Issuing authority and document: North Macedonia is not listed among the parties to the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement on the Transfer of Corpses in the public list we consulted on 13.10.2026, so local and Moldovan rules apply together. UK government guidance (updated 8 November 2024) does not name the office that issues the transfer permission, and we did not find it in another source; we establish it at the start. The mortuary passport is issued by embassies or consulates of the Republic of Moldova; on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website the country appears under the embassy in Sofia.
Transport: By air or by road. The public table we consulted shows no scheduled direct Skopje — Chișinău flight; by road the route passes through one or more transit countries before Romania, and they may have requirements of their own. We choose the route together with the family, depending on the situation.
Timing: We confirm the timeline once we have the documents. It is affected by the translation of the documents from Macedonian and by the fact that the embassy in Sofia covers two countries, Albania and North Macedonia.
Price: Body (repatriation of remains): from 1 500 €
Ashes (urn): from 800 €

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

According to UK government guidance (published 2 June 2023, updated 8 November 2024), the death is registered at the registry office closest to where the person died; usually a relative or the funeral service does it, with a written authorisation. Certificates are issued in Macedonian.

For repatriation, local funeral services prepare, per the same guidance, the death certificate from the civil registry, the embalming certificate and the certificate of permission to transfer the remains. No Moldovan embassy in Skopje appears in the list of missions on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website; the country is shown under the embassy in Sofia, which also covers Albania (the list carries no date).

Required documents

Usually needed: the Macedonian death certificate with an apostille and a translation, the identity document of the deceased, the embalming certificate, the transfer permission and the funeral service's documents. North Macedonia is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention (succession, in force since 17 November 1991). In the list of the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (updated 2 February 2017) the country appears, under its former name "Macedonia", among the states with an apostille. The translation and the exact list we agree with the mission.

Specifics of the country

There is no cremation in North Macedonia, UK guidance says; it can be done in a neighbouring country through the funeral service. The guidance does not describe the transport of an urn, so we check the rules for ashes separately for the chosen route.

In a straight line, Skopje airport is about 800 km from Chișinău.

Frequently asked questions

Who issues the mortuary passport for a death in North Macedonia?

The mortuary passport is issued by embassies or consulates of the Republic of Moldova. On the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list the country appears under the embassy in Sofia. The list carries no date; we confirm with the mission how a request is submitted.

In what language are the documents from North Macedonia?

According to UK government guidance, death certificates are issued in Macedonian. We agree the translation with the Moldovan mission before submission.

Can cremation take place in North Macedonia?

No: UK guidance says cremation is not available in the country and can be arranged in a neighbouring one. If the family chooses it, we take care of the organisation and confirm the documents for an urn.

Who gives the permission to transfer the body?

UK guidance names a "certificate giving permission to transfer the remains" but does not say who issues it, and we did not find the office in an official source. We establish it at the start, with the funeral service and the embassy.

Other countries

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Repatriation from North Macedonia to Moldova