Repatriation from Morocco to Moldova

Morocco is about 3,400 km from Chișinău in a straight line, and the paperwork has its own character: the certificate is in Arabic or French, embalming is required and cremation is not permitted. We help you take it in order.

Issuing authority and document: Morocco is not on the public list of parties to the Strasbourg Agreement on the Transfer of Corpses (1973), which we consulted on 13.10.2026, so Moroccan rules and the requirements of the Republic of Moldova apply. According to the British government guide for Morocco (updated 16.07.2021), the death is registered with the local authorities where the person died, and the certificate is issued in Arabic and/or French. Morocco does not appear in the list of Moldovan missions on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (consulted 13.10.2026); the page of the Moldovan embassy in Lisbon says it is accredited for the Kingdom of Morocco (the page carries no date). We therefore confirm with the Ministry at the outset which mission issues the mortuary passport.
Transport: By air. It is about 3,400 km in a straight line from Casablanca to Chișinău (our own calculation, approximate coordinates). We have not verified whether there are direct flights to Chișinău (RMO), so the route and connections are planned for each case. The British guide requires an embalming certificate for repatriation.
Timing: We confirm the timeline once we have the documents. The British guide (2021) says repatriation formalities normally take 2 to 3 days and that an autopsy report can take two months or more, but the autopsy does not block repatriation. These are figures from the guide, not our promise: in practice the timeline depends on the Moroccan authorities, the Moldovan mission and the route.
Price: We will quote the price once we know the details.

Country status under the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement on the Transfer of Corpses: per the Council of Europe list (archived 20.05.2014) and the Netherlands treaty database; checked 11.10.2026.

Procedure

The death is registered with the local authorities where the person died; the certificate is in Arabic and/or French and does not state the cause of death. The British guide advises having the names of the deceased's parents to hand, including the mother's maiden name, so the certificate is produced faster.

For repatriation the British guide lists the civil registry certificate, the embalming certificate and the certificate permitting the transfer of the remains. Special coffins are required for international carriage; the guide says they are supplied by Compagnie Marocaine de Pompes Funèbres.

Required documents

Usually needed: the Moroccan death certificate, the embalming certificate, the permit to transfer the remains and the passport of the deceased. Morocco appears in the status table of the Hague Apostille Convention (in force for Morocco since 14.08.2016, table consulted 13.10.2026), and the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs list on the recognition of documents (last update 02.02.2017) shows Morocco among the countries with the apostille. We check the exact list of documents with the Moldovan mission for each case.

Specifics of Morocco

Cremation is not permitted in Morocco, according to the British guide, so we plan on transporting the body.

The prosecutor automatically requests a post-mortem for non-natural deaths or where the deceased is a foreigner; according to the same guide, the post-mortem does not block repatriation or burial, and the report is in Arabic and is requested in writing. Samples may be taken without the family's consent.

Frequently asked questions

Can cremation take place in Morocco?

No. The British government guide (updated 16.07.2021) says cremation is not permitted in Morocco. The options are burial in Morocco or transporting the body to Moldova.

Does a post-mortem delay repatriation?

According to the British guide, no: the body can be repatriated or buried before the test results are ready. The post-mortem report, in Arabic, is released much later and is requested in writing from the General Prosecutor.

Do documents from Morocco need an apostille?

Morocco is in the status table of the Apostille Convention (in force since 14.08.2016) and on the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs list of apostille countries. Which documents are apostilled and which translations are needed we confirm for each case.

Which Moldovan mission handles Morocco?

We did not find Morocco in the list of missions on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website; the page of the embassy in Lisbon says it is accredited for Morocco. We confirm this with the Ministry before submitting documents.

Other countries

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