To report the death of a U.S. Citizen in Egypt, please use the U.S. Citizen Services Navigator. The navigator will ask a series of simple questions to provide you with instructions on how to contact us concerning the death of an U.S. Citizen in Egypt—whether you require immediate emergency assistance or are following up the issuance of a Consular Report of Death Abroad for a loved one.
We Are Here to Help
We know that the death of a friend or loved one is a difficult time, U.S. Embassy Cairo is here to help. If needed, the Embassy will locate and inform the next-of-kin of the U.S. citizen’s death and provides information on how to make arrangements for local burial or return of the remains to the United States.
Please note, the family or legal representative must pay all funeral home charges and shipping costs for the remains and personal effects. The Department of State has no funds to assist in the return of remains or ashes of U.S. citizens who die abroad. The disposition of remains is subject to U.S. law, local laws of the country where the individual died, U.S. and foreign customs requirements, and the foreign country facilities, which are often vastly different from those in the United States.
Disposition of Remains
When a U.S. citizen dies in Egypt, the next of kin can choose to repatriate the remains to the United States or to bury their loved one in Egypt. With both options, the next-of-kin, first must select a local funeral home to work with in Egypt. The embassy maintains a list of local funeral homes that U.S. citizen families have used in the past. This decision is time sensitive as a delay in selecting the funeral home can cause a slowdown with other procedures as there are different rules in Egypt regarding bodies of the deceased after 24 hours.
Once a local funeral home is selected, the funeral home will prepare the U.S. Citizen’s remains for repatriation or burial. If the next of kin chooses to repatriate the remains, the Egyptian funeral home will also coordinate with a funeral home of the next of kin’s choosing in the United States.
When hiring an Egyptian funeral home, please contact them directly to hire their services. The local funeral home will provide an estimate of the costs for either repatriation or local burial. The funeral home will also work directly with the hospital or mortuary in Egypt where your loved one’s body is located.
Consular Report of Death Abroad
Upon issuance of an Egyptian death certificate, U.S. Embassy Cairo may prepare a Consular Report of the Death of an American Abroad (CRODA), which is a legal U.S. government document in English, based upon the death certificate issued by the Egyptian Authorities. This document can be used in U.S. courts and with insurance companies, and other institutions to settle estate matters. In order to issue the CRODA the Next of Kin will need to complete two forms to the best of their ability: the Next-of-Kin Affidavit and the DS-2060. If there is information you do not know, that is fine–just leave those fields blank for now.
In addition, the Embassy requires the following documents and information:
- Copy of the deceased’s U.S. passport
- Copy of Next of Kin’s passport or ID
- Marriage certificate (NOK spouse)
- Birth certificate (NOK son/daughter)
- Birth Certificate of deceased and sibling (NOK sibling)
- Death certificate (Yellow one with cause of death)
- Place of burial with name of cemetery and grave
- Detailed address and telephone number for Next of Kin
Please use the U.S. Citizen Services Navigator to submit the Next-of-Kin Affidavit, the DS-2060, and the copies of the required documents above to the American Citizen Services (ACS) unit. Twenty copies of the CRODA are provided to the next-of-kin or legal representative and are mailed to any address in the United States.
Guidance for Completing the DS-2060
Please use the below guidance to complete the DS-2060. Please keep in mind that you are not expected to fill in every space on the document. Once you finish filling in your parts, the Embassy will assist you in finalizing this form and is available to assist you with any additional questions you may have.
- SSA No. Please fill in the deceased’s social security number (if you have it.)
- NAME IN FULL. Please put the deceased’s full name as it appears on the passport.
- DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH. Please put in the deceased’s date of birth, and then the place of birth on the same line.
- CAUSE OF DEATH. If you have the Egyptian death certificate, please fill this in from that death certificate. If you do not yet have the Egyptian death certificate, the Embassy will help you with this later.
- DISPOSITION OF REMAINS. Please indicate whether the remains have been buried in Egypt (including location of remains–name of cemetery and grave) or repatriated to the United States. If this has not yet occurred, leave blank.
- DISPOSITION OF THE EFFECTS. P lease list the person who has custody of the deceased’s belongings.
- PERSON OR OFFICIAL RESPONSIBLE FOR CUSTODY OF EFFECTS AND ACCOUNTING THEREFORE. Please list the person who is responsible for the deceased’s belongings.
- COPY OF THIS REPORT SENT TO. Please list next of kin’s name, Egyptian or U.S. mailing address and phone number. Please put at least one name. More than one next of kin may be listed if the additional person has some need for the Consular Report of Death Abroad to close out the deceased’s affairs.
