Home / By document / Death certificate / Repatriation of remains and ashes

Apostille for the repatriation of remains and ashes

When a loved one is laid to rest in another country, the death certificate and the funeral documents usually have to be apostilled or legalized before the airline, the consulate or the cemetery will accept them. For documents from Québec and Ontario, we usually complete it within the same week, by filing in person, so the family is not left waiting for paperwork.

Start now, we reply the same day For funeral homes
Québec and Ontario
Usually the same week
Filed in person in Montréal and Toronto
Other provinces
About 25 business days
Global Affairs Canada queue
Scans
The day it is issued
So the consulate or airline can review first
Delivered to
The funeral home or the family
Or straight to a consulate
The documents

What usually has to be apostilled

The destination country, the airline and the receiving cemetery or crematorium decide the list. These are the documents we handle most often, and how each one gets its apostille.

Goes direct

Death certificate

Issued by the province’s vital statistics office (in Québec, the Directeur de l’état civil). It is a government document, so it is apostilled as issued, without a notary. Global Affairs Canada also asks for it alongside the funeral documents.

Notary first

Burial or transit permit

Issued locally to move or bury the body. It is notarized, then apostilled by the authority of the province where the notary is authorized.

Notary first

Cremation certificate

Needed to travel with ashes or to place them in a columbarium abroad. Notarized, then apostilled, with the death certificate attached.

Notary first

Embalming and non-contagion certificates

Signed by the embalmer, the physician or the coroner, and often required by the airline and the destination’s health authority. Notarized, then apostilled.

The funeral home’s proof of death is not a death certificate. The statement a funeral director issues to register the death cannot replace the provincial certificate abroad, and Global Affairs Canada does not accept it in place of one. If the provincial certificate has not been issued yet, tell us: we can order it on the family’s behalf.
Why it is faster here

Same week for Québec and Ontario, not three weeks

Families are often told to plan two to four weeks for the apostille. That is the mail-in timeline. Québec and Ontario documents are apostilled by their own provincial authority, not by Global Affairs Canada, and both accept files in person.

We file Québec documents by hand in Montréal and Ontario documents in person in Toronto, with the notary booked the same day when one is needed. In most cases the apostilles are issued within the same week, and you get the scans the day they are issued.

  • Québec: the death certificate goes straight to the apostille office. Funeral documents are notarized, verified by the Chambre des notaires, then apostilled.
  • Ontario: notarized documents and the provincial death certificate are apostilled in person at Official Documents Services, often within 48 hours.
  • Other provinces and territories: documents go to Global Affairs Canada, currently about 25 business days, plus 5 to 10 business days of mail each way. We tell you upfront, so the date of the funeral can be set realistically.
Apostille or legalization

When the destination is not in the Hague Convention

Most destinations accept the apostille alone: Italy, Portugal, France, the Philippines, India, Mexico, Morocco and many more. Some still require consular legalization, for example Haiti, Lebanon or the United Arab Emirates. The same Canadian authority then authenticates the documents, and the consulate legalizes them. We run both steps, and coordinate with the consulate’s own requirements for transporting remains.

Check your destination country →

For funeral homes and repatriation services

One contact for the paperwork, so your team can stay with the family

  • Send the documents by email, we tell you the same day what each one needs and what the destination will ask for.
  • Notary booked for you, including for documents signed by your director or embalmer.
  • Scans with the apostille numbers the day they are issued, so the consulate and the airline can start their review.
  • Originals delivered to your office, to the family, or directly to the consulate.
  • Bilingual, English and French, with families in either language.
  • Partner account with one consolidated monthly invoice, so families are not asked to pay one more supplier. See our page for professionals.
Common questions
Which documents need an apostille to repatriate a body or ashes?
Usually the provincial death certificate, plus the funeral documents the destination asks for: burial or transit permit, cremation certificate, embalming certificate or a certificate that the death was not caused by a contagious disease. The death certificate is apostilled as issued; the funeral documents are notarized first. The receiving country, airline and cemetery set the exact list.
How long does it take?
For documents from Québec and Ontario, usually within the same week, because we file in person with the provincial authority. Documents from other provinces and territories go to Global Affairs Canada, which currently takes about 25 business days plus mail.
Do funeral documents have to be notarized?
Yes. Global Affairs Canada states that documents related to the transport of human remains must be notarized, and the provincial authorities apply the same logic: the apostille certifies the notary’s signature. The provincial death certificate is the exception, since it already carries an official signature.
The death certificate has not been issued yet. What can we do?
Tell us when you contact us. We can order the certificate from the province on the family’s behalf, with their signed authorization, and prepare the funeral documents in the meantime so nothing waits.
Can we travel with the ashes in a carry-on?
Airlines generally allow it, with rules on the urn (it must pass through the X-ray scanner) and the documents to carry: usually the death certificate and the cremation certificate. Check with the airline and the destination’s consulate; we make sure the documents are apostilled or legalized as they require.
Do you work with funeral homes directly?
Yes. Funeral homes and repatriation services send us the documents by email, we handle the notary and the apostille, and deliver the originals where they need to go, with one monthly invoice if you prefer.
5.0 on Google
“I highly recommend this agency. They keep you informed every step of the way, providing accurate and reliable information…”
David Alvarez-Carbonell, Google review
“Great team and excellent coordination; I received my apostille in less than 6 days, just in time for my trip. Best of luck to the whole team!”
Ludy_Daan, Google review
“I highly recommend Viapostille. Their team was professional, attentive…”
Ghassan Nasri, Google review

Send us the documents and the destination

We reply the same day with what each document needs, the timeline and a fixed all-in price. Nothing is payable until we file.

Start now