For many families here in Middletown and across Orange County, "home" is two places at once. When someone dies here, the question that matters most is often not about caskets or service dates — it's how do we bring them home? Home to Mexico, to El Salvador, to Ecuador, to the Dominican Republic.
We coordinate international transfers for families all the time. It is our specialty, and this guide explains honestly how it works — the steps, the consulate's role, what help exists country by country, and how long it really takes. If you would rather talk it through with a person, in Spanish or English, call us any hour at (845) 342-0221.
First, the honest big picture
An international transfer — funeral directors call it repatriation of remains — is a coordinated effort between your funeral home, the destination country's consulate here in the United States, and an airline's cargo division. Airlines have dedicated human-remains services for exactly this purpose. Your family should never have to manage those three parties yourselves, in a week when you are grieving. That is the funeral home's job. One call to us, and we carry it from there.
The five steps of an international transfer
Step 1: Tell the funeral home your loved one is going home — in the very first call
This matters more than most families realize. Some early paperwork steps are different when a transfer is planned, and consular coordination goes faster the earlier it starts. If you have just lost someone and are still in the first hours, our guide to what to do when someone dies walks through those first steps; just make sure whoever calls us mentions that the family is considering a transfer abroad.
Step 2: We prepare the documents
Every country sets its own requirements, but the typical file includes:
- The death certificate, apostilled and translated
- An embalming certificate
- A transit permit
- A letter of non-contagion (confirming the death did not involve certain contagious diseases)
- A letter from the funeral home
You do not need to memorize this list. We prepare it, and we know what each consulate expects.
Step 3: The consulate authorizes the transfer
Here is the part most families haven't been told: the destination country's consulate in the United States is the authority that permits your loved one's remains to enter that country. The consulate reviews the documents and issues the authorization. This is also where any government assistance programs are requested — more on those below. We work with the consulates directly, on your behalf.
Step 4: The flight is arranged
Once the consulate authorizes the transfer, we book the transport through an airline's human-remains service and prepare your loved one for the journey according to the airline's and the destination country's requirements.
Step 5: A funeral home on the other side receives your loved one
We coordinate with a receiving funeral home or the family's contacts in the destination country, so someone is expecting your loved one at the airport and the final journey home — to the town, the parish, the cemetery — is arranged before the flight ever leaves.
What help exists, country by country
This is where being honest matters most, because the programs are real but they are different in every country — and in one case, the honest answer is that no program exists.
Mexico. The Consulado General de México in New York covers all of New York State, including Orange County. Consular visas for the transfer are free. Mexico's Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) runs a financial-assistance program that can cover the basic transfer plus embalming or cremation for families who demonstrate hardship — it is requested at the consulate, and it pays providers directly. Mexico also runs a 24/7 assistance line (CIAM): 520-623-7874.
El Salvador. The Cancillería runs an official repatriation program through its consulates, with a socioeconomic evaluation to determine assistance. There is a hotline: 1-888-301-1130.
Honduras. The consulate in New York City works with FOSMIH, a solidarity fund that can cover much of the cost in qualifying hardship cases — but the consulate must manage the case from the start, which is one more reason to involve them on day one.
Guatemala. The Manhattan consulate covers Orange County families. There is a consular Fondo de Repatriación, and once your loved one arrives at La Aurora airport, CONAMIGUA carries the remains from the airport to the home community.
Ecuador. Ecuador's foreign ministry runs an official program that repatriates at no cost for families with verified economic vulnerability — but that route takes roughly 30 days. Family-paid transfers are much faster. Ecuador's consulate in New York keeps a 24/7 death line: (718) 517-1571.
Dominican Republic. The consulate is in New York City, and remains enter the DR tax-exempt. There is no standing government payment program — assistance, when it happens, is ad hoc. (The consulate does offer a repatriation insurance product called CieloRD, which some families purchase in advance.)
Colombia. We will tell you this plainly, because some families have heard otherwise: the Colombian government does not pay to repatriate a body. Hardship help is limited to transporting ashes and providing free documents. Knowing this early lets a family plan honestly.
Puerto Rico. Because Puerto Rico is part of the United States, this is a domestic transfer — no consulate, no apostille. A death certificate, a transit permit, and an airline booking. It takes days, not weeks.
How long does it really take?
A routine international transfer takes one to two weeks. When consular processing or medical examiner involvement adds delays, it can stretch to three weeks or more. Anyone who promises you a fixed number of days is guessing; what we promise instead is that we start the consular coordination immediately and keep your family informed at every step.
What it costs
Costs vary by destination, by airline, and by whether a government program applies — which is exactly why the country-by-country programs above matter. What we can promise every family: itemized prices in writing before you commit to anything, and honest guidance about which assistance your family may qualify for. Our funeral cost guide explains how funeral pricing works generally.
You don't have to figure this out alone
Sending a loved one home across a border, in a language of officials and airlines and apostilles, is not something a grieving family should ever have to navigate by themselves. It is what we do, and we do it in Spanish and English, for families all across Orange County.
Call us at (845) 342-0221, day or night — or read more on our international transfer page and reach us here. One call, and we carry it from there.