the foreign authorities' procedures, such as police investigations or post-mortems

The overseas and Singapore undertakers coordinate the repatriation. MFA's guide says these documents, fully in or translated into English, are required to import a coffin into Singapore:

• Overseas death certificate (with the name as on the Singapore passport or identity card, citizenship, passport number, date and cause of death). It must accompany the coffin. • Sealing certificate • Coffin export permit from the country exporting the body • Letters of authorisation, provided by the undertakers • Embalming certificate, if applicable (tell the embalmer if the person had a pacemaker or a similar device) • Exhumation certificate, if repatriating exhumed remains • Airway bill or air consignment note, optional • Any other documents the foreign authorities require

For burial in Singapore, MFA says the coffin should not exceed 210 cm by 90 cm by 80 cm. For cremation in Singapore, the cremators take coffins up to 210 cm by 60 cm by 56 cm. If the person had an infectious disease of concern, the undertakers must inform the authorities, and only undertakers with the Basic Infection Control Course can manage the body. NEA's Port Health Office decides whether it can be imported ([+65 6222 2585](tel:+6562222585)).

Ask the overseas undertaker for the cremation certificate and a sealed urn, and check the airline's rules before you travel. See Bringing Someone Home to Singapore for the steps.