Many families in Orange County travel back to Vietnam every year, and elders often stay for months. When a loved one dies while they are overseas, the family here faces a double burden: grief, and a process in another country, in another language, on the other side of the world.
This guide explains who to call first, what the U.S. embassy can and cannot do, your options, and how a funeral home in the United States receives your loved one when they arrive. It focuses on Vietnam, but the same steps apply to most countries.
The first calls to make
- Local authorities, through family on the ground. In Vietnam, the death is reported to the local police, and the People’s Committee issues the Vietnamese death certificate. If relatives in Vietnam are with your loved one, they usually start this.
- The U.S. embassy or consulate, if your loved one was a U.S. citizen. In Vietnam, that is the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi or the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (opens in a new tab). They can guide you through the local process.
- A funeral home in the United States. The funeral home that will receive your loved one here coordinates with the funeral home abroad, the airline and U.S. customs. At Heaven’s Gate, we answer 24 hours a day, in Vietnamese and English.
- Travel insurance or credit card benefits. Some travel insurance policies and premium credit cards cover repatriation of remains. Check before paying for anything yourself.
What the U.S. embassy can and cannot do
Consular officers help American families in a difficult moment, but their role is limited. According to the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam, they can:
- Confirm the death and your loved one’s citizenship, and notify the next of kin
- Explain local procedures and help prepare the paperwork
- Advise the family on how to send money for local expenses
- Issue a Consular Report of Death Abroad, the U.S. record of the death, which you will need to settle affairs at home
They cannot investigate the death, perform an autopsy, or issue the Vietnamese death certificate. And they do not pay for the funeral or the transfer home. The embassy is clear that the next of kin is responsible for all of the expenses.
If your loved one was not a U.S. citizen, for example a green card holder who was still a Vietnamese citizen, the U.S. embassy will not issue a Consular Report of Death Abroad. The family works directly with the local authorities and a funeral home, and we can still receive your loved one here.
Your options
Families usually choose one of three paths. The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam publishes these rough starting costs:
- Burial in Vietnam, from about $6,000. Often the right choice when the family’s hometown and ancestral graves are there.
- Cremation in Vietnam, from about $3,500, with the ashes carried or sent home. The embassy estimates $3,500 to $8,000 to send ashes to the United States.
- Embalming and flying your loved one home, about $12,000 to $18,000 or more, for a funeral and burial here.
These are the embassy’s estimates for Vietnam, not our prices. The embassy also notes that embalming in Vietnam may not meet U.S. standards. When a loved one arrives here, we check their condition and advise the family honestly about whether an open-casket viewing is possible.
The paperwork from Vietnam
Before remains can leave Vietnam, the local process usually includes a report to the ward police, the Vietnamese death certificate from the People’s Committee, notification to immigration, and a health quarantine permit for export, issued in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. The remains then travel with the death declaration, the health quarantine certificate, and a record of the embalming.
For ashes, the urn is sealed by Vietnam’s international health quarantine service before it leaves the country.
The funeral home in Vietnam handles most of this. Our role is to agree on the flight with them, check the documents before your loved one leaves, and be ready when they land.
Entering the United States
The CDC regulates human remains brought into the United States. Under its current rules (opens in a new tab):
- Remains that have not been cremated must travel in a leak-proof container and go directly to a licensed funeral home for burial or cremation.
- Unless your loved one was embalmed, a death certificate must travel with them, translated into English if needed.
- A special CDC permit is needed only when remains are known or suspected to carry an infectious disease.
- Cremated remains are exempt from these CDC requirements.
When your loved one lands, usually at Los Angeles International Airport, we meet the flight at the airline’s cargo terminal, complete the release, and bring them into our care in Garden Grove. From there, we arrange the viewing, funeral, burial or cremation your family has chosen.
How long it takes
According to the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam, a normal case takes five to seven working days before remains can be sent. When there is a police investigation or an autopsy, it can take ten working days or longer. Flights, weekends and holidays, especially Tết, add time on either side.
We give you a realistic timeline as soon as we have spoken with the funeral home in Vietnam, and we keep you updated until your loved one is home.
Documents to keep for later
Once your loved one is home, you will need proof of death to settle their affairs in the United States. Keep:
- The Consular Report of Death Abroad, if your loved one was a U.S. citizen. U.S. agencies, banks and insurers generally accept it.
- The Vietnamese death certificate, with a certified English translation.
- The cremation certificate, if your loved one was cremated.
If they died in another U.S. state
The same approach works within the United States. A funeral home where the death happened prepares your loved one and sends them to us, or we arrange everything from here. Call us first, and we will coordinate with the other funeral home directly.
Whatever the distance, call us any time at (714) 892-8494. Talking it through is always free, and we can explain every step in Vietnamese or English.