Death in Qatar: Repatriation of a Body and Burial Steps

Losing someone abroad is hard enough without a pile of paperwork. In Qatar most of it is gathered in one place. This guide lists the steps as DohaGuides and other news sources report them. It is general information, not legal advice, and details can change, so call the office before you go.

We relied on a DohaGuides article (updated November 2025) and a search summary of news reports and a UK government page. We could not open a current official page from the Ministry of Public Health or Hamad Medical Corporation.

What to do first

1. If the person died outside a hospital, call 999. Police write an initial death report and move the body to the Hamad General Hospital mortuary, which charges no fee.

2. Tell the next of kin at home and the embassy of the deceased.

3. Post-mortems are usually not performed. Relatives may be asked to sign a consent form.

4. Go to the Humanitarian Services Office behind the mortuary. DohaGuides lists it as open 7 am to 9 pm, seven days a week.

The counters and what each one does

DohaGuides describes one office with several counters in a set order:

• **Hamad Medical Corporation:** takes the deceased's passport, the informant's ID, a death registration form and the doctor's notification.
• **Ministry of Public Health:** issues the death certificate, the embalming and repatriation letters, and a burial permit for local burial. If the death was outside a hospital it also needs the police consent form.
• **Ministry of Interior:** issues a "to whom it may concern" certificate, cancels the residence permit and grants the body's exit permit.
• **Qatar Airways:** issues the cargo policy for the body and the ticket for the person escorting it.
• **The embassy:** issues the no-objection certificate, usually after seeing the death certificate and the Interior Ministry certificate.

Keep copies of the passport before the embassy cancels it. The UK government's guidance and the news summaries both say the passport is cancelled during the process.

What does it cost?

DohaGuides says administrative fees for certificates and paperwork, for both repatriation and local burial, were cancelled. You still pay for the Qatar Airways tickets for the body and escort, and for embalming and a coffin, which DohaGuides puts at about QR 1,200 to 1,500. Treat these as estimates and ask the mortuary.

Burial in Qatar or repatriation?

Muslim burial customarily takes place within 24 hours, with funeral prayers at the mosque next to Hamad's Women's Hospital, per DohaGuides. For non-Muslims, prayers are held in a special room at Al Wakrah Hospital or at the Religious Complex in Mesaimeer. For repatriation, some countries ask for extra papers. DohaGuides says Indian nationals' heirs must give the airline's cargo office an affidavit, and the airline may refuse the body without it.

Special cases

• **Workers with an absconding report:** DohaGuides says repatriation follows a similar process, but see our guide to absconding cases for how a report affects travel documents.
• **Road accidents:** the guide says security requirements must be met and a forensic report is needed first.
• **Delays:** weekend deaths and cases involving illegal residence can take longer.

Money and belongings after a death

DohaGuides says that under Article 55 of Law No. 14 of 2004 the employer must deposit the worker's wages, entitlements and end-of-service gratuity with the court's treasury within 15 days of death. Our guide to end of service gratuity explains how the sum is worked out. For the deceased's property and bank accounts, see what happens to an expat's estate in Qatar.

What we could not verify

• Current counter order, opening hours and phone numbers. DohaGuides lists numbers for each counter, but they may be out of date.
• Current embalming and coffin prices.
• Whether every country's embassy follows the same documents list.