Repatriation from the Philippines to Moldova

In the Philippines a municipal health officer confirms the death and the civil registrar records it, and before departure the body goes through the Bureau of Quarantine. We guide you through the steps and prepare the documents for the Moldovan side.

Issuing authority and document: The Philippines is not a party to the Strasbourg Agreement on the Transfer of Corpses (public list, checked on 13.10.2026), so Philippine rules apply together with the requirements of the Republic of Moldova. The mortuary passport is issued by embassies or consulates of the Republic of Moldova. The list of missions on mfa.gov.md (checked on 13.10.2026) shows no mission covering the Philippines, so we confirm the competent mission at the start of the case.
Transport: By air. According to the UK guidance, the body travels in a hermetically sealed container inside a fumigated wooden crate, and the papers are presented at the Bureau of Quarantine before the flight; we look for connections from the city of departure and do not assume a direct flight to Chișinău.
Timing: We confirm the timeline once we have the documents. The Philippine steps take different amounts of time (municipal certificate, civil registration, the PSA copy, a possible autopsy), so we give no date before we see which documents already exist.
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

According to the UK government guidance (updated 01.03.2024, may be out of date), a municipal health officer confirms the death and issues the municipal death certificate, usually within about a week. The death must then be registered with the local civil registrar within 30 days, and the certified copy is issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which the guidance puts at one to two months for Metro Manila and two to three months elsewhere.

The guidance warns that the PSA usually will not issue the death certificate until the hospital and funeral home fees are paid in full. For a foreign national an autopsy is required when the cause of death is not clear, usually with the consent of the next of kin, and the results are usually available after two to three weeks.

Required documents

According to the same guidance, repatriating a body requires: a certified copy of the death certificate, a copy of the passport, the Municipal Transfer Permit, the quarantine permit of the Bureau of Quarantine, an embalming certificate and a fumigation certificate. For ashes, a cremation certificate replaces the embalming certificate. The guidance is written for British families, so we confirm the list for the Moldovan side with the mission.

The Philippines is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (in force since 14.05.2019). The HCCH table shows objections from other states, not from the Republic of Moldova, and lists declarations by the Philippines whose text we have not read; we confirm which authority issues the apostille before sending any documents.

Cremation and ashes

The UK guidance notes that crematoriums are located in Metro Manila and a small number of other cities, and that ashes can usually be carried by a traveller; the documents and the airline's rules still need to be checked, including whether the urn may go in hand luggage.

For a body, the size of the coffin matters: according to the guidance, mortuaries have a limited range of sizes, and we say so from the start where it applies.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Municipal Transfer Permit?

A permit issued at municipal level for moving the body, listed in the UK guidance among the repatriation documents. The guidance does not say who obtains it, so we confirm this at the start.

Who issues the quarantine permit?

The Bureau of Quarantine. According to the UK guidance, the documents are presented at its office and no appointment is needed.

What if the hospital bills are unpaid?

The UK guidance says the PSA usually will not issue the death certificate until hospital and funeral home fees are paid in full, so this point is settled at the start.

Can we bring the ashes home from the Philippines?

Yes, if the family chooses cremation. The death and cremation certificates are needed, and we check the airline's conditions for the urn.

Other countries

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