We’re sorry you’re here. This page sets out what Swedish law requires after a death, in the order it happens, so you know who decides what, what the deadlines are, and which papers you’ll need.
When you need this
A travel companion has died suddenly: in a hospital, at a rented cabin, on a hike or on the road. Or you’re at home and the Swedish police or your foreign ministry has just called. Or a relative who was already ill died during a visit, and the family has to decide quickly between a funeral in Sweden and bringing them home.
If a road crash is involved, start with our guide to what to do after a car accident in Sweden for the duties at the scene. This page picks up from there.
The first hours: who comes and what they do
If someone collapses, is unresponsive or is found dead outside a hospital, call 112. The operator speaks Swedish or English. A doctor then has to confirm the death and issue two documents without delay: the death certificate (dödsbevis) and a cause-of-death certificate. The doctor may not be a relative.
What happens next depends on where and how the death occurred:
| Situation | Who is involved | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Death in hospital | Hospital doctor | The hospital sends the dödsbevis to Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency |
| Expected death at home or a cabin | The care provider, or 112 | A doctor confirms the death; a funeral director usually takes care of the body |
| Accident, possible crime or unclear cause | Doctor reports to the police | The police investigate and decide on a forensic autopsy |
Skatteverket registers the death. It does this for visitors too, not only for people who live in Sweden. The police contact families abroad through Interpol and the police in their home country. Swedish authorities must also tell the deceased’s consulate without delay.
Autopsy: clinical or forensic
Sweden has two kinds of autopsy, and the family’s say differs sharply between them.
| Clinical autopsy (klinisk obduktion) | Forensic autopsy (rättsmedicinsk obduktion) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides | A hospital doctor | The police (sometimes a prosecutor or court) |
| Why | To establish cause of death or learn about an illness | Possible crime, suspected healthcare error, external cause such as an accident, unknown identity |
| Family’s role | Must normally be told first; can stop some purposes | Cannot refuse or appeal |
| Where | The hospital | One of six units: Stockholm, Göteborg, Lund, Linköping, Uppsala or Umeå |
A forensic autopsy is usually done within a few days. If you want to see the person before it, ask the police; they also know which unit has them. Afterward, the funeral director can usually arrange a viewing. The final report is in Swedish and normally ready after about three months, at no cost. Request it from the unit that did the autopsy.
This matters for families whose faith calls for burial within days. The law lets a forensic autopsy go ahead against the family’s wishes, so a fast funeral may have to wait.
Call the insurer, then the embassy
Two calls shape everything that follows.
The travel insurer’s emergency line comes first. The insurer may have approved funeral directors and may cover costs only if you use them, so call before you sign anything. Check other cover too: credit cards, home insurance, an employer’s policy or a rental car can include it. Without insurance, the family or the estate pays. Repatriation by air is very expensive. The EU health card (EHIC) does not cover it.
Your embassy or consulate can help reach relatives, request information that’s released only to the next of kin, explain local procedure and give you lists of funeral directors. The US embassy prepares its own consular report of death. No embassy pays funeral or transport costs. The UK adds that its embassy can’t translate documents or take charge of belongings. What else your embassy can and can’t do is in our guide to embassies and consulates in Sweden.
Agree early on who is the next of kin. Neither UK nor Swedish law defines it, but in practice that person makes the decisions, and some information goes only to them. They can appoint someone in Sweden to act for them.
Your three options, and the one-month limit
Swedish law asks that the deceased’s own wishes be followed as far as possible. If survivors can’t agree on burial or cremation, the county administrative board (länsstyrelsen) decides. The options:
| Option | What Sweden requires |
|---|---|
| Burial in Sweden | Skatteverket’s burial certificate; burial within one month |
| Cremation in Sweden, ashes home or kept here | Cremation within one month; ashes interred within a year, or taken abroad with a register extract |
| Coffin home (repatriation) | A passersedel from Skatteverket and a coffin built to the transport rules |
The one-month rule. Burial or cremation in Sweden must happen as soon as possible and at the latest one month after the death. Skatteverket can extend this for special reasons. Older sources say two months; that rule was replaced in May 2012. If the deadline passes, Skatteverket investigates the delay and can alert the municipality.
Check home rules before cremating. If there’s any chance an authority at home will want to investigate, don’t cremate in Sweden. A UK coroner, for example, cannot hold an inquest on ashes.
A funeral director can collect the deceased, prepare the papers and arrange transport. You can do it all yourself, but it takes time and may not save money. If nobody arranges a funeral for a non-resident, the municipality where the death occurred does, and charges the estate. The free burial services that Swedish residents pay for through the burial fee don’t extend to visitors.
Bringing the body home: the passersedel
A body may leave Sweden only with a passersedel, a permit issued by Skatteverket that travels with the coffin. Before issuing it, Skatteverket needs a funeral director’s certificate that the coffin meets the rules and holds only the deceased and items to be buried with them. The form is in Swedish and English or French.
The coffin must be moisture-proof with a zinc or similar inner lining, and for a flight it must cope with pressure changes. Within two weeks of the border crossing, whoever arranged the transport returns a signed copy of the permit to Skatteverket.
Going to Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway is simpler. No funeral director’s certificate is needed, the permit can be in Swedish only, and the coffin rules apply only if the carrier asks or the death involved an infectious disease.
The UK lists the papers its families typically need for repatriation: the dödsbevis, a passport copy, and certificates for non-infection, embalming, freight and the soldered coffin. If the UK passport has to be cancelled, do it after repatriation, because it may be needed for the journey.
