Singapore - Obtain License or Permit to Import a Coffin

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Procedure

Apply In Person

1. To Obtain License or Permit to Import a Coffin, the applicant or the appointed person has to approach Port Health Office of National Environmental Agency link
2. An application form will be provided to the applicant by the authority officer.
3. Applicant has to fill the necessary details in the application form.
4. Make sure that the applicant should have all the documents mentioned in the “Required Documents” section of this page.
5. Applicant has to attach the photo copies of the documents along with the form.
6. Submit the form to the relevant authority.
7. And pay the prescribed fee for import permit of $17.50.
8. Upon the successful completion, an import permit to the coffin will be provide to the applicant within a day.

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Required Documents

The person applying must bring along the:

• Death certificate issued by the local authorities where the person died (an English-translated copy is required)
• sealing certificate to verify that the coffin is airtight and metal-lined (an English-translated copy is required)
• Embalming certificate (if applicable)
• Airway bill (optional)
• Coffin export permit issued by the country of origin to authorise the export of the body

Office Locations & Contacts

Port Health Office
4545 Jalan Bukit Merah, Singapore 159466
Contact - +6562222585
website link
Fax: 62228543
Email: [email protected]
Location link

National Environmental Agency
Public Service Centre
Our Tampines Hub
1 Tampines Walk
Singapore 529649
Tel: 6225 5632
contact link

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Tanglin,
Singapore 248163
Email – [email protected]
Fax – (65) 6379 8000
Telephone – (65) 6474 7885
contact link

Eligibility

The applicant will need to:

• Make sure that the size of the casket fits requirements for cremation or burial in Singapore
• Prepare required documents to accompany the casket back to Singapore apply for a Coffin Import Permit

If you are importing the body of a non-Singapore citizen back to Singapore, please note that foreigners are allowed to be:

• Cremated in Singapore and niches must be purchased from a private columbarium
• Buried in Singapore only if the next-of-kin is a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident

Fees

• A coffin imports permit costs $17.50.

NOTE:
The Permit to Bury/Cremate will be issued with the coffin import permit at no extra charge.

Validity

• The validity is for one time import.

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

• The processing time for this procedure is within a day.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&>
from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

To facilitate the clearance of the coffin into Singapore, you must:

• Make sure there is at least one copy of the death certificate (in English) accompanying the casket during travel
• Inform the embassy/consular officers from MFA or the Singapore Overseas Mission about the date and flight number of the coffin, so they can inform the NEA Port Health Office
• Appoint someone to apply for the Coffin Import Permit in Singapore

Required Information

A list which displays the kind of information which is required to complete the procedure.
e.g.
1. Date of Birth.
2. City or Country of Birth.

Need for the Document

• Coffin import permit helps to bring the body back to Singapore for burial only if the immediate next-of-kin is a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident. The bodies of foreign nationals may not be imported into Singapore for burial due to the limited size of Singapore's burial grounds

Information which might help

Size of the Casket
Check that the casket fits the size requirements for cremation or burial in Singapore.

Maximum Casket Size

• Cremation - Width: 60 cm, Length: 210 cm, Height: 56 cm
• Burial - Width: 90 cm, Length: 210 cm, Height: no restriction

NOTE:
If the casket is unable to fit the cremation chamber or burial plot, additional costs will be incurred for the body to be transferred to another casket.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

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Others

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