Transportation of remains to Lithuania

Transportation of remains to Lithuania

If a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, citizen of a foreign country or a stateless person dies in Kazakhstan, his/her remains may be delivered to Lithuania only by permission of Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in compliance with the procedure established in Kazakhstan.

Documents to be submitted to the Embassy office for permission to deliver remains:

• certificate of death issued by institution of Kazakhstan;
• documents of the deceased (passport, civil records);
• medical certificate on the cause of death indicating diagnosis and risk of infection of disease, if applicable;
• certificate of funeral establishment on cremation of remains or their placement in a double coffin;
• declaration of the established form filled in with the participation of a customs officer and confirming that the coffin (urn) does not contain anything but remains.

The Embassy may require other documents necessary under the procedure established in a particular country.

Requirements for a coffin or urn

In case of delivery of remains in a coffin:

• Remains should be placed in a double coffin in a funeral establishment.
• The inner coffin shall be made of metal and hermetically closed.
• At least 5 cm of hygroscope material with antiseptic (saw-dust, peat, charcoal) should be spread on the bottom of the inner coffin.
• The inner (metal) coffin should be put in a wooden one, hermetically closed, fixed by metal bands and sealed.

In case the remains are cremated:

• Cremated remains shall be put in an urn.
• The urn shall be soldered.

There are no special requirements for the transportation of cremated remains.

Transportation of remains of the person when death was caused by a communicable disease is regulated by the Order of the Minister of Health Care of the Republic of Lithuania of 9 October 2002 No. 494 “Regulation of transportation by vehicles of remains of a person when death was caused by dangerous and very dangerous communicable disease, importation and exportation of remains to and from the Republic of Lithuania, burial and reburial” (VŽ, 2002, No. 101-4522)

Remains may be delivered by any transport mode. The coffin (urn) shall not be opened in a customs office unless there are any reasons to suspect delivery of anything other than remains. If there are reasons to suspect that the coffin urn) contains more than the remains, the coffin (urn) may be opened in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Interior and customs office who shall execute a certificate of inspection.

There are burial licenses issued in Lithuania, i.e., the license to bury the remains in a particular cemetery. The aforementioned licenses shall be issued by mayors in cities and chief officers in counties (settlements).