Kuwait - Death Abroad

Should a person die whilst in Kuwait, there is a set procedure that must be followed.

A death in a hospital will be taken care of by the hospital administration. All deaths that occur outside a hospital will require the presence of the police immediately, in order to establish that the death was of natural causes, with notification passed to the respective embassy as soon as possible.

The body will then need to be identified before being transported to the nearest mortuary. After the body is examined by the coroner he will issue a report which is then take to the Registry for Births and Deaths where a death certificate will be issued.

Most expatriate bodies are flown home for burial.

In order for this to be allowed, the death certificate has to be attested by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the police. An attested translation of the death certificate will then need to be submitted to the respective embassy for them to process the relevant paperwork and cancel the passport of the deceased.  

The two cemeteries in Kuwait in which non-Muslims may be buried are in Riqqa and Sulaibikhat.