scrubbedexpat099

Fed Ex?

I really can not see the point in sending a body back.

I live in a small town that a long time ago was a bigger town and lots of the early inhabitants were English, Irish, Italian etc.

They are buried in the cemetery. Sounds good to me, the County Roads and Bridge provide the JCB. In the old days in winter time they needed dynamite.

Now before 1893 there were quite a few Chinese, they did send their ashes home.

scrubbedexpat099

Made me think, but what would I expect from HMG if I was banged up in hospital?

It did happen to me once, in Sri Lanka many years ago. Never thought of the Embassy.

Yorkieabroad

We were really looking for assistance negotiating the legal aspects of having a badly injured man medevacced in from Korea to the burns unit at one of the Singapore Hospitals. There was all sorts of red tape thrown at us, including threats of criminal investigations, industrial accident investigations and so on, which totally threw us as the accident hadn't even been in Singaporean jurisdiction. It was a pretty steep learning curve which we though someone at the Embassy may be able to assist with. The best they could do was send an email out to all registered Brits asking them to come to the hospital to donate blood for him, only to find out that Brits weren't allowed to donate due to BSE concerns! Would have expected them to know that! Like I said, they were no use until after he died, at which point they became super efficient.

Brat1

Not too sure about Funeral Directors over here, but back home where that was my profession, when someone died abroad and wanted their body returned to the UK for burial or cremation, then it was actually pretty straightforward. The family would have to get in touch with a FD wherever they were at the time, and they would liaise with us to get the person back home. We would have to present all the necessary paperwork at the appropriate embassy, or if I remember right, we sometimes had to go through to Edinburgh to the Scottish Office, where they clear all the necessary documents. As for the cost, it depends on the insurance company how quickly they will pay out. And remember, if you are thinking about getting your body flown home, the cost of burial plots are on the increase and an "average" funeral in the UK can cost anything from 2,5000 upwards depending on what you want. Also, your family would have to purchase a coffin here and then have the lining removed when you arrive back in the UK as they are all zinc lined for repatriation. Sometimes people buy another coffin in the UK?!?!? Never really seen the point of that to be honest.

Don't know if any of that is of any relevance to you, but if I was you, I would get cremated where you die and then all you have to transport is ashes and all you need to do is have a letter stating that your relatives are carrying human remains, which the funeral director can do for you.

Yorkieabroad

Thats whats gonna happen to me - then they're going to launch me off the top of the hill on my avatar. Just hope they remember to stand with their backs to the wind or I'll continue to get up their noses even after I'm gone

joto

When you feel you are about to pop your clogs, get on a plane home, die mid-flight. There would be less paper work and the FD would be able to pick you up at the airport.

Brat1