Issuing authority and document: The laissez-passer mortuaire is issued by the local authorities (application via e-lpm.be). The Polish certificate is issued by the Polish consul in Brussels.
Transport: By a specialised vehicle for carrying bodies, or by plane. We agree the route and the handover place in Poland with the family.
Timing: We confirm the timing once we have the documents. The Polish Act provides that the starosta (district head) and the consul issue their documents at the latest within 3 days of the application (Article 14(5) of the Act on Cemeteries and Burial of the Dead); in practice time is also needed for the sanepid's opinion and delivering the originals, and the time needed to deal with matters in the country of death depends on the authorities there.
Price: We will quote the price once we know the details.

The procedure in Belgium

Belgium is a party to the Strasbourg Agreement on the Transfer of Corpses. Poland is not a party to it, so the requirements for countries outside the agreement apply to transport to Poland. In the Brussels-Capital Region the coffin must be metal and hermetically sealed, with a layer of absorbent material, inside a wooden coffin. We check the requirements of Flanders and Wallonia separately.

Registering a death at the commune and cremation in Brussels

In Belgium a death is reported at the civil registry of the commune where it happened. According to the Brussels-Capital Region government, two adults do this within 24 hours of the doctor's declaration of death, and a funeral home can act in their place. The same office issues the burial permit. In the Brussels Region the only company authorised to carry out cremations is the inter-municipal cooperative Cremabru.

According to the consulate, the e-lpm.be platform is used only to obtain the transport pass for a body, not for an urn. An urn needs the consent of the local authorities, and the cremation certificate may be in French, Dutch or German. Documents are accepted by the Consular Department of the Polish Embassy at Rue des Francs 28 in Brussels, in person or by post. The family or the funeral home also goes to the commune to set the date of the funeral. The consul does not decide for the family on the method or place of burial; that is the relatives' decision.

Documents for the Polish consulate

For a body, the Polish consulate in Brussels requires the starosta's permit, a copy of the death certificate, the laissez-passer mortuaire from the local authorities and the certificat de mise en bière (a certificate that the body has been placed in a soldered metal coffin). For ashes: the starosta's permit, the death certificate, the cremation certificate and the local authorities' consent to the transport of the urn.

On the Polish side two documents are always needed: a permit from the starosta (district head) responsible for the place of burial, and then a certificate from the Polish consul, issued on the basis of that permit and the death certificate (Article 14(4) of the Act on Cemeteries and Burial of the Dead). The same documents are needed for an urn with ashes.

Frequently asked questions

What is a certificat de mise en bière?

It is a certificate that the body has been placed in a coffin and that the coffin has been closed. The Polish consulate requires it for the transport of a body from Belgium.

Is consent needed to transport an urn from Belgium?

According to the Polish consulate, the consent of the local authorities is needed for the transport of the urn, and in Poland the starosta's permit and the consul's certificate.

How long does it take to bring a body home from Belgium?

We confirm the timing once we have the documents. The Act provides that the starosta and the consul issue their documents at the latest within 3 days of the application (Article 14(5) of the Act on Cemeteries and Burial of the Dead); in practice time is also needed for the sanepid's opinion, delivering the originals, formalities in the country of death and the transport itself.

Other countries

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Repatriation of a Body from Belgium to Poland