Issuing authority and document: Export documents are issued by the authorities of the country of death; we confirm them in your case. Polish certificate: the Polish consul with territorial jurisdiction in this country; we identify the mission in your case.
Transport: By a special vehicle for the conveyance of bodies, or by air. We agree the route and the handover point in Poland with the family.
Timing: We confirm the timing once we have the documents. The law provides that the starosta (district head) and the consul issue their documents within 3 days of the application being submitted at the latest. In practice, time is added for the opinion of the district sanitary inspector (sanepid) and for delivery of the originals. The time needed to deal with matters in the country of death depends on the offices there.
Price: We will quote the price once we know the details.

Procedure: Bulgaria

This country is not a party to the Strasbourg Agreement on the Conveyance of Corpses of 1973 (according to the Netherlands treaty database, as of 13 October 2026). Poland is not a party to it, so in addition to the documents from the country of death, the Polish consul's certificate is needed.

The country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (according to the HCCH, as of 13 October 2026), so documents from this country can be authenticated with an apostille if a Polish office asks for it.

Death certificate on the EU form or in Bulgarian

For someone who died in Bulgaria the certificate is issued by the territorially competent Polish consular office, and a visit is booked through the e-konsulat system. The most practical detail concerns the death certificate. The consular page requires a copy on the EU form or in Bulgarian, together with a Polish translation. We handle the translation so that the document does not come back from the office.

Besides the death certificate you need a burial permit from the starost or city mayor, a medical statement that the death was not linked to an infectious disease, and a funeral home certificate that the body is in a soldered metal coffin with an absorbent layer of at least 5 cm, placed in a wooden crate. Documents can be filed in person or by post, and the consul issues the certificate immediately and no later than three days after the application.

The Consular and Polonia Section of the Polish Embassy in Sofia receives visitors without an appointment from Monday to Wednesday and on Friday, from 9:00 to 13:00. Thursday is not a reception day. By phone the section answers from Monday to Wednesday and on Friday from 13:00 to 16:00, and on Thursday from 9:00 to 16:00. For a family in Bulgaria this makes a simple calculation: personal matters are dealt with in the morning and phone questions in the afternoon, except on Thursday. Outside working hours, when the consul's immediate support is needed after a death, a duty phone is available. On the coast, in Nesebar at ul. Mladost 62, there is an honorary consulate. We confirm with the embassy which actions it can take in a transport case.

The Polish consul's certificate

The certificate for bringing a body or ashes to Poland is issued by the Polish consul with territorial jurisdiction in this country; we identify the mission in your case.

According to the Polish mission's website, a copy of the death certificate in Bulgarian needs to be translated into Polish.

On the Polish side two documents are always needed, for an urn too: the starosta's permit and the Polish consul's certificate (Article 14(4) of the Act on Cemeteries and Burial of the Dead).

Documents for the consul: body

According to the Polish mission's website, the following are needed:

Burial permit issued by the starosta or the city mayor.
Copy of the death certificate on the EU form, or in Bulgarian with a Polish translation.
Medical certificate that the death was not related to an infectious disease.
Certificate from the funeral home: the body is in a metal coffin with a layer of absorbent material (min. 5 cm), the coffin is soldered shut and placed in a wooden crate.

Frequently asked questions

Who issues the Polish consul's certificate for repatriation from Bulgaria?

The Polish consul with territorial jurisdiction in this country; we identify the mission in your case, on the basis of the starosta's permit and the death certificate. The law provides for the certificate to be issued within 3 days of the application being submitted at the latest.

Are permits needed for an urn from Bulgaria?

Yes. Polish rules on the conveyance of corpses apply accordingly to ashes, so the starosta's permit and the Polish consul's certificate are needed.

Other countries

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Repatriation from Bulgaria to Poland