ES → UA · 24/7
Repatriation of the deceased from Spain to Ukraine
XREQUIEM brings the deceased home from Spain to Ukraine from €3,500 for the whole route. We prepare the request for the Ukrainian consulate's entry permit, file the Sanidad Exterior exit permit on SISAEX, arrange embalming and the sealed coffin, and fly the body part of the way. The road home takes from 24 hours after collection.
Oleg Zdendiak, ownerpersonally responsible for every case “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 €3,500 including documents, the coffin 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 →
In Spain, the whole case runs through one online system, SISAEX, and the Sanidad Exterior office of the province where the person died. That office acts only after the Ukrainian consulate agrees to receive the body. The funeral in Ukraine is priced separately. Give us the city and the address, and you get 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 we help when someone has died in Spain
Spain is far from Ukraine, and the way home almost always includes a flight. At a time like this, it is hard for a family to deal with Spanish offices. We do it for you, and we explain every step in plain words. We speak Ukrainian, English, Polish and German.
The first call
Tell us the town and the province. In Spain, the province decides which Sanidad Exterior office and which Ukrainian consulate take the case. Then we say what to do first and name the price.
Contact with the Spanish side
We talk to the hospital in Spain and arrange for the body to be kept there until it leaves.
Entry permit from Madrid, Barcelona or Málaga
Spanish rules leave this request to the relatives. We fill in the application for the consulate that covers your province and collect the papers; you sign it.
The permit to take the body out of Spain
In SISAEX, we file the request with the deceased's name and last address, the date, place and cause of death, the means of transport, the exit point from Spain and the destination country. Sanidad Exterior then issues the exit permit.
Preparing the body
Embalming or other preparation for the journey, a hermetic coffin, seals.
The flight and the journey home
We book cargo space on the flight, meet the body at an airport near the Ukrainian border and take it to your town.
We work out your price
Call or leave your number.
Documents in Spain
In Spain, the Ministry of Health handles the transport of a body abroad, through its Sanidad Exterior service. Everything is processed online, on the SISAEX platform. The request goes to the Sanidad Exterior office in the province where the death occurred or where the body will leave from.
What Spain issues
- Medical certificate of death (certificado médico de defunción).
- Death certificate from the Civil Registry (certificado de defunción del Registro Civil) or a burial permit (licencia de enterramiento).
- Certificate of embalming or other preparation of the body for the journey (certificado de embalsamamiento o conservación transitoria).
- Permit from the health authority of the autonomous community, where the region requires it.
- Court permit (autorización judicial), if the death was violent.
- Permit to take the body out of the country (autorización de salida del cadáver). Sanidad Exterior issues it when the other documents are in order.
What is needed for Ukraine
- Permit to bring the body into Ukraine from the Ukrainian consulate in Spain (autorización de entrada). Without it, Sanidad Exterior will not issue the permit to take the body out.
- Death certificate, which is shown at the Ukrainian border.
- Certificate of no prohibited items: a Spanish authority confirms that nothing was put in the body or the coffin, and the Ukrainian consulate in Spain legalises the paper.
- Free-form statement addressed to Ukrainian customs; we give you the wording.
About the Strasbourg Agreement. Spain is a party to the Strasbourg Agreement on the transfer of corpses. Between the countries that are parties to it, the body travels with one special document, the laissez-passer. But Ukraine is not a party to the Agreement. So for Ukraine, Spain applies a separate procedure, the one for countries outside the Agreement, with the consulate's entry permit. A laissez-passer under the Strasbourg Agreement will not help here: you need the full set of documents described above.
The general list of documents for bringing a body home is on the Documents page.
The Embassy and consulates of Ukraine in Spain
Ukrainians in Spain are served by the consular section of the Embassy of Ukraine in Madrid, the Consulate General in Barcelona and the Consulate in Málaga. Which one to apply to depends on the province. We will tell you where to submit your documents.
- The consulate issues the permit to bring the body into Ukraine (in Spanish documents, autorización de entrada). The consul issues it on the basis of the death certificate with an apostille and other documents. Under Spanish rules, it is the relatives who must request the permit, so we prepare the application and the documents, and you only need to sign.
- When a Ukrainian citizen dies in Spain, the consul records the death and hands the family a Ukrainian death certificate; the first copy carries no consular fee.
- It legalises the certificate of no prohibited items issued by the Spanish authorities.
- For the funeral allowance at home, the consul gives the family a certificate addressed to the social protection authorities.
The Spanish death certificate goes to the consul with an apostille and a Ukrainian translation. We order both. More in the article The Ukrainian consulate when someone dies abroad.
