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 Caracas.
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: 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: Venezuela

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 Venezuela via Caracas

For Venezuela the case is handled by the Polish Embassy in Caracas, and the visit is booked by email. A death certificate or another document confirming the death with an apostille is required, alongside the starosta's permit. Venezuela belongs to the Hague Convention, so the apostille is the ordinary route of authentication here. For an urn, the embassy's page adds a cremation certificate and a funeral home statement that the ashes are in a sealed, damage-resistant container.

The certificate is collected in person or sent at the applicant's cost. We arrange the apostille, the application and carriage by air. We confirm with the embassy where to send the originals before posting them.

The Consular Section of the Polish Embassy in Caracas works from Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 16:00. The embassy has territorial competence over ten states: Venezuela, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Honorary consulates operate in the Venezuelan towns of El Consejo and Barquisimeto, and outside Venezuela in Saint George's, Kingston, Port of Spain, Bridgetown, Paramaribo, Kingstown and Basseterre. For families whose loved one died in one of the states under the embassy in Caracas, it matters that the same section in Caracas handles the case. Which of the honorary points can help in a specific case, and which cannot, we confirm with the embassy.

The Polish consul's certificate

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

According to the Polish mission's website, the death certificate must carry an apostille.

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 (the application can be filed by the family or an authorised funeral home).
A copy of the death certificate or another document confirming the death.
A copy of the death certificate with an Apostille stamp.

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 (the application can be filed by the family or an authorised funeral home).
A copy of the death certificate or another document confirming the death.
A copy of the death certificate with an Apostille stamp.
Cremation certificate.
Certificate from the funeral home that the ashes were placed in a sealed, damage-resistant container.

Frequently asked questions

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

The Polish Embassy in Caracas, 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 Venezuela?

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 Venezuela to Poland