What to Do When a Citizen of Germany Dies in Portugal: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Obtain the electronic death certificate via SICO and medical or forensic clearance in Portugal

   In Portugal, medical certification of death is registered electronically in the SICO (Sistema de Informação dos Certificados de Óbito, Death Certificate Information System) of the Directorate-General of Health (Direção-Geral da Saúde - DGS), managed by the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (Serviços Partilhados do Ministério da Saúde - SPMS), which transmits the data directly to the civil registry [1][2]:

   • Death in a hospital, clinic, or healthcare facility: The attending physician verifies the death, issues the electronic Death Certificate (Certificado de Óbito) directly in SICO, and transfers the body to the hospital mortuary (for instance in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, or Faro) [1][2]. Provide the deceased person's German passport (Reisepass) or German identity card (Personalausweis) (as well as their EU citizen registration certificate or Portuguese tax identification number, NIF, if held) so that personal details match across the Portuguese and German registries [1][4].
   • Death at home, in a hotel, or in a public place: Call the European emergency number 112 immediately (or contact the local PSP or GNR police) [1][2]. If death resulted from a known natural cause under medical care, the attending physician or local health authority officer (delegado de saúde) can verify the death and register the certificate in SICO [1][2].
   • Sudden, violent, or unexplained death: When a death occurs without prior medical attendance or a natural cause cannot be certified immediately, the police notify the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público), which orders the removal of the body to the forensic medical office of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal e Ciências Forenses - INMLCF) for autopsy or forensic examination [1][2]. Only after authorization from the Ministério Público and registration in SICO by the forensic physician can the funeral agency take custody of the body [1][2].
2. 2

   Check insurance coverage, appoint funeral directors in Portugal and Germany, and contact the German Embassy

   Before entering into independent financial commitments, check whether your family member held travel health insurance (Auslandsreisekrankenversicherung covering repatriation upon death, Rücktransport im Todesfall), credit card protection, or automobile club coverage (Schutzbrief), and contact the insurer's 24-hour assistance hotline first [4][5]. German diplomatic missions do not have public funds to pay for or advance funeral, cremation, or repatriation expenses [4][5].

   • Licensed funeral agency in Portugal: The family (or the insurer) must appoint a funeral agency (agência funerária) legally registered with the Directorate-General for Economic Activities (Direção-Geral das Atividades Económicas - DGAE / gov.pt portal), which also regulates funeral service standards and the basic social funeral (Funeral Social) [3]. Funeral providers in Portugal are also represented by sector associations such as the National Association of Funeral Companies (Associação Nacional de Empresas Lutuosas - ANEL, telephone +351 218 687 978) or the Central Region Funeral Agents Association (Associação de Agentes Funerários do Centro - AAFC) [3].
   • Receiving funeral director in Germany (Bestattungsunternehmen): To repatriate the body or urn to Germany, the Portuguese funeral agency coordinates with a funeral provider in Germany (Bestattungsunternehmen), which can be located through the federal association Bundesverband Deutscher Bestatter e.V. (Federal Association of German Funeral Directors, telephone +49 211 16008-10, 24-hour emergency line +49 211 16008-86, email [email protected]), complying with the funeral laws of the relevant German federal state (Landesbestattungsgesetze) and the statutory cemetery obligation (Friedhofszwang) [6]. Clarvia provides association and official references solely for orientation and does not recommend, endorse, or rank specific providers.
   • Contact the German Embassy in Portugal: Contact the Deutsche Botschaft Lissabon (Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Lisbon, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria 38, 1169-043 Lisbon; general telephone +351 21 881 0210, after-hours duty telephone for consular emergencies +351 96 580 8092) [4][5]. The Embassy provides informational lists of local funeral agencies and guides relatives on powers of attorney or consular certifications if the family remains in Germany [4][5].
3. 3

   Register the death with the Civil Registry (within 48 hours) and obtain the multilingual CIEC Form C for Germany

   A death occurring in Portugal must be declared within the statutory deadline of 48 hours after medical verification of death or forensic release by the INMLCF [1]:

