International Repatriation

When death occurs overseas or if it is the death of a visitor to New Zealand, Harbour City Funeral Home have made this a point of difference in the services they offer.

Sometimes death occurs when people are travelling, this is a very stressful time for families and depending on which country the person has died in, may require specialist documentation, as well as special preparations to the deceased to ensure that they are able to be transported to the country where they are to have the funeral service.

Our company specialist in repatriations is Simon Manning, he has worked with all major insurance companies and can best advise you in how to manage the process of repatriating a person either nationally or internationally.

Whether we are involved in sending someone to another country or arranging for a person to be sent back to New Zealand we can manage the complete process for your family.

What makes Harbour City Funeral Home different to other companies When it comes to International Repatriation?

The difference is the level of experience we have on hand.  Simon Manning has for 38 years specialised in assisting with international repatriations with his role in the company.

Simon’s experience has seen him taking on lead roles and in attending many major disasters which have occurred internationally, this has seen him assist in global repatriations and embalming of people who have died as the result of these disasters.

He has personally been to assist in incidents in Nauru, Air Disasters in Cameroon, Amsterdam, and Indonesia to ensure that families from all cultures and religions are respected and are able to arrange suitable farewells to meet their individual needs.

Within New Zealand

In New Zealand Simon heads the NZ Funeral Disaster Response Team; he has managed or assisted in the larger multi-death events which have occurred here in New Zealand. Simon co-ordinated the funeral directors response at the Christchurch Earthquake.

Simon sits on the NZ Police Disaster Victim Identification Committee as an advisor to the NZ Police.

Simon is currently assisting the NZ Government with the repatriation of over 34 service personnel who died while serving New Zealand and who were buried in different countries around the world.

In 2018 he will be travelling with NZ Government officials to assist in the management of these repatriations and with his vast experience will be providing support to the NZ Government where required as the service personal are returned to New Zealand.

For immediate assistance for any International Repatriations please contact our office.