Bringing Your Loved One Home

A step-by-step guide to the international repatriation process

When a death occurs overseas, the path forward can feel overwhelming. Documentation, embassy requirements, airline protocols, customs clearance, and cultural considerations — it is a great deal to navigate during an already difficult time.

This page explains exactly how AMAR International manages the repatriation process from start to finish, so you know what to expect at every stage. One phone call is all it takes to set everything in motion.

One Call. We Handle the Rest.

From the moment you contact us, a dedicated AMAR coordinator is assigned to your case. They become your single point of contact — in Australia, and in the country where your loved one has passed away.

Our team liaises with local authorities, embassies and consulates, overseas funeral directors, airlines, and Australian customs — in English, and in the local language of wherever you need us. We have been coordinating international repatriations for over 100 years, and our Bangkok office gives us a direct, on-the-ground presence across the Asia-Pacific.

Step 1. Initial Contact - Call us 24/7

Call our Australia or Thailand line any time. You speak directly with a qualified repatriation coordinator — never a voicemail. No paperwork or insurance details needed on the first call.

Step 2. Case Assessment & Written Quotation

Within hours, you receive a detailed written quotation covering every cost — overseas services, preparation, coffin, airfreight, customs, and Australian transport. No hidden fees. Where insurance applies, we bill the insurer directly.

Step 3. Authorisation & Documentation

We request a brief authorisation from next of kin and begin gathering the required legal documents — death certificate, consular mortuary certificate, embalming certificate, and export/import permits. You don’t need to know the list; we manage it.

Step 4. Coordination with Local Authorities

Our overseas partners take the deceased into professional care and liaise with local police, mortuary, hospital, embassy, and consulate. If a post-mortem is required by local law, we manage it and keep you informed of any delays.

Step 5. Preparation of the Deceased

Prepared to international aviation standards — typically embalming, dressing, and placement in a sealed zinc-lined transport coffin. Religious and cultural requirements (Islamic ghusl, expedited preparation without embalming, etc.) are accommodated where local regulations allow. Overseas viewing available on request.

Step 6. International Transport

We book the most direct and respectful routing back to Australia with our airline partners. The deceased travels as known-shipper airfreight with the full documentation pack. You receive flight details and an estimated arrival time.

Step 7. Arrival & Australian Customs Clearance

AMAR meets the flight and clears customs, biosecurity, and quarantine — a common source of delays for unfamiliar handlers. We receive into any Australian capital city or regional location.

Step 8. Handover & Onward Arrangements

The deceased is transferred to your chosen funeral director, or AMAR can conduct the full Australian service as a continuation of the same case — one provider, start to finish. We close with a complete document pack for probate, insurance, and estate matters.