Dealing with a Death Abroad in Cyprus

Dealing with a death abroad is hard enough without a foreign system to learn. This page is about what happens when someone dies in Cyprus — a resident expat, a holiday-home owner or a visitor — and about the legal help a family can get: registering the death and obtaining the death certificate (in Greek πιστοποιητικό θανάτου), reporting the death of a relative abroad to the consulate of the home country, the papers for the repatriation of remains, and the estate that follows. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Managing the Death Abroad of a Loved one”. It concerns the Republic of Cyprus; the north of the island has separate procedures.

The first steps in Cyprus

1. A doctor confirms the death. When it was sudden or unexplained, the police and a medical examination may be involved before the body is released.
2. The death is registered at the District Administration Office of the district where it happened, usually by the funeral director. The certificate is issued in Greek, Turkish and English.
3. The family informs the consulate of the deceased's country, which can register the death there; a translated or apostilled certificate may be asked for.
4. The funeral takes place in Cyprus, or the body is flown home: the funeral director prepares the coffin and documents such as the embalming certificate and the papers the airline and the health authorities ask for. Travel or life insurance, where it exists, often decides who arranges and pays.

After the funeral

The death certificate opens the next questions: the bank blocks the accounts, a car or a rented flat has to be dealt with, and property in Cyprus passes to the heirs only through an estate administration under a grant of the District Court (see inheritance). Several copies of the certificate, and copies legalised for use abroad, save time later (see birth, marriage and death certificates).

Points to watch

Families often sign the first papers in a hurry and in Greek. Who pays the funeral, the hospital and the deceased's debts is a separate question from who inherits. A death in the north of the island, or a body moved across the line, involves other authorities and other certificates, and the dates and names on each document deserve a careful check.

What a lawyer does

An English-speaking lawyer in Cyprus can deal with the authorities and the funeral director for a family abroad, obtain certificates, contact the banks, secure the home and its documents and start the estate administration — usually under a power of attorney, so that the family does not have to stay on the island.

Questions and answers

Who registers a death in Cyprus?

In practice the funeral director, at the District Administration Office of the district where the death occurred. The family provides the identity documents of the deceased.

In which language is the death certificate?

Cypriot death certificates are issued in Greek, Turkish and English. Whether the home country accepts one as it is, or asks for an apostille and a translation, depends on that country.

Can the body be brought home?

Yes. Funeral directors in Cyprus arrange repatriation with the documents the airline and the receiving country require. An insurer, if there is one, is best told at once.

What happens to the bank accounts?

The bank blocks them once it learns of the death and releases the money to the executor or administrator appointed through the court (see closing a bank account).

Does the family have to travel to Cyprus?

Not necessarily. Much of the work can be done by a lawyer and a funeral director under a power of attorney signed abroad.