Exhumation in Malta and Reburial in Ukraine
If your relative is already buried in Malta, we arrange the exhumation and bring the remains home to Ukraine for reburial. Our exhumation costs from €500 plus the cost of transport, with no prepayment.
MT → UA · 24/7
Repatriation of the deceased from Malta to Ukraine
XREQUIEM brings the deceased home from Malta to Ukraine from €4,000. We deal with the Maltese papers, embalming, the port health check and the embassy in Rome. The body leaves the island by plane or by ferry to Sicily, and our vehicle drives the rest. The road home takes from 24 hours after collection.
Oleg Zdendiak, ownerpersonally responsible for every case 5,0 129 reviews on Google
Translated from Ukrainian “You were always available, whatever the time…” — Віта Х. “Everything was organised with great dignity, professionally and with attention to every detail.” — Тамара Ю. “Every question was resolved promptly, with respect and attention to detail.” — Olha B. “…your support, compassion, sense of responsibility and professionalism meant a great deal to us.” — Ірина Б. “It all went quickly and professionally…” — Оля К. from €4,000 including the documents, preparation of the deceased, the coffin, the flight or ferry and transport to your town. We will give you the exact price within 5 minutes.
The price includes:
- Documents of the country of death and the consulate
- Preparation of the body
- Zinc-lined transport coffin
- Transport to your town
- Coffin of your choice and urn free of charge
- No prepayment
What changes the total: the city and distance, the route (road or air), the country’s documents, preparation of the body. More about prices →
Summary. The price of bringing the deceased home from Malta is from €4,000: it covers the documents, the coffin and the road to your town, while the funeral in Ukraine is a separate service. Malta is an island, so the body leaves only by plane (air leg from 2.5 hours) or by ferry to Sicily and then by road through Italy. Embalming is mandatory for removal, and the zinc coffin is soldered in the presence of a port sanitary inspector. It takes from 24 hours after collection for the body to get home to Ukraine. Tell us the city and the address and we will give you the exact price within 5 minutes.
- Since 2015 bringing people home
- Ukrainian company Company code (EDRPOU) 46261246
- Contract with a fixed price
- 35 countries with “from” prices
- Own workshop coffins and funeral goods
- 24/7 one number throughout
If it has just happened
- Call or write any time. We explain what to say. We contact hospital and police.
- Mention any insurance policy. We coordinate with the insurer.
- Name two cities. Where it happened. Where to bring the body. Enough for a price. The passport comes later.
How it works, from your first call
Under the rules that Malta's port health service published, taking a body out of Malta is supervised by that service. The coffin is soldered shut in the presence of its inspector, and the documents travel with the deceased in a sealed envelope. We organise and run the steps in Malta. XREQUIEM handles your case from start to finish.
We answer your call 24/7
First we ask where the body is. The island's main mortuary is at Mater Dei Hospital. Then we check which papers have been issued, and you hear the price on the same call.
We collect the Maltese documents
The death certificate, the identity certificate and the burial permit.
We arrange embalming
Embalming is compulsory for taking a body out of Malta. We obtain the embalming certificate.
We seal the coffin with the inspector present
The zinc liner is soldered shut in the presence of the port health inspector, who issues a document confirming that the transport is safe.
Ukrainian paperwork
The Maltese documents are in English. We translate them into Ukrainian, certify them and file them with the embassy in Rome, together with the certificate of no prohibited items.
We send the deceased by air or by sea
The original documents are handed over in a sealed envelope to the aircraft commander or the ship's captain.
We bring the deceased to your town
From the airport or the port, our vehicle takes the deceased to the family.
We work out your price
Call or leave your number.
Documents in Malta
Documents in Malta are usually in English, and the list is short. Five documents travel with the deceased, and we collect all of them on the island.
What Malta issues
- Certificate of Death
- Certificate of Identity of the deceased
- Certificate of Embalmment, confirming the embalming
- Burial Permit. It is also valid for taking the body abroad.
- A document from the port health service (Port Health Office, Health Inspectorate Services) confirming that the transport of the body is safe.
What we take on
- We collect all the Maltese documents ourselves and liaise with the port health service.
- We translate the Maltese documents into Ukrainian and have the translations certified.
- We file everything with the embassy in Rome for you.
- We put together everything Ukrainian border customs will ask for.
What we need from you
- The deceased's passport, or a photo of it.
- Your passport and a document showing that you are a relative.
- A power of attorney for us. We explain how, from a distance.
Malta is not among the parties to the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement on the transfer of corpses. For that reason we check the documents for the journey against your route and your carrier. The general list of documents for Ukraine is on the Documents page.
The Embassy of Ukraine that covers Malta
There is no separate Embassy of Ukraine in Malta. The Embassy of Ukraine in Italy, in Rome, also covers Malta. In Malta itself, in Marsa, there is an honorary consulate of Ukraine.
- A Ukrainian citizen's death is registered by a consul. For Malta, that is the consul at the embassy in Rome.
- The consul needs the doctor's certificate of the cause of death and the Maltese Act of Death from the Public Registry. We translate and certify both.
- The consulate charges nothing for registration or the first certificate.
- For the funeral allowance, the consul issues a social protection certificate.
