Repatriation from Turkey: by road or by air

A neighbouring country, a short road

Compared with European destinations, bringing someone home from Turkey is quicker and cheaper, and not only because of the distance. Moving a deceased person from one Turkish city to another is quite routine there, so municipal services and private firms have long had a settled way of doing it. On top of that, the overland route means no waiting for space in an aircraft hold. Even so, the sequence of Turkish paperwork is strict: miss a single stamp and the coffin will be held at the border. That is why we take each stage separately below.

Recording the death in the Turkish system

Depending on the circumstances, a death in Turkey is recorded by the hospital, the forensic medicine service or the prosecutor. The health authority then passes the details to the local population registry (Nüfus Müdürlüğü), which enters them in the register. From that register a multilingual death extract is issued, known as Form C (Formül C). It is printed in Turkish and English but does not include the cause of death. The cause is given in a medical document from the hospital or doctor, and that paper also belongs in the transport file.

Prosecutor and forensic medicine

After an accident, a traffic collision, an incident on a building site or any other unnatural death, the Turkish prosecutor's office runs the case and the Forensic Medicine Institute (Adli Tıp) carries out the examination. The body is released to the family with the prosecutor's consent, usually within a few days, but the written report may be ready much later, sometimes after several months. Relatives may need it when they seek compensation from an employer or an insurer, so a friend in Turkey or a lawyer should note down the prosecution file number.

Turkish funeral services and the municipality

Cemeteries and funeral services in Turkey are mostly run by municipalities, while transfers abroad are often organised by private firms working alongside the municipal services that have this function. The local partner takes charge of the body at the hospital or the forensic institute and arranges embalming, sealing of the coffin and the permits. The family must hand the partner the dead person's passport (a copy will do), a document proving kinship and a power of attorney. It helps if the Georgian receiving funeral home tells the Turkish partner from the outset where and when the handover at the border will take place.

Embassy and consulates of Georgia in Turkey

Georgia has an embassy in Ankara and consulates general in Istanbul and Trabzon. Cases involving Georgians working in the Black Sea region usually fall to the Trabzon consulate's district, while western Turkey is covered by Istanbul. Relatives or the local partner should inform the consulate of the death as early as they can. The consulate confirms citizenship, helps if the passport has been lost and will say which certificate the Georgian side requires. We do not publish contact details here; look them up on the official website of Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Two Turkish documents: the road permit and the exit permit

Turkish rules for sending a body abroad provide for two main documents. The first is the road permit for transporting the deceased (Cenaze Yol İzin Belgesi). It is issued by the municipal health service, or in a village by the headman, and confirms that the body has been placed in the coffin according to the rules. The second is the exit permit for the deceased (Cenaze Geçiş İzin Belgesi), prepared by the Ministry of Health's border and coastal health service or the relevant health unit. It records identity, date, place and cause of death, the vehicle, the route and the country of destination.

Turkey and the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement

Turkey was among the first to sign up to the Council of Europe agreement on the transfer of corpses: it ratified it in 1975, and it has been in force there since 1976. The Turkish exit permit and the coffin requirements follow the logic of that agreement. Georgia is not a party, so the Georgian side may have its own requirements, and these are worth checking with the consulate. In practice the Turkish file is well standardised and, as a rule, causes no extra questions at the border as long as every sheet is presented in the original.

A coffin built to Turkish rules

Under Turkish rules, a body leaving the country must lie in a double coffin: on the outside, a wooden coffin at least twenty millimetres thick; inside, a case of lead or another material that liquids cannot pass through. The two are joined airtight, for example by welding, so that neither fluid nor odour can escape. Embalming is added to this, along with a certificate that is checked both at the border and at the airport. If the family wants to say goodbye in Georgia with the coffin open, the Turkish partner must be told in advance so the body is prepared with that purpose in mind.

Apostille and translation from Turkish

Turkey and Georgia both belong to the Hague Apostille Convention. On Turkish administrative documents, including the population register extract, the apostille is generally added by the governor's office or the district administration (Valilik, Kaymakamlık), while court papers go to another body. Form C does carry English text, but registration in Georgia still has to be translated into Georgian and notarised. Finding a Turkish translator in Georgia is easy, especially in Adjara, so this step usually adds nothing to the timeline.

Overland through Sarpi

From north-eastern Turkey, for example from Rize, Trabzon or Artvin, the logical choice is to bring the body by road. A specialised vehicle takes it to the Sarpi checkpoint, the papers are inspected there, and the coffin crosses into Georgia. On the Georgian side our hearse receives it and drives on to Batumi, Tbilisi or any region. Sometimes it is easier for the Georgian hearse itself to enter Turkey and collect the deceased directly from the town. Which option works best depends on the distance, the documents and how busy the border is.

Situations where flying makes more sense

If your relative died in Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya or anywhere in the south or west of the country, the road journey can exceed a thousand kilometres. In that case air freight is often both faster and gentler on the body. The coffin flies from a Turkish airport to Tbilisi or, if a suitable flight exists, to Batumi, where after customs it is handed to the Georgian funeral home. The flight needs the same documents plus an air waybill. We decide together with the family after comparing cost and time.

Road or air: a comparison

Timescales on the Turkish route

When there is no investigation, a transfer from Turkey usually fits into a few days: the documents are processed quickly, and the overland route removes any wait for a flight. If the prosecutor is involved, everything hinges on the day the body is released. Time is also lost to weekends, to religious holidays when Turkish offices close for several days, and to summer traffic at the border. We tell the family when the coffin sets off and roughly when it will reach the border, so relatives are not left waiting for hours in Batumi or at Sarpi.

The question of cremation

Some families want their loved one cremated, or look at it as a way to save money. Turkish law does not allow cremation and there are no crematoria, so bringing an urn back from Turkey is impossible. If cremation was the wish of the deceased, the body is first brought to Georgia and the question is settled afterwards. The possibility and its conditions are described on our Cremation page. Most families, though, bring their relative home from Turkey for a traditional burial.

Expenses and ways to meet them

When someone who went abroad for work dies, start by asking the employer whether there is insurance or a willingness to share the costs. Check too whether your relative had a travel policy. In addition, under Georgian government rules, the family of a citizen who died abroad may be reimbursed for transport costs if it meets the established criteria; applications go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a consulate. Hold on to every receipt and to the funeral home's detailed bill.

Getting ready at home and meeting the coffin at the border

While the Turkish papers are being prepared, the family gets the house or hall ready and arranges the cemetery and the church. On the overland route several relatives can meet the coffin at Sarpi and drive behind the hearse. On the air route the meeting takes place at the airport cargo terminal, after customs. Later, once the family has had a chance to catch its breath, we submit Form C with its apostille and notarised translation to the Public Service Hall, known in Georgia as the House of Justice; there a death certificate valid in Georgia is issued. This is a step we often carry out ourselves through our death documents service.

Partners in Turkey and the price

Across different regions of Turkey we work with local firms that know what form the Georgian side needs the documents in and by what hour the coffin must be at Sarpi. Our coordinator handles the conversation with the Turkish colleague, manages the timing of the handover at the border and gives the family one estimate. A complete repatriation from Turkey, as from Armenia and Azerbaijan, starts at 2,500 GEL. If relatives or the employer have already taken care of the Turkish side, our airport reception with customs formalities is priced from 600 GEL.

Frequently asked questions