SITUATION
A Sri Lankan national who had been living and working in Korea passed away in hospital following an illness. His family was all in Sri Lanka; apart from colleagues at work, he had no relatives in Korea.
THE FAMILY’S CIRCUMSTANCES
The family could not afford to come to Korea, and communication was possible only by phone and messages. Deeply anxious about the language and the procedures, and not knowing where to begin, they reached out to us through a representative.
REQUEST
The family asked that the deceased be repatriated to Colombo, Sri Lanka, so that the funeral could be held in the arms of his family.
WHAT WE DID
01 Obtained the death certificate from the hospital, then arranged English translation and notarization.
02 Coordinated with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Korea and completed the consular verification.
03 Embalmed the deceased to international standards and placed him with care in a casket meeting transport requirements.
04 Completed the airline cargo booking and customs procedures.
05 Confirmed that he was received by his family on arrival at the destination airport.
CHALLENGES AND HOW WE RESOLVED THEM
We handled the English translation of the death certificate and the consular verification at the embassy. Because we organized all the required documents in advance and submitted them in one visit, the process was completed without any return trips — and we updated the family on the progress every day to ease their anxiety.
TIMELINE
Document preparation and translation, 1 day; consular verification, 2 days; embalming and transport preparation, 1 day — approximately 6 days in total.
CLOSING
On the day the deceased left for the airport, many of his friends in Korea came before the casket was closed, to see his face one last time and say goodbye. Helping the departed share a final farewell with their family, in their homeland — that is our work.
This case has been written without personally identifying information, to protect the privacy of the family.