- The Maltese side confirms in writing that there are no prohibited items in the body or the coffin. The embassy in Rome legalises that paper, and only with it will the body be accepted at the Ukrainian border.
There is no need to go to Rome or to find the honorary consul in Marsa: we hand in the papers. More in our article The Ukrainian consulate when someone dies abroad.
How we bring the deceased home from Malta
There are only two ways off the island: by air or by sea. We choose the route together with you, depending on the timing and the price.
Where we collect from
Most often we collect from the mortuary of Mater Dei Hospital in Msida. We also go to Valletta, Sliema, St Julian's, Mosta, Bugibba and over to Gozo. Tell us where the body is now and we will fix a day. From there it leaves the island by plane or by ferry.
Air plus road
There are no direct flights from Malta to Ukraine. The body flies with a connection to a country next to Ukraine, and our vehicle meets it at the airport. The flight itself takes from 2.5 hours.
Ferry plus road
The other route is by ferry to Sicily. From there our vehicle drives through Italy and other countries to the Ukrainian border. It takes longer, but there is no flight.
How long it takes
Once we have collected the body, it is home in 24 hours at the least. The wait before departure is usually longer: in Malta a post-mortem is almost always carried out, and a magistrate looks into any unnatural death.
The coffin for the journey from Malta
In Malta the deceased is placed in an inner coffin of zinc or lead, which is hermetically soldered shut, and that goes inside a wooden coffin. The lid is screwed down and the screws are sealed with wax. This also meets the Ukrainian requirement of a hermetic metal coffin under seal. At the Ukrainian border, customs clearance is done on a written statement with the documents, and we prepare both. More on the Air transport and Coffins pages.
Price of repatriation from Malta
Body from Malta from €4,000Urn with ashes from €800
That figure is for the whole way home, from the Maltese mortuary to your door. If you also need a funeral in Ukraine, we price it on its own.
What the price includes
The price includes:
- contact with hospital and morgue
- local, consular, border documents
- preparing the body for travel
- hermetically sealed coffin with a zinc liner for transport
- sealing as the border requires
- by air or by ferry to the mainland, then in our vehicle to your town
- handover to the family
Coffin of your choice and urn: free of charge.
What can change the price
The price depends on whether we go by air or by ferry, on the route and the carrier, on the coffin you choose, on where exactly in Ukraine we are going and on how many documents are already prepared. We take all of this into account when we give you the price. Prices for other countries are on the Prices page.
Call us, day or night
Languages: Ukrainian, English, Polish, German. The same number in messengers.
Our work
Questions about repatriation from Malta
How much does it cost to bring the deceased home from Malta?
From €4,000. This already includes the Maltese and Ukrainian documents, preparation of the deceased, a sealed coffin, the flight or ferry and transport to your town. A funeral in Ukraine is charged separately. The exact amount depends on the route, the carrier and the town in Ukraine.
How long does the repatriation take?
After collection, the road home takes from 24 hours. Most of the time goes before that, on the Maltese paperwork, the post-mortem and the preparation of the deceased.
Is embalming compulsory?
Yes. Embalming is compulsory for taking a body out of Malta, and the embalming certificate is one of the documents for the journey. Preparation of the deceased is already in the price, and we take the cost of embalming into account from the start, when we give you the price. More on the Preparing the body page.
Why can the deceased not be taken out of Malta by road?
Malta is an island. The deceased leaves it by air or by sea, and the documents are handed over in a sealed envelope to the aircraft commander or the ship's captain. From the mainland onwards, we continue by road.
Who supervises taking the body out of Malta?
Malta's port health service. Its inspector is present when the zinc liner is soldered shut, and issues a document confirming that the transport is safe. We arrange all of this in Malta.
Where is the nearest Embassy of Ukraine?
In Rome: the Embassy of Ukraine in Italy also looks after Malta. Malta itself has an honorary consulate, in Marsa. We submit the documents to the embassy for you.
Which documents do you need from the family?
We obtain the Maltese certificates and the port health document, so you do not need to look for them. From the family we need a photo of the deceased's passport, your passport, proof of your relationship to the deceased and a power of attorney for us. All of this can be sent from Ukraine.
The deceased had insurance. What should we do?
Send us a photo of the policy before you agree to any services in Malta. The insurer usually approves the costs in advance, and without that approval the compensation can be lost. If the policy covers only the flight to an airport near Ukraine, we will price the road from there to your town separately and tell you straight away.
Where in Malta do you collect the deceased from?
Usually from the Mater Dei mortuary in Msida, but also from any town or village in Malta or on Gozo. The island is small. Tell us where the deceased is, and we will agree a day.
Can an urn with ashes be brought home?
Yes. Malta has no crematorium yet, so cremation can be arranged in Sicily. An urn enters Ukraine with the death certificate and a certificate of no prohibited items that the embassy has legalised. Taking ashes out of Malta is also supervised by the port health service, and we arrange it. Bringing an urn home costs from €800. More on the Urn transport page.
Tell us what happened
Oleg Zdendiak and the team. We explain the next steps.
Send a request for repatriation from Malta
Leave your number and we will call you back.
Nearby destinations: Italy, Greece and Spain. All countries are on the countries page.