How we bring the deceased home from Spain
By road, Spain is a very long way from Ukraine, so the body normally flies. The exit point from Spain is written into the SISAEX request, and the cargo flight lands at an airport near the Ukrainian border, where our specialist vehicle meets it. Direct flights to Ukraine are not something we promise.
Where we collect from
We collect the deceased from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Málaga, Alicante, from the Balearic and Canary Islands and from any other Spanish town or resort: from a hospital, a morgue or from another place where the deceased is. The islands and the mainland mean different routes, so the amount is worked out for your town.
Timing. The air leg takes from 2.5 hours. It takes from 24 hours after collection for the body to get home to Ukraine. The documents take the longest. The permits come one after the other: first the Ukrainian consulate, then Sanidad Exterior. We prepare the other papers (medical, registry, embalming, translations) in parallel and keep you informed at every step.
Preparing the body, and the coffin. Spanish rules require the body to be embalmed, or prepared for a long journey in another permitted way, and to be placed in a coffin suitable for international transport. Ukraine requires a hermetic metal coffin, sealed by officials. Airlines have their own requirements too, and some accept only embalmed bodies. We take all of this into account in advance, so the body is not held up at the airport or at the border.
Price of repatriation from Spain
Body from Spain from €3,500What 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
- flight out of Spain and the road home in our vehicle
- handover to the family
Coffin of your choice and urn: free of charge.
What can change the price
The “from” price covers the whole journey of the body to Ukraine. In Spain, the final amount moves with the island or mainland town, the airport the body leaves from, the town in Ukraine, your choice of coffin, and how long the permits take. A funeral in Ukraine is priced separately. We will tell you the exact amount when we talk. You can compare with other countries on the Prices page.
Call us, day or night
Languages: Ukrainian, English, Polish, German. The same number in messengers.
Questions about repatriation from Spain
How much does it cost to bring the deceased home from Spain to Ukraine?
From €3,500 for the whole route home, from the Spanish hospital or morgue to your town. The list above shows what is included. The exact amount depends on the Spanish city and the route, and we name it when we talk.
How long does the journey take?
At least 24 hours from collection to arrival in Ukraine; the flight itself is from 2.5 hours. Most of the waiting is for paperwork. Sanidad Exterior issues nothing until the Ukrainian consulate has given the entry permit, so those two steps run in sequence. Everything else we prepare in parallel, and you hear from us at each step.
What is needed from the family?
The deceased's passport or another identity document, if you have it, and your contact details. Under Spanish rules, it is the relatives who request the consulate's entry permit. We prepare the application and all the attachments and explain what to sign and where. We take care of the rest: the medical and registry documents, embalming and the Sanidad Exterior permit.
Do I need to travel to Spain?
Usually not. We deal with the hospital, Sanidad Exterior and the consulate in Madrid, Barcelona or Málaga, and we keep in touch with you by phone and messenger. If the consulate needs your signature, we explain the easiest way to give it from where you are. What can be done from home is in the article If the family cannot travel abroad.
Spain uses the Strasbourg laissez-passer. Why does it not apply to Ukraine?
Because Ukraine has not joined the Agreement. Sanidad Exterior issues the single pass, the salvoconducto mortuorio, only for countries that have; for a road transfer to France or Portugal, it is the only paper needed. For Ukraine, Spain follows the procedure for non-member countries: the consulate's entry permit, the death and embalming certificates, and then the Sanidad Exterior permit.
Is embalming compulsory?
A body leaving Spain must be embalmed or prepared for a long journey in another permitted way. The certificate for this is part of the documents. We carry out the embalming ourselves. More in the article Coffin and embalming for bringing a body to Ukraine.
The person was insured. Where do I start?
Photograph the policy and send it to us before you pay anyone. We check what it covers and agree the transport with the insurer, so the payout is not lost. Many policies stop at the border; if part of the cost stays with you, you will know it in advance.
Which cities in Spain do you collect from?
From any city or province in Spain, including the islands. The city affects only the departure airport and the travel time to it.
What should I do in the first hours?
The first steps are at the top of this page, and in full on the What to do if a loved one dies abroad page. Do not rush to sign a contract with a local company before you have talked to us.
Can an urn with ashes be brought from Spain?
Yes. In Spain, moving ashes carries no health requirements: the urn only needs a case with the deceased's name on the outside. Ukraine admits the urn under the same rules as a coffin, with a death certificate and a certificate of no prohibited items legalised by the Ukrainian consulate. Bringing an urn costs from €800. More on the Transport of an urn with ashes page.
Tell us what happened
Oleg Zdendiak and the team. We explain the next steps.
Send a request for repatriation from Spain
Leave your number and we will call you back.
Nearby destinations: Portugal, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. All countries are on the countries page.