   • Free death registration (Assento de Óbito) and Vienna Convention multilingual certificate: In standard practice, the appointed funeral agency files the declaration at any Civil Registry Office (Conservatória do Registo Civil) of the Institute of Registries and Notary (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado - IRN / Justiça.gov.pt portal, Registries Helpline +351 211 950 500), using the electronic SICO Death Certificate and the deceased person's German identification document [1]. The initial death entry (Assento de Óbito) is free of charge [1]. Immediately request several copies of the multilingual death certificate extract (certidão de óbito em modelo plurilingue, Form C / Formblatt C) under the CIEC Vienna Convention of 8 September 1976 [1][8]. Because both Portugal and Germany are contracting states to the 1976 Vienna Convention and Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 applies, the multilingual Form C extract is recognized directly in Germany without a Hague Apostille or sworn translation [1][8].
   • Rules of the Standesamt in Germany (§ 28 and § 36 Personenstandsgesetz - PStG): Whereas a death occurring on German territory must be reported to the local Standesamt by the third following working day under Section 28 of the Civil Status Act (§ 28 PStG) to obtain the Sterbeurkunde and the multilingual extract on Formblatt C [7], a death in Portugal is registered first with the Portuguese Conservatória [1]. Using the Portuguese multilingual certificate (Form C), surviving family members (spouse, registered partner, parents, or children) may optionally apply for subsequent registration of the foreign death in the German civil register (Nachbeurkundung eines Sterbefalls im Ausland, § 36 PStG) at the Standesamt of the deceased's last German residence (or Standesamt I in Berlin if the deceased never had a residence in Germany), thereby obtaining German death certificates (deutsche Sterbeurkunden) [4][8].
4. 4

   Choose between international repatriation to Germany and local burial or cremation in Portugal

   The family may choose either international repatriation of the body or ashes to Germany or a local funeral in Portugal [1][4][6]:

   • International repatriation of the body in a coffin to Germany (Livre-Trânsito Mortuário / Leichenpass): Portugal and Germany apply the international conventions on the transport of corpses (the 1937 International Berlin Agreement / Internationales Berliner Abkommen and the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement) [4][6]. The Portuguese funeral agency performs thanatological preparation (embalming), places the body in a hermetically sealed zinc coffin (caixão de zinco selado / verlöteter Zinksarg) inside a wooden outer coffin, and obtains the international mortuary transit permit (alvará de trasladação internacional / livre-trânsito mortuário / Leichenpass) from the competent health and police authorities in Portugal, in coordination with the Deutsche Botschaft Lissabon (or German honorary consulates in Porto, Lagos/Algarve, or Funchal, as well as consular information from the Portal das Comunidades Portuguesas / Consular Support Center of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs where applicable) [1][4][5].
   • Cremation in Portugal and transport of the urn to Germany (Friedhofszwang): If the family chooses cremation in Portugal followed by shipping or carrying the urn of ashes (Urnenüberführung) to Germany, please note that all German federal states enforce a statutory cemetery obligation (Friedhofszwang) under their respective state funeral laws (Landesbestattungsgesetze) [6]. In Germany, it is not permitted to keep an urn at home or hand it freely to private individuals; to authorize shipment or entry of the urn into Germany, you must present the cremation certificate, the multilingual death certificate (Form C), and a certificate of acceptance (Übernahmebescheinigung) issued by a German cemetery administration (Friedhofsverwaltung) or a German funeral director (Bestattungsunternehmen) [4][6].
   • Local burial or cremation in Portugal: If burial or placement of the ashes takes place entirely at a municipal cemetery or crematorium in Portugal, only the local Portuguese municipal permits arranged by the local funeral agency are required [1][3].
5. 5

   Handle survivor pensions, social benefits, taxes, and probate in Germany and Portugal

   With the Portuguese Assento de Óbito and the multilingual certificate (Form C), complete the administrative and probate filings in both countries:

