Repatriation of a body or ashes to or from New Zealand: costs and steps

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.

Repatriation is bringing a person who has died home, or sending them to another country, as a body or as ashes. In New Zealand there is no published national price for it. The only figure we found from a funeral director is a repatriation fee of $5,950 to $7,690, for arranging it, and the list does not say what that includes. The family pays, and a funeral director arranges it.

A repatriation has two halves that people often mix up. In an inbound case, someone has died overseas and the family wants them home. The first call is the nearest New Zealand embassy or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), which can give local burial or cremation options and advice on bringing back the body or ashes, though "any costs must be paid for by the family" (govt.nz: When someone dies overseas). In an outbound case, the person died in New Zealand and the funeral or burial will be somewhere else, and the first call is a New Zealand funeral director. Either way, the rules of the sending country, the receiving country and the airline all apply, so it takes longer than most families expect (FDANZ: Repatriation).

What we could and could not find on cost

We looked for a sourced price and found very little. The table is honest about the gaps. We have left out the round-number ranges that circulate for repatriating a body or ashes, because we could not trace them to any source.

Item	What a source says	Source and date
Funeral director's fee for arranging repatriation	$5,950 to $7,690 on one Auckland firm's list. The list does not say what is included	Dils price list, as at May 2026
Airfreight, the container and the destination's fees	No published price found	None
Preparation of the body	FDANZ's general range for preparation such as embalming is $700 to $1,050; whether a given route needs it is for the director and airline to say	FDANZ, July 2025
Official death certificate in New Zealand	$35	govt.nz
Depositing an overseas death certificate with Births, Deaths and Marriages	$55, plus $25 for an optional statement. The statement is an extra request	govt.nz, page updated 2022; check the fee
Customs for ashes carried on a flight into New Zealand	No clearance needed	NZ Customs Service
Export entry for human remains sent out of New Zealand	Not required; the freight forwarder or airline usually completes the formalities	NZ Customs Service

The honest conclusion is that the cost depends on the route, the airline and the destination, and that you should ask a funeral director to quote it in writing, itemised, before agreeing. Our guide to choosing a funeral director has questions you can use.

Bringing a body home to New Zealand

Ring the nearest New Zealand embassy or MFAT. They can describe local options and how to bring the person back. If you need to travel urgently, govt.nz notes you can get an urgent passport when a family member has died.
Ask a New Zealand funeral director to coordinate. FDANZ says to contact your funeral director for help when repatriating a person to New Zealand from overseas.
Gather the documents. Customs lists three for remains or ashes coming in by post or freight: the freight documents (air waybill or arrival notice), a copy of the importer's photo ID, and the death certificate (NZ Customs Service: Prohibited and restricted items). The service may complete the clearance for you, or you can send scanned copies to Customs.
Plan the funeral here. The funeral then proceeds as any other, with the council or cemetery charges in our funeral cost guide.

Sending a body or ashes out of New Zealand

For a body, the funeral director who is caring for the person arranges the transfer, and Customs says the freight forwarder or airline will usually complete the export formalities, with no export entry required. For ashes, FDANZ says you can carry them yourself as a carry-on item, as long as you have the correct documentation. Check the airline and the airports you pass through, because Customs advises asking the airline and airport security at the point of departure or transit. If you use post or courier, FDANZ recommends sending ashes from one funeral director to another, and says NZ Post will not accept ashes from the general public. Our pages on what to do with cremation ashes and scattering ashes cover the choices once they are in your hands.

What can help pay

Work and Income Funeral Grant. It can include reasonable costs of moving a body to or from New Zealand, or an overseas funeral, if the person normally lived in New Zealand when they died. The maximum is $2,697.43 as at 1 April 2026, and income and asset tests apply in some cases (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). It is a contribution, not full funding.
ACC. If the death was from a covered injury, ACC pays up to $8,236.40 towards funeral and memorial costs, and it allows a funeral or memorial in New Zealand or overseas (ACC: Financial support after death).
Travel insurance. If the person was travelling, check the travel policy and call the insurer's emergency line before you commit to anything. We have not reviewed individual travel policies, and cover for repatriation varies.
Help to travel yourself. See funeral travel assistance.

Does funeral insurance pay for repatriation?

A funeral insurance policy pays a cash benefit; it does not arrange or pay for flights. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited (A.M. Best rating B (Fair); see its financial strength page), covers the life insured worldwide if they were a New Zealander when the cover was issued, and it pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 to the policy owner or a nominated person. It cannot pay a funeral director, an airline or a company directly. In the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death, and premiums over a long life can add up to more than the benefit, so it may not meet the cost of a repatriation. Our page on funeral insurance and death overseas goes into the claim side, and the funeral insurance hub compares the options. The buttons on this page open Momentum's online application, which is one route among several.

Before you commit

Ask for the quote in writing, ask what is included, and ask how long each step takes. FDANZ urges patience because rules differ between countries. If you are unsure which half of the process you are in, start with the when someone dies hub for the order of steps.

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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

Repatriation has no published national price, and the figures quoted around the internet for it are mostly unsourced. What can be said with confidence is the order of steps and who pays: the family does, and a funeral director arranges it. Work and Income's Funeral Grant can include moving a body to or from New Zealand, but it is capped, so ask for a written quote from a funeral director before committing to a route.

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

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Repatriation Costs To and From NZ. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/repatriation-costs-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.