Consular death registration is not a legal requirement but there are some benefits

There is no obligation for the death of a British national overseas to be registered with the Consular Section of the British Embassy. However, it has the advantage of ensuring that a permanent record of the death is held at the General Register Office in the UK, and that a British form of death certificate is available in English.

Registration with the Portuguese authorities is mandatory. This is normally carried out by the funeral director. The Civil Register Office will issue a death bulletin to enable the deceased's body to be repatriated for burial abroad or transported to a local cemetery. A full death certificate is also available, as is an international version for use in other European countries.

For more information on death registration in Portugal, consult the civil registration authority’s website.

Registration of death at the Consulate  

If you wish to register the death of a British national, please complete the application form for the registration of a death and send it to the Consular Section of the British Embassy with the appropriate registration fees, the deceased's local death certificate (not the certificate issued by the doctor which should be handed to the Civil Registration authorities so that the death can be formally registered) and the deceased's passport.  If you send the deceased's passport, please complete form D1. If the passport is lost or unavailable, please complete form LS01. Please also send the full UK birth certificate of the deceased, if available, as proof of citizenship.

In addition to every original document you send, you should also include a photocopy of each document. We will return all original documents to you.

If you have already returned to the UK and have decided to register a death that occurred in Portugal, please apply to the following address:

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Consular Directorate
Nationality and Consular registration Section
K4.9
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH

Tel: +44 (0) 207 008 0186 (Mon-Thurs between 10:00 - 12:00 hours only)