   • In Germany (Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Renten Service, health insurance, and Nachlassgericht):
     • German pensions and Sterbevierteljahr (within 30 days): Report the death immediately to the Renten Service der Deutschen Post (German Post Pension Service, telephone +49 221 569 2777) and to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Statutory Pension Insurance, toll-free in Germany 0800 1000 4800 or from abroad +49 30 865 0) to stop old-age pension payments [9][10]. The surviving spouse or registered partner can apply through the Renten Service der Deutschen Post within 30 days of the death for the advance payment covering the three-month bereavement quarter (Sterbevierteljahr, paid at the full rate of the deceased's pension for the three months following the month of death) [10], and apply to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung for a widow's or widower's pension (Witwenrente or Witwerrente) or orphan's pension (Waisenrente) [9].
     • Statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung): Notify the German health insurance fund (Krankenkasse) by submitting the death certificate to close the membership and update any family coverage (Familienversicherung) [9].
     • Probate court (Nachlassgericht / Erbschein): Any will held in private possession must be delivered to the German probate court (Nachlassgericht at the local court, Amtsgericht, of the last habitual residence in Germany, which also consults the Central Register of Wills, Zentrales Testamentsregister) [4]. To access bank accounts or real estate in Germany where no post-mortem power of attorney or notarized will suffices, heirs apply to the Nachlassgericht for a German certificate of inheritance (Erbschein) or a European Certificate of Succession (Europäisches Nachlasszeugnis, Regulation (EU) No 650/2012) [4]. The statutory deadline in Germany to renounce an inheritance (Erbausschlagung, Section 1944 BGB) is 6 weeks, extended to 6 months if the deceased resided exclusively abroad or if the heir was abroad when learning of the inheritance [4].
   • In Portugal (Segurança Social, Espaço Óbito / Balcão das Heranças, and Tax Authority):
     • Social Security benefits: If your family member contributed to or received a pension in Portugal, report the death to Segurança Social (Portuguese Social Security, telephone +351 210 545 400 or 300 502 502) to claim the Death Grant (Subsídio por Morte, within 180 days of the death), Funeral Expense Reimbursement (Reembolso de Despesas de Funeral, within 90 days under the convergent CGA scheme or up to 6 months under the general scheme for the person who paid the funeral expenses when there are no relatives entitled to the Death Grant), and the Survivor's Pension (Pensão de Sobrevivência) [11].
     • Declaration of heirs (habilitação de herdeiros) and Stamp Duty filing (by the end of the 3rd month): If the deceased held bank accounts, real estate, or other assets in Portugal, the head of the estate (cabeça-de-casal) must arrange the declaration of heirs (habilitação de herdeiros) at an Espaço Óbito or Balcão das Heranças desk of the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado and file the death notification and schedule of assets for Stamp Duty purposes (Imposto do Selo, Modelo 1) with the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira - AT / Finanças) by the end of the third month following the month in which the death occurred [1][12].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Registering a death (Civil Registry Office - 48-hour deadline) — Justiça.gov.pt (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado)
2. [2]
   Death Certificate Information System (Sistema de Informação dos Certificados de Óbito - SICO) — Ministério da Saúde / Serviços Partilhados do Ministério da Saúde (SPMS)
3. [3]
   Funeral Activity and Social Funeral in Portugal — Direção-Geral das Atividades Económicas (DGAE)
4. [4]
   Assistance in Emergencies and Bereavement in Portugal (Hilfe in Notfällen) — Embaixada da Alemanha em Lisboa (Auswärtiges Amt)
5. [5]
   Contact and Consular Emergency Duty Service of the German Embassy in Lisbon — Embaixada da Alemanha em Lisboa (Auswärtiges Amt)
6. [6]
   Contact and Directory of Funeral Directors - Bundesverband Deutscher Bestatter e.V. — Bundesverband Deutscher Bestatter e.V.
7. [7]
   German Civil Status Act (Personenstandsgesetz - PStG) Section 28 Declaration of Death at the Standesamt — Ministério Federal da Justiça da Alemanha (Gesetze im Internet)
8. [8]
   German Civil Status Act (Personenstandsgesetz - PStG) Section 36 Subsequent Registration of a Death Abroad (Nachbeurkundung) — Ministério Federal da Justiça da Alemanha (Gesetze im Internet)
9. [9]
   Survivor's Pensions (Witwenrente, Witwerrente, and Waisenrente) — Deutsche Rentenversicherung
10. [10]
    Renten Service der Deutschen Post - Reporting a Death and Sterbevierteljahr — Deutsche Post AG - Renten Service
11. [11]
    Death Grant (Subsídio por Morte), Funeral Expense Reimbursement, and Survivor's Pension — Segurança Social
12. [12]
    Espaço Óbito Guide: Tax Notification (Stamp Duty / Imposto do Selo) and Declaration of Heirs — Justiça.gov.pt