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 Embassy in Manila.
Transport: Bodies are carried by air as air cargo. We agree the arrival airport 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: the Philippines

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.

From the Philippines via Manila

From the Philippines, applications for the certificate are taken by the Polish Embassy in Manila, with the visit booked by email. The embassy's page states which Philippine death documents it accepts: a Certificate of Death from a hospital, from the Office of the Civil Registrar or from the Philippine Statistics Authority. They need not be translated into Polish. If the body was cremated, a cremation certificate is added. A person acting for the family must hold the original power of attorney.

A body may be carried only by a company specialised in international transport, while an urn in a sealed, durable container may even go in hand luggage, according to the airline's rules. The Philippines belongs to the Hague Convention. We arrange the powers of attorney, the documents and the transport.

The Polish consul's certificate

The certificate for bringing a body or ashes to Poland is issued by the Polish Embassy in Manila.

According to the Polish mission's website, the documents do not need 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 or another document (Certificate of Death from a hospital, the Office of the Civil Registrar or the Philippine Statistics Authority).
Certificate from the funeral home that the body was placed in a sealed metal coffin with a layer of absorbent material at least 5 cm thick at the bottom, in a wooden crate.
Application.

Documents for the consul: ashes

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 or another document confirming the death.
Certificate of cremation.
Certificate from the funeral home that the ashes have been placed in a sealed, durable container.

Good to know

According to the Polish mission's website:

A person acting on behalf of the family should have the original power of attorney.
Transporting a body requires a company specialising in international transport of bodies; an urn in a sealed, durable container can be carried by any means of transport, including as hand luggage, in accordance with the airline's rules.

Frequently asked questions

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

The Polish Embassy in Manila, 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 the Philippines?

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 the Philippines to Poland