Transport of human remains

For the transfer of human remains to Serbia, it is necessary to obtain a relevant document of the Republic of Serbia called a docket ("Sprovodnica").

A request for the issuance of this document should be submitted to the Consular Section of the Embassy, both for the transfer of the urn and the transfer of the human remains. The request for the issuance of the document should be submitted by a family member of the deceased or a funeral company, hired by the family..

For the issuance of Sprovodnica, original copies of the following documents are required:

  1. Passport of the deceased person (The Serbian passport needs to be physically brought to the Embassy and will be returned after annuling; in the case that the deceased did not possess a Serbian passport, than a certificate of a secured burial place in the Republic of Serbia is also required ).
  2. Request by a family member of the deceased person or a funeral company authorized for the transport of human remains stating, beside other things, the venue of the funeral and the transport route to the funeral venue;
  3. Death Certificate issued by the relevant UK or Irish authorities with Apostille legalization (also issued by UK or Irish authorities);
  4. Medical report on the cause of death;
  5. A docket or a permit to transport the mortal remains from abroad, issued by the relevant UK or Irish authority;
  6. A letter stating that a grave site is procured in the Republic of Serbia, only if the deceased is a foreign national;
  7. In case death is caused by the plague or small pox, docket (Sprovodnica) is issued following the approval of the Serbian Health Ministry. The approval is obtained by the Embassy.

If funeral is to take place in a third country and the remains are transported via Serbian territory, it is necessary to have a transit docket (Sprovodnica). In order to be able to issue a transit docket, all the above documents should be submitted, along with a docket of the state of burial.

A docket is also required in order to transport an urn. In this case all the above documents including cremation certificate, needs to be submitted.