Our team speaks Spanish and can assist with communication, ensuring no detail is overlooked. The decision for burial or cremation is yours, and we’re here to support whichever path you choose, understanding the cultural and emotional significance of these choices.
Shipping Remains to Belize
Families across Brooklyn with roots in Belize usually want the burial to happen at home, whether that means Belize City, Dangriga, Orange Walk, or a village where relatives still live. Shipping remains to Belize means coordinating two governments, an airline cargo desk, and a receiving funeral home. Fairhaven Memorial Chapel manages that coordination from our chapel on Pitkin Avenue.
Two things work in a family’s favor here. Belize keeps its records in English, so nothing needs translating. Belize also belongs to the Hague Apostille Convention, which means a New York death certificate carries a state apostille instead of going through consular legalization.
Process & Requirements
Arrangements start with the death certificate, which we file with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene before we can obtain the permit that allows the remains to leave the city. Embalming follows, then casketing in a sealed container that meets airline standards. The document set travels with the remains: the certified death certificate, the embalmer's affidavit, a letter confirming the casket holds only human remains, and the transit permit. Once the airline confirms the booking, we send the flight details to the receiving funeral home in Belize so someone is waiting at the airport.
Shipping Remains to Belize:
Step-by-step Guidance
- When you notify us of the death, our staff begins by gathering essential information and coordinating with local authorities to secure the death certificate—a key document for international transport.
- We know this is an emotional time, and we’re here to guide you, answer questions, and offer the support you need.
- The body is embalmed to preserve it for transport, a standard requirement for international shipping, typically completed within 24 hours of death per health guidelines.
- We prepare the remains with dignity, dressing them and placing them in a selective sealer casket or container suitable for the process. Honoring your loved one’s memory is our priority.
We help obtain and prepare all required paperwork. You will need the decedent’s birth certificate and passport (or another photo ID). The foreign death certificate must be translated into Spanish and apostilled. We also secure an embalming certificate (a letter from the embalmer confirming preparation) in English and Spanish, notarized as needed.
New York City death certificates need one extra step before a state apostille can be issued. The certificate has to be ordered with a Letter of Exemplification attached, then certified by the New York County Clerk, and only then does the New York State Department of State issue the apostille. That sequence is usually the longest single stretch in the timeline, so we start it early. Belize also keeps a consular office in Manhattan, which spares families a courier trip to Washington when a consular signature is requested.
Flights arrive at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Ladyville, roughly ten miles outside Belize City. It is the country’s only international airport, so families in Corozal, Punta Gorda, San Ignacio, or Dangriga should plan for ground transport from there, which the receiving funeral home usually arranges. Clearance paperwork on the Belize side goes through the Ministry of Health and Wellness and should be complete before the flight lands rather than after.
Family Responsibilities
What You Need To Provide
While we manage most arrangements, your help with a few items ensures a smooth process:
- Proof of identity and nationality. A current or expired Belize passport, a Belize birth certificate, or a social security card all work. Any one of them confirms the deceased was Belizean, which matters at customs.
- Receiving funeral home details. Send the name, address, phone number, and email of the funeral home in Belize that will accept the remains.
- Burial location and preferred timing, so we can match the flight to the service date rather than the other way around.
Having these ready early helps avoid delays, and our bilingual staff can assist with communication if needed.
Financial Transparency
Understanding the Costs
Our pricing for shipping remains to Belize is all-inclusive, designed to ease your burden. Here’s what’s covered:
- Transfer of Remains
- Embalming
- Basic Funeral Arrangements
- 3 Hour Chapel Services
- Custodial Care Supervision of Staff
- Dress/Casketing
- Hearse
- Selective Sealer Casket
- Airtray
- Airline
- Health Department
- Consulate Charges
- Apostille
Additional services, like extended ceremonies or specific caskets, are extra and can be detailed upon request. Cremation and ash transport are more affordable alternatives—we’re happy to provide separate quotes if that’s your preference with separate quotes available. (International Remains Transport)
Ready to get started?
Frequently Asked Questions
No. English is the official language of Belize and its records are kept in English, so New York documents are accepted as issued. This is one of the few destinations where translation costs and delays do not apply.
Belizean consular staff will want some proof of identity and nationality. When the original documents are gone, a replacement Belize birth certificate can be requested, or a signed affidavit from a close relative may be accepted. Call us before assuming the shipment is stalled, because there is almost always a workable substitute.
That direction has its own rules. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regulates remains entering the United States under 42 CFR 71.55, and requirements differ depending on whether the remains were embalmed or cremated and on the cause of death. The U.S. Embassy in Belmopan issues the Consular Mortuary Certificate that accompanies the remains. We work these cases regularly and can start on our end while the family works with the funeral home in Belize.
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2601 Pitkin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11208
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