The death of each Indian citizen that occurs in the Sultanate of Oman has to be registered in the Indian Embassy. Under Omani labour law the sponsor is responsible for the disposal of the dead body. Following are the formalities which have to be completed by the sponsor, when the death of an Indian citizen occurs in Oman

First of all, the sponsor of the deceased has to inform the nearest Police Station where death has occurred and should obtain a Death Notification from the concerned hospital where the death is registered. On the basis of Death Notification, Royal Oman police (Civil Registration Department) will issue a Death Certificate.

All the particulars of the deceased like full name, date of death, time of death, passport number and cause of death should be mentioned in the Death Notification issued by the concerned hospital.

Documents required by the Mission at the time of reporting a death case

The Mission issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to release the dead body from the hospital upon receipt of the following documents: -

1. Letter from the sponsor of the deceased (format attached) requesting No Objection Certificate from the Embassy for Air Lifting or Local burial/cremation, whatever is the case along with sponsor’s ID copy

2. Deceased data Sheet

3. Original Death Notification along with a photocopy

4. Original passport of the deceased along with a photocopy

5. Labour Card copy of the deceased

6. Letter from the spouse (wife/husband) (format attached) clearly stating whether local burial or airlifting of mortal remains to India with or without post-mortem; copy of ID (spouse) complete permanent address in India; contact number in India and email (if available). In case, the letter is issued by another family member, a justification may be given why the spouse has not issued the letter, which will be assessed by the Embassy.

7. ID card copy of the next of kin

Attachments

On receiving all the above-mentioned documents, Embassy issues NO OBJECTION CERTIFICATE requesting the concerned local authorities for providing necessary assistance to the sponsor or his representative regarding embalming, sealing and airlifting the dead body to India.

Details of expenses

The following is the details of expenses charged by Royal Oman Police Hospital, Qurum (Muscat), Khoula Hospital at Mina Al Fahal for preparing the dead body for airlifting to India:

Post Mortem: Normally, Embassy issues NOC for post-mortem in all cases except in Road Traffic Accident (RTA) cases.

Natural Death: In case the next of kin does not want post-mortem to be performed on the dead body, the Embassy needs a letter from the next of kin requesting it to waive off the post-mortem. It has to be emailed at (cw.muscat[at]mea.gov.in) or via WhatsApp No: 00968 – 97256983.

Road Traffic Accident (RTA): No provision for post-mortem on road traffic accident cases according to Oman Labour Law. 

The Embassy facilitates by allotment of all the road traffic accident cases among 5 Empaneled Lawyers for realization of death compensation/ blood money of the deceased. In such cases, the family is intimated and requested for original Power of Attorney and Legal heir Certificate to be forwarded to Embassy by speed post or courier. 

Formats of Power of Attorney (link to attached word doc) and Legal heir certificate (link to attached word doc) are enclosed. 

Suicide/ Murder cases: Post-mortem of the dead body in suicide and murder cases is mandatory.

Post-mortem of Death Cases occurred in Salalah

Since the post-mortem facility is not available in Salalah, Royal Oman Police asks for no objection letter without post mortem from the next of kin in all death cases. In case the next of kin wants the post-mortem to be performed, then the sponsor or the relative of the deceased has to bring the body from Salalah to Muscat and get the post-mortem performed.

Local Burial/ cremation of the dead body

In case the next of kin wants the dead body to be buried or cremated locally in Oman, the Embassy requires a letter from the next of kin stating that he/she has no objection for local burial/cremation of the dead body.

Cancellation of Passport of the deceased: 

When the Embassy issues No Objection Certificate for airlifting/local burial/cremation of the dead body, at that moment Embassy puts a stamp "CANCELLED" on 3-4 pages of the deceased’s passport and cuts the corners of the said passport and returns the passport to the sponsor.

Death Certificate from Civil Status

The sponsor along with the above mentioned No Objection Certificate and the notification of Death form has to contact the Police Station where death case was registered initially for obtaining NOC for getting release of the dead body from Hospital and then approach Civil Status Department for getting the Death Certificate.

Airlifting mortal remains

The Sponsor will complete necessary formalities including embalming, sealing of the coffin, cargo booking, etc. in case the dead body is to be airlifted to India. Once the sponsor has obtained the necessary certificates relating to embalming, quarantine and sealing of the coffin, he/she should approach the Cargo Office at Seeb with 12 sets of the documents including original cancelled passport.

Airlifting of unaccompanied mortal remains

In case of an un-accompanied body being airlifted to India, next of kin of the deceased should approach the concerned airline’s local office in India with a letter requesting them to receive the dead body. Upon receiving the request from the next of kin of the deceased, the concerned airline office in India will send a fax to their representative office in the Sultanate of Oman conveying their consent to receive the un-accompanied dead body in India. Once the local airline office in Oman receives the consent, the relative or friends of the deceased can make the necessary bookings for the dead body with the concerned airline.

Death occurred in Salalah and adjoining areas

On the basis of the intimation received by email/Whatsapp/fax, the Embassy issues No Objection Certificate to the sponsor of the deceased to get release of the dead body from the concerned hospital. Prior approval and appointment of the ROP Qurum Mortuary is necessary before the dead body is brought to them for performing the post-mortem. Once the sponsor/relative arrives in Muscat with the dead body, he/she should approach the Indian Embassy for submitting the original documents for death registration, collection of original NOC and cancellation of the passport of the deceased.

[Dr. K. Sanathanan, Honorary Consular Agent in Salalah may be contacted for assistance.His GSM No is  99492790 Fax No. 23211118]

Contact numbers for assistance in death cases: