Issuing authority and document: San Marino is not listed among the parties to the Strasbourg Agreement on the Transfer of Corpses (1973) in the Dutch treaty database list we consulted on 13.10.2026, and Italy, through which any transport must pass, is not listed either. So we rely not on the Agreement's laissez-passer but on local rules and Moldova's requirements. Search results on the government portal (gov.sm) include the Service Charter of the Civil Status, Demographic and Electoral Services Office (rev. 01/2024), which, per the search-result description, handles death and burial paperwork (we could not open the document); we have not read the text of the procedure for taking a body out of the country and found it in no other official source, so we do not state San Marino's requirements. According to secondary public sources (the list of Moldovan missions on Wikipedia, 13.10.2026), San Marino is covered by the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Rome; we did not find confirmation on mfa.gov.md, so we check this at the start.
Transport: San Marino is an enclave surrounded by Italy, with almost all its border shared with the province of Rimini; it has no railway apart from an 800 m heritage line, and the closest commercial airport is Federico Fellini in Rimini, with Forlì, Ancona and Bologna also near (Wikipedia, 13.10.2026). In a straight line it is about 1,320 km to Chișinău (our own calculation from coordinates). The Chișinău airport page lists Bologna (FlyOne, HiSky, Wizz Air) and Rome and does not list Rimini (Wikipedia, 13.10.2026); schedules change and we do not assume a particular flight. We check the cargo option or the road route through Italy for each case and agree the handover point in Moldova with the family.
Timing: We confirm the timeline once we have the documents. It depends on the San Marino authorities, the requirements for transit through Italy, the apostille and the flight or road available from the Rimini or Bologna area.
Price: Body (repatriation of remains): from 1 800 €
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

The death is registered with the San Marino authorities; from the material we found, the office handling civil status and death and burial paperwork is the Civil Status Office within the Department of Institutional Affairs and Justice (gov.sm, 01/2024). The exact steps for transport abroad we learn from the office and the funeral director for each case.

Because neither San Marino nor Italy is a party to the Strasbourg Agreement, the Agreement's laissez-passer does not apply. The mortuary passport can be issued by Moldovan embassies and consulates, and we check what is accepted for your case at the start, including what Italy requires in transit.

Required documents

Usually needed: the San Marino death certificate with an apostille, the passport or identity document of the deceased, the documents of the person applying and the funeral director's papers. San Marino has been in the Hague Apostille Convention since 13.02.1995 and the HCCH table shows no objection by Moldova (checked 13.10.2026), so an apostille is the usual route; the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that a foreign certificate must be legalised. We confirm the translation and the exact list for each case.

Transit through Italy, coffin and urn

On the coffin and on taking the body out of San Marino we have no official source that we have read, and Italian rules are different rules from San Marino's; we find them out from the funeral director and the authorities rather than assuming them. We take into account from the start that transit runs through Italy, which is not a party to the Agreement.

If the family chooses cremation, the Strasbourg Agreement does not cover ashes in any case (Article 1(3)). We settle the place of cremation and the documents for an urn travelling to Moldova separately, because we have not found an official San Marino source.

Frequently asked questions

Which office in San Marino handles the documents?

From the material we found, the Civil Status, Demographic and Electoral Services Office, which also handles death and burial paperwork (gov.sm, rev. 01/2024). We have not read the detailed procedure, so we clarify it for your case.

Why does it matter that the route goes through Italy?

San Marino is surrounded by Italy, so any transport by road or to an airport crosses its territory, and Italy is not a party to the Strasbourg Agreement. At the start we check what Italy requires in transit.

Which Moldovan embassy handles San Marino?

Secondary public sources name the embassy in Rome, but we did not find confirmation on mfa.gov.md. We check at the start, before documents are submitted.

Which airport does a transport from San Marino usually leave from?

The closest commercial airport is Rimini (Federico Fellini); the Chișinău airport list shows Bologna, not Rimini. Schedules change, so we choose the airport to suit your case or go by road.

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Repatriation from San Marino to Moldova