Filipino funerals in New Zealand: customs, costs and repatriation

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed quarterly, when the underlying data is restated.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

We found no published, sourced price for a Filipino funeral in New Zealand, so this page does not give one. The sourced national averages are $11,700 for a full funeral with cremation and $14,300 with burial. The choice that changes the bill most is whether the body is buried or cremated here or sent to the Philippines, and the one published repatriation fee we found does not say what it includes.

A Filipino funeral in New Zealand is a funeral arranged by a Filipino family through the New Zealand system of funeral directors, cemeteries or crematoria, often with the family's parish or church. Te Ara, the government's encyclopedia, records that in 2013 most Filipino migrants were Roman Catholic, that Christian faith is very important to Filipinos, and that by the 2000s there were dozens of Filipino organisations here, including church groups and charitable trusts, co-ordinated in part by the Council of Auckland Philippine Organisations and the Federation of Filipino Associations, Clubs and Societies of New Zealand (Te Ara: Filipinos, Culture, archived copy read 20 October 2026). Practices vary with the family, the parish and the region.

Customs: what we can and cannot say

Many families will want a Catholic service. Our Catholic funerals guide covers that tradition. We found no New Zealand government, council or community-institution source describing the stages of a Filipino wake, the length of gatherings or the prayers that follow, so we do not describe them. Ask the family and the parish priest what is planned, and ask how many days of gatherings are expected, because that decides venue and catering costs.

Cost anchors

The national scenario is from the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ) 2026 report: a full funeral with cremation, 50 attendees, catering and a celebrant averages $11,700, with a range of $10,000 to $13,900; with burial it averages $14,300 (FDANZ report). Extra days of gatherings add venue and catering. FDANZ's indicative ranges are chapel hire $200 to $500 and catering $15 to $25 a head, and Dils (an Auckland funeral director) lists a venue fee of $512 to $795 on top of catering in its May 2026 list. Unattended cremation, with no service, averages $4,700 nationally.

Funeral here or repatriation

If the family wants the burial in the Philippines, ask the funeral director for a written quote that lists each item. The only published figure we found is Dils's repatriation fee of $5,950 to $7,690, and the price list does not say what it includes. Do not read it as a total. FDANZ's repatriation page lists the sending country, the receiving country and the airline as each having rules to meet, and notes the process can be slow; it also says ashes can travel as hand luggage with the right documents, and that NZ Post does not take ashes from the public (FDANZ: Repatriation).

We could not source the Philippines' own requirements, such as consular documents and certificates, so confirm them with the Philippine embassy and the funeral director. Our general repatriation costs page covers what is published.

Question	Funeral in New Zealand	Funeral in the Philippines
What changes the cost most	Venue, catering and cemetery	Repatriation, then costs there
Who can attend	Family and friends here	Those who can travel
What to get in writing	A full estimate	Each repatriation line item and what is excluded
Where to check requirements	Council, funeral director	Embassy, airline, funeral director

Visa status, grants and cover

Visa status can matter in two places. For the Work and Income Funeral Grant, the person who died must have normally lived in New Zealand, and the grant can include reasonable costs of moving a body to or from New Zealand, or an overseas funeral, but not if they had left permanently (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). The maximum is $2,697.43 as at 1 April 2026, tested on income and assets. If immigration status is a worry, ask Work and Income directly, because the page we read speaks of "normally lived in New Zealand" and does not set a visa test.

For insurance, the rules are written into the policy. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance requires the person insured to live in New Zealand when applying and to be an NZ or Australian citizen, hold a permanent resident visa, or have been in New Zealand continuously for at least 12 months on a valid temporary work visa. For Quick Life the work-visa route needs six months or more in New Zealand.

Does insurance cover repatriation?

Not as a separate benefit. Momentum's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, pays a set benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs; the wording we read does not mention repatriation or travel. The policy covers a person who was a New Zealander when cover was issued wherever they die. Valid claims are usually paid within 24 to 48 hours of approval, and approval follows proof of the claim such as a death certificate.

Two limits are in plain text. In the first 24 months Funeral Insurance pays only for accidental death within 90 days of the accident; for any other death premiums are refunded. And total premiums can exceed the benefit, so it may not cover the whole funeral or a repatriation.

Funeral Insurance and Quick Life compared

	Funeral Insurance	Quick Life
Entry ages	40 to 75	18 to 65
Amount	$3,000 to $30,000	$50,000 to $300,000 at the start
Health questions	None	None
First 24 months	Accidental death only; other deaths refund premiums	Pre-existing conditions and suicide excluded for 2 years
Premiums	Level to the 89th birthday	Stepped; they rise with age

Both products are issued by Momentum Life Limited, rated B (Fair) by A.M. Best (financial strength). Acceptance is guaranteed for those who meet the entry rules, with no health questions, but each restricts the first two years. A healthy person can often get more cover for less with fully underwritten life insurance through an adviser. Read Quick Life, the guaranteed acceptance hub and the funeral insurance hub; the buttons on this page open Momentum's online quote.

Where help can come from

Work and Income's grant and the ACC grant (up to $8,236.40, only for deaths from a covered injury) are the main official routes. Under section 49 of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964 a council running a cemetery or crematorium may, and on a Justice's order must, bury or cremate a poor person free where relatives cannot pay; see funeral costs when no money in the estate. FDANZ also names the Salvation Army and GiveALittle, and our crowdfunding guide explains how to use them.

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Life cover: Conditions you already have aren't covered for the first 2 years (premiums refunded instead). Suicide isn't covered for the first 2 years, and a few conditions can be excluded permanently.

Funeral cover: Only accidental death is covered for the first 2 years. Total premiums can add up to more than the cover, and it may not meet the whole cost of a funeral.

Insurer: Momentum Life Limited. Financial strength rating B (Fair) from AM Best, affirmed 11 February 2026; B ratings sit in AM Best's 'vulnerable' range. The rating scale is available for inspection at every Momentum Life office in New Zealand. What this means

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Adviser's view

We found no published price specific to Filipino funerals, so we have not given one. The decision that changes the cost most is whether to bury or cremate here or send the body to the Philippines, and the only published repatriation figure does not say what it includes. Visa status can matter for grants and for cover, so check each rule with the organisation concerned.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Filipino Funeral Customs NZ: Costs and Repatriation. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/filipino-funeral-customs-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.