The death of a dear or a known person is a traumatic experience for anyone. In such situations it helps greatly to know the subsequent steps to be taken regarding the legal procedures. There are a number of steps one needs to follow in the event of death in Dubai.
Reporting a Death
The legal procedures in the case of death involve quite a lot of paperwork for both the residents as well as expatriates. It is advisable to seek advice from the relevant consulate as soon as possible.
If the death occurs at a hospital, they will fill in a death report and the body will be transferred to the Rashid Mortuary Hospital. If the death does not occur at a hospital, one has to call the Police (Tel: 999).
An initial death report will be filled out and the body will be transferred to the Rashid Hospital Mortuary. The mortuary personnel determines the cause of death and issues a report called a Death Certificate Declaration. The cause of death should be stated and the document must be stamped by the police.
If the death has occurred under suspicious circumstances or as the result of an accident, then common practice is for the deceased be taken to the Police Mortuary. If the deceased was employed in Dubai, employers usually deal with some of the local paperwork on behalf of the next-of-kin, so ensure that they are informed of the death at the earliest opportunity. If the deceased has insurance, you should inform the insurance company as soon as possible.
Obtaining the Death Certificate
The first step towards securing a Death Certificate is to take the Death Certificate Declaration to the local police station (this should usually be done within 24 hours). The following documents are required:
- Deceased's passport and visa page
- Death report
- Death certificate declaration
The person declaring the death must also take their passport and a fee of almost 60 Dhs has to be paid. The police then issue a No Objection letter. If the deceased is to be repatriated to their home country, No Objection letters are also required for the airport, the mortuary and for the hospital so that they release the body.
To obtain the official death certificate, take the documents issued by the Police to the Preventive Medicine Department at Al Baraha Hospital, Deira, Dubai (Tel: 971-4-271-0000). The death notification and the deceased's passport along with copies of each of the documents should also be taken to the hospital.
A local death certificate is issued in Arabic, but there is the option to have an English version prepared as well for repatriation and for insurance purposes on payment of an additional fee of 50 Dhs. This must be done by a legal translator. Fees are associated with each of these processes.
The death of foreign nationals should also be reported to the deceased's embassy or consulate. The embassies cancel the deceased's passport and also issue No Objection Letters for the local authorities, which show that there is no objection to burial, cremation or repatriation.
Registering the Death
Once the official death certificate has been issued, and the death has been registered with the appropriate consulate, the death must be registered with the Ministry of Health, UAE. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must then attest the death certificate and the translation, and the Department of Naturalisation and Residency will then cancel the visa. There is a fee associated with these procedures also. For each of the procedures, one has to take all of the previously collected documents to each department.
If an Indian national dies in Abu Dhabi or in Al Ain, the death must be registered with the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi. If the death happens in Dubai or Northern Emirates the registration must be done at Consulate General of India, Dubai. A consent letter from next of kin of the deceased (from wife, if the person is married or from one of the parents, if he is unmarried) should be faxed to the Embassy of India authorizing anybody to do the death registration at the Embassy of India and to take the body to India or to be buried locally.
Once the death has been registered with the appropriate authorities, it is possible to organise either funeral arrangements within Dubai or repatriation to the deceased's home country.