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 competent for the place of death: the Polish Embassy in Kyiv or the Polish Consulate General in Kharkiv, Lviv, Lutsk, Odesa or Vinnytsia.
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 and the consul issue their documents within 3 days of the application at the latest (Article 14(5) of the Act on Cemeteries and Burial of the Dead); in practice time is added for the sanepid's opinion and delivery of the originals, and the time needed for matters in the country of death depends on the local offices.
Price: We will quote the price once we know the details.

Procedure: Ukraine

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.

Which consulate in Ukraine, and how a death is registered

Ukraine has the Polish Embassy in Kyiv and consulates general in Kharkiv, Lviv, Lutsk, Odesa and Vinnytsia, each with its own district of oblasts. For example, Lviv covers the Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Zakarpattia oblasts, Lutsk covers Volyn, Rivne and Ternopil, and Vinnytsia covers Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr. The consulate general in Kharkiv currently operates on a limited basis from the Lutsk building.

On the Ukrainian side a death is registered by the civil registry office (DRACS) on the basis of a death document from a medical facility or a forensic medical institution. We establish with the family at the start which consulate is competent for the case. Kyiv covers the city of Kyiv and the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv and Kirovohrad oblasts, and Odesa covers the Mykolaiv, Kherson and Odesa oblasts. After registration a death certificate is issued, together with a register extract used to obtain the funeral allowance.

The Polish consul's certificate

The certificate for bringing a body or ashes to Poland is issued by the Polish consul competent for the place of death: the Polish Embassy in Kyiv or the Polish Consulate General in Kharkiv, Lviv, Lutsk, Odesa or Vinnytsia.

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.
A copy of the death certificate or of another document confirming the death.
Medical death card issued by a doctor.
Certificate from the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station competent for the place of death.
Permit from the local authorities for the conveyance of the body.

Frequently asked questions

Who issues the Polish consul's certificate when a body is brought from Ukraine?

The Polish consul competent for the place of death: the Polish Embassy in Kyiv or the Polish Consulate General in Kharkiv, Lviv, Lutsk, Odesa or Vinnytsia, on the basis of the starosta's permit and the death certificate. The law provides that the certificate is issued within 3 days of the application at the latest (Article 14(5) of the Act on Cemeteries and Burial of the Dead).

Are permits needed for an urn from Ukraine?

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

Other countries

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Repatriation from Ukraine to Poland