Repatriation from Tuvalu to Poland
We organise bringing the deceased from Tuvalu to Poland: documents from the country of death, Polish permits and transport of the body or urn.
- Issuing authority and document
- Certificate: the Polish Embassy in Wellington. The export permit comes from the authorities of the country of death.
- Transport
- The body is carried by air as air cargo. We agree the arrival airport and the handover point in Poland with the family.
- Timing
- The starosta and the consul have up to 3 days for their documents (Article 14(5) of the Act on Cemeteries). We give the full timing once the documents from Tuvalu are collected.
- Price
- We will quote the price once we know the details.
Procedure: Tuvalu
Poland is not a party to the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement on the Conveyance of Corpses, so bringing a body from Tuvalu always requires the Polish consul's certificate.
Documents from Tuvalu are authenticated by legalisation if a Polish office asks for it (the country is not a party to the Hague Convention, HCCH, as of 13 October 2026).
Tuvalu: handled from Wellington
Tuvalu falls under the Polish Embassy in Wellington. Its district covers New Zealand, Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga, and for consular purposes also the Cook Islands and Niue. Visits are booked through the e-Konsulat system, and documents can be submitted in person or by post.
The embassy's procedure provides for an authenticated death certificate (Tuvalu is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so legalisation applies), a medical statement that no infectious disease was involved, and an embalming certificate. A funeral home confirms a sealed metal coffin inside a wooden crate. For ashes a cremation certificate and a sealed, damage-resistant container are needed. The page describes the embassy's procedure in New Zealand, so for Tuvalu we confirm the scope in your case. We organise contact with the embassy, the documents and the transport to Poland. We clarify the detailed requirements of this country's authorities on request in your case.
The Polish consul's certificate
The certificate is issued by the consul of the mission named on gov.pl: the Polish Embassy in Wellington.
How to get them: the starosta's permit and the consul's certificate.
Frequently asked questions
Who issues the Polish consul's certificate when a body is brought from Tuvalu?
The consul of the mission named by gov.pl: the Polish Embassy in Wellington. It is based on the starosta's permit and the death certificate.