The laws and procedures of death registration in Turkey are mentioned in the Population Services Law No. 5490. Additionally, the same is mentioned in the Implementation of the Population Services Law, the Construction of Cemeteries and the Regulation on Funeral Transfer and Burial Procedures.

If a Turkish citizen passes away in a foreign country, their death should be notified to the relevant Population Directorate. The documents are available at all foreign local authorities and the concerned families can get them, duly fill them and then deliver them to the Foreign Representatives. The relatives or the funeral company who is authorized to bury the dead can do this.

It is important that death be reported to the Foreign Representatives abroad within ten days when the death occurred. The Foreign Representatives office will report the documents to the Population Directorate within the same time-frame.

Understanding the sad situation of the relatives of the deceased, if the deceased is to be buried in Turkey the process of transport is deemed most urgent. The entire operation is done at a quick pace including the transport of the dead body back to Turkey. Therefore, the death registration can be done at all the Foreign Representative offices regardless of whether a particular office is responsible for the duty area. Any Foreign Representative office closest to the funeral services or the airport can complete the death registration of the deceased.

Documents Required

The following documents will be required by the relatives of the deceased:

• A signed petition.
• A photocopy of the ID card of the individual who drafted the petition.
• The official death certificate issued by the foreign local authorities. If the death occurred by murder, accident, or suicide an autopsy report will also be required. This report has to be translated in the Turkish language.
• The ID card of the deceased person.
• The passport of the deceased person. If the deceased person has, a foreign national spouse a photocopy of the marriage certificate will also be required. Additionally, the birth certificate of the spouse if he or she is deceased. This list of documents does not need any translation.

Procedure for Death Certificate from England

If a Turkish citizen dies in England, the relatives of the deceased must report the Consulate General to ensure that the death registration is done on a timely basis. However, the death should be reported to the Consulate General within ten days of the event occurred along with the ID card, passport and death certificate of the deceased person.

If the family wished to carry out the funeral of the deceased who passed away in the UK, the family first needs to contact the funeral transport company to complete the necessary documentation for the process to start. The family will require the following documents:

• Identity card and the passport of the Turkish deceased individual.
• A medical report prepared on the letterhead of the relevant hospital or doctor.
• The original death certificate is prepared by the British registration office.
• An embalming certificate.
• A report from the coroner.
• A certificate stating that the body of the deceased if free from any infectious diseases.
• Details of transport like the flight number, date and time of the flight. Additionally, other details like the destination and the full name of the person in charge of carrying out the transport will also be required.
• A member of the family of the deceased must complete the application manually.

Expenses

The mail fees of all the translation are about £5.00 that includes all documentation and other formalities’ services.