Can I take ashes from France to the UK?

Reader Question: When the time comes my husband wishes to be cremated and I will want to keep his ashes. I would at that point probably move back to the UK, can I take his ashes with me?

Firstly, it should be noted that rules on keeping ashes in France are strict, and in most cases do not, unfortunately, allow people to retain them in their homes. 

Read more: Can I keep partner's ashes at home with me in France?

This could pose a problem in the situation you describe. 

However, in cases where a person dies in France but expressed the wish (or their family wishes) for the ashes to be brought back to the county they originally came from, this is possible. In this case, it should be done shortly after the cremation (as opposed to your keeping the ashes and taking them over to the UK later on).

The UK accepts people bringing back ashes from France, however recommends they check with the specific airline or ferry service they are planning to use, to make sure they accept those travelling with ashes. 

In addition, you will need: 

• The death certificate of the deceased

• The certificate of cremation from the crematorium

• To complete a customs form when returning to the UK declaring the ashes

• A certificate from the mairie where the deceased lived or died giving you permission to transport the ashes out of France

For the latter, the funeral director you work with should be able to arrange the certificate. 

Repatriation also possible

It is also possible to bring the body of a deceased back to be buried or cremated in the UK. 

You should do this if you want a UK coroner to conduct an inquest into a person’s death, as this cannot be done once the person has been cremated in France.

In this case, you should contact a specialist UK international funeral director – you can find a list here – as opposed to a French one. 

This director will help you traverse French legal rules regarding this. 

Official advice from the UK government is to check whether the deceased had insurance cover for this. If not, again you should contact international funeral directors above to see what can be done. 

This will allow a post-mortem to be conducted in the UK on the body as well, if you wish (and a coroner accepts your request). 

A recent decree has extended the deadline for cremations in France to be undertaken. 

This is partly to help reduce the number of special dérogations French funeral directors must apply for if the body will not be buried or cremated within a given time period. 

Usually only meant for exceptional circumstances, an increasing number were required due to the backlog of cremations in France as more people began to choose this option. Crematoriums were struggling to keep up with the demand. 

Read more: France changes its deadline rules for burials and cremations