What happens when you die while traveling internationally?

Question

The possibility of dying while travelling always existed. One could get into a car accident, victim of crime, etc, so the question is:

What happens when you die?

Specifically, are there international treaties that establish a procedure to follow when a foreigner dies in a certain country? Now, I know that International treaties are rarely signed by all nations, so there will be exceptions but if there are common agreements and procedures, those are the ones I would like to know.

If there are any: What do these treaties say? Do they include following a will legally written in another country.

Are procedures depending on the country of death, citizenship, residence or combination of these? If there are no treaties covering death of a foreigner, then it is possible we have to ask what happens when an Afghan dies in Albania to a Zambian in Zimbabwe!

Answer 1

By default, you would just be buried locally according to the local procedures. In particular, if some burial practices are forbidden or there is a short delay to dispose of the remains, these rules still apply. Being a foreign national would not necessarily prevent the local authorities from proceeding with a burial.

If the family wants the remains to be buried differently or elsewhere, they have to bear the costs and face different hurdles (to get the permission on both ends, etc.) It's possible to get some assistance from your country's consulates abroad, from companies specializing in this (some funeral homes advertise these services) or to get an insurance covering the costs (“repatriation of remains“).

Article 37 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations does provide that when a state learns of the death of a foreign national, they should inform their consulate. This convention has been ratified by nearly all countries in the world and reflects older international customs so this rule would be observed very broadly.