Repatriation from Zimbabwe to Poland
We organise bringing the deceased from Zimbabwe 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 Pretoria. 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 Zimbabwe are collected.
- Price
- We will quote the price once we know the details.
Procedure: Zimbabwe
Poland is not a party to the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement on the Conveyance of Corpses, so bringing a body from Zimbabwe always requires the Polish consul's certificate.
Documents from Zimbabwe 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).
Zimbabwe: Pretoria and the honorary consulate in Harare
Zimbabwe's affairs fall under the Polish Embassy in Pretoria. The embassy's website also mentions an honorary consulate in Harare, operating since November 2011, but we check today whether it still accepts applications. The certificate is issued by the embassy: the appointment is arranged by email, and the documents do not need to be translated into Polish.
The application is filed by the person entitled to arrange the funeral or by an authorised person, for example a funeral home employee, with the original power of attorney. We arrange the death document in Zimbabwe and the starosta's permit in Poland, and we contact the embassy under the family's power of attorney. The same post also serves Namibia. After the consul's certificate, a funeral home prepares the remains for transport, and we organise carriage to Poland, collection on arrival and burial at the cemetery chosen by the family. 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 Pretoria.
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 Zimbabwe?
The consul of the mission named by gov.pl: the Polish Embassy in Pretoria. It is based on the starosta's permit and the death certificate.
Other countries
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