Hong Kong - Death Overseas

Should the unthinkable happen and a loved one dies, do not move the person. Call the police or the person’s physician who would know the past health history. The police would take your loved one to the hospital where they will receive a pronouncement of death by a physician. You should be issued a Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death. During these proceedings, you should  contact your consulate for help if you wish to repatriate the body. 

Someone must apply for a Death Registration. In order to do this, bring:

• The Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death (Form 18),
• The deceased’s Hong Kong ID card or travel document
• The informers own Hong Kong ID card or travel document.

The informer will be required to give personal information about the deceased, so they should know the person.

The registration of the death is free, but a certified copy of death has a fee attached.

If the deceased passed away due to unnatural causes, a coroner must perform a post-mortem exam to determine the cause of death. This may take months. Call your consulate for help.

Repatriating the deceased
After the death is registered, someone must apply for a “Permit for Removal of Dead Body from Hong Kong.”

Cremation
To apply for a cremation, go to the Department of Health and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. This office is located with the Births and Deaths General Register Office.

Questions
You can contact:

• Any of the deaths registries
• Immigration Information Office (Tel: + 852  2824 6111)
• e-mail [email protected]
• Go to www.info.gov.hk/immd/
• The Births and Deaths General Register Office
  18th Floor, Wu Chung House
  213 Queen’s Road East
  Wan Chai
  Hong Kong
  China SAR
  Tel: + 852 2961 8841

Will
Legal wills from other countries are recognized as valid in Hong Kong. If a person has a large estate with portions of it located in Hong Kong, a lawyer (also called a solicitor) should be consulted to make sure everything is in order.