Taking ashes home, or scattering them in Sweden
The crematorium can hand the urn to a family member to take abroad. First get an extract from the cremation register (utdrag ur kremationsjournalen). After export, sign it and return it to the crematorium within two weeks.
Ask your airline whether the urn can travel in the cabin or as checked luggage. A non-metal container lets security X-ray it.
Scattering ashes in Sweden anywhere outside a cemetery, a lake or a forest included, needs a permit from länsstyrelsen. Dividing the ashes so that part goes abroad also needs its permission, given only for exceptional reasons. Ashes kept in Sweden must be interred within a year of cremation.
Documents for home
Skatteverket issues its death extract (dödsfallsintyg) for Swedish residents. For a visitor, the next of kin can ask Skatteverket for a register extract showing name, date of birth and date of death. Banks, pension funds and courts at home set their own document rules, and they usually want Swedish papers translated. Kammarkollegiet, a Swedish government agency, keeps a register of authorized translators.
Collect the deceased’s belongings from the police or the funeral director. Police investigations are often confidential, so expect little detail while a case is open. The police case handler is reached on 114 14, or +46 77 114 14 00 from a foreign phone.
Support while you’re in Sweden
At night, from 21:00 to 06:00, you can call 112 and ask for the duty priest (jourhavande präst). It’s open to anyone, believer or not, though it can’t be reached by phone from outside Sweden. Victim support (Brottsofferjouren) helps after a crime, and SPES supports people bereaved by suicide. Our guide to crisis helplines in Sweden lists the others and their hours.
Practical information
| Item | Rule or amount |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 112; police non-emergency 114 14 (+46 77 114 14 00 from abroad) |
| Burial or cremation in Sweden | Within 1 month of death; Skatteverket can extend |
| Ashes kept in Sweden | Interred within 1 year of cremation |
| Body leaving Sweden | Passersedel from Skatteverket; copy back within 2 weeks |
| Ashes leaving Sweden | Cremation-register extract; returned within 2 weeks |
| Scattering ashes | Permit from länsstyrelsen |
| Forensic autopsy | Usually within a few days; report after about 3 months, no cost |
| Repatriation and funeral director | Prices vary by firm and destination; insurer or estate pays |
| Embassy help | No consular charge for general help; no costs paid |
FAQ
What do I do first if someone dies while traveling in Sweden?
Call 112 if the person collapsed or was found dead outside a hospital. A doctor confirms the death, and the police take over if an accident, crime or unclear cause is possible. Then call the travel insurer’s emergency line and your embassy. Agree who is next of kin, because that person makes the decisions, and wait for the insurer’s advice before appointing a funeral director.
Who pays to bring a body home from Sweden?
Travel insurance, if the person had it; check credit card, home and employer cover too. Otherwise the family or the estate pays, and repatriation by air is very expensive. Embassies do not pay funeral or transport costs, and the EU health card does not cover repatriation. Swedish burial services funded by the burial fee are free only for registered residents.
Can Swedish police order an autopsy without the family’s consent?
Yes. If a crime cannot be ruled out, a healthcare error is suspected, the cause is external or unclear, or identity is unknown, the police can order a forensic autopsy, and Swedish law lets it go ahead against the family’s wishes. It is usually done within a few days at one of six forensic units. A hospital autopsy is different: the family is told first.
How long does it take before a funeral or repatriation?
Swedish law requires burial or cremation within one month of the death, and Skatteverket can grant more time for special reasons. A forensic autopsy usually happens within a few days, and the body is then released to the funeral director. Repatriation can only start once Skatteverket has issued the passersedel, the permit that travels with the coffin.
Can I take ashes home from Sweden on a plane?
Yes. The crematorium can release the urn to you for taking abroad, with an extract from its cremation register, which you sign after export and return within two weeks. Ask your airline whether the urn may travel in hand or checked luggage; a non-metal container lets security X-ray it. Scattering ashes in Sweden instead needs a county board permit.
Will our embassy help if someone dies in Sweden?
Yes, within limits. Sweden must tell the consulate of a foreign national’s death, and embassies can help contact the family, request information for the next of kin, explain local procedure, give lists of funeral directors and prepare home-country documents. They do not pay costs; the UK adds that its embassy cannot translate documents or take charge of belongings. Call your foreign ministry’s 24-hour line if unsure.
How do we get a death certificate for a visitor who died in Sweden?
The doctor sends the dödsbevis to Skatteverket, which registers the death even for non-residents. Next of kin can ask Skatteverket for a register extract showing name, date of birth and date of death. Your embassy may also issue its own document, such as the US consular report of death. Home institutions often want the Swedish documents translated.
Related guides
- Your embassy in Sweden — what consular staff can and can’t do, and how to reach them out of hours.
- Travel insurance for Sweden — the repatriation cover that decides who pays.
- Crisis helplines in Sweden — who to call when you need to talk, day or night.
- 112 and Sweden’s emergency numbers — calling without a Swedish SIM and what the operator asks.
- The Swedish police and 114 14 — reaching the case handler and what the police can tell you.
Facts verified 2026-10-15. Sources: Sveriges Riksdag (Begravningslag 1990:1144, Begravningsförordning 1990:1147, Lag 1995:832 om obduktion), Rättsmedicinalverket, Polismyndigheten, 1177, Skatteverket and Efterlevandeguiden, the County Administrative Boards, GOV.UK (FCDO), USA.gov, the European Commission — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.