HELP IN ENGLISH
When someone dies in Lofoten
If you are reading this, something has happened to someone you love, in a country you may never have been to.
You do not need to understand the Norwegian system. That is our job. This page explains what happens next, and what you can leave to us.
Nothing needs to be decided today.
Call us — any hour, from anywhere
+47 760 88 000 — answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
We are a funeral director based in Svolvær, in the Lofoten Islands. We speak English. It does not matter what time it is where you are, and it does not matter that you do not know what to ask. Call, and we will start from wherever you are.
There is no charge for calling, and no obligation.
[VERIFY] Confirm both on-call staff speak English well enough for this conversation before the page promises "We speak English." If not, adjust the on-call rota or soften the promise.
The first hours
What happens first
This is the sequence in Norway. Some of it may already have happened.
A doctor confirms the death
A doctor issues a formal certificate of death and registers it with the Norwegian population register. This happens whether the death occurred in hospital, at home, or elsewhere.
The police may be involved
If a death was not from natural causes — an accident, a fall, a drowning — Norwegian law requires the doctor to notify the police. This is routine and does not mean anyone is suspected of anything. A post-mortem examination may then be ordered. In Norway that decision rests with the prosecuting authority, and the family's consent is not required. We know this is hard to hear when you are far away.
We take the person into our care
Once the authorities release the person, we bring them into our care here in Lofoten. There are always at least two of us.
Who to speak to
Contact your embassy or consulate
Contact your country's embassy or consulate in Norway. They are there for exactly this, and they will tell you what they can do for you.
What that is differs a great deal from country to country, so we will not guess on their behalf. Ask them directly — it is the right first question.
What no embassy does is pay. Neither the cost of a funeral in Norway nor the cost of bringing someone home is covered by any government. We say this plainly because families are often told otherwise, and find out late.
If you tell us which country you are calling from, we will contact your consulate and work with them directly.
Two routes
Bringing your family member home
Most families want to bring their person home. There are two ways, and they are very different in cost and complexity.
Repatriating the body
Norway is party to an international agreement that governs sending a body between countries. In practice this means:
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Thelocal policeissue a transit document for the coffin, on presentation of the doctor's certificate of death. By treaty it is written in Norwegian and one other language — normally English.
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The coffin must meet international specifications. For travel outside the Nordic countries, this normally means a sealed metal lining.
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The destination country, and any country flown through, may have its own requirements. Some may require embalming.
[VERIFY] Repatriation is described here on the assumption Nord Gravferd can carry it out. Confirm the agency has handled a repatriation before the page promises to arrange it — the rules and deadlines are real and belong to others. The destination-country embalming requirement is also unconfirmed.
Cremation first, then ashes
Cremation in Norway, followed by carrying or sending the ashes home, is the other route. It is considerably simpler, because the international rules for coffins do not apply to ashes at all — and that normally makes it less expensive too. We will price both for you rather than ask you to take our word for it.
You would normally need the cremation certificate and the certificate of death. Ashes can often travel in hand luggage.
Two things to know: there is no crematorium in Lofoten — the nearest are in Narvik, Bodø and Tromsø, so there is travel involved. And airline and destination-country rules for ashes vary, so we check them for your specific route before you book anything.
Which is right for you
We cannot answer that for you, and we will not push you either way. What we can do is price both, honestly, and tell you what each one actually involves.
Some families are certain from the first phone call. Others need a few days. Both are fine.
If you stay here
A funeral in Norway
Some families choose to hold the funeral here — sometimes because it is where the person died, sometimes because it is where they loved being.
This is possible, but be aware of one thing: in Norway, only people who lived in the municipality have a right to a grave there. For everyone else, the local burial authority may give permission, and may charge for the grave and the burial. It is a decision, not a right.
If you are considering this, tell us early and we will find out what is possible in Vågan.
[VERIFY] Name and confirm the burial authority in Vågan before the page promises to "find out what is possible." If the Norwegian burial act (gravplassloven) is cited by section number, verify the paragraph — the rule is confirmed via the Statsforvalteren's burial guide, but the section number has not been read from the statute.
Paperwork
Documents you will need
Norwegian documents are issued in Norwegian. Here is what exists, and what you may need translated.
Document
What it is
Certificate of death (legeerklæring om dødsfall)
Issued by the doctor. The cause of death is stated in Norwegian. If your authorities need it in English, it must be officially translated — we can arrange this.
Confirmation of death (bekreftelse av dødsfall)
Issued by the district court. This can be issued in English on request.
Transit document for the coffin
Issued by the local police, if the body is being repatriated. Written in Norwegian and English.
Apostille
A stamp confirming a Norwegian document is genuine, for use abroad. Issued free of charge by the County Governor (Statsforvalteren). Not needed for the Nordic countries — and whether you need one at all depends on your own country.
Norway does not issue a multilingual international death certificate. If your authorities ask for one, that is why.
[VERIFY] Confirm Nord Gravferd can obtain an authorised (sworn) translation. If not, change "we can arrange this" to "you will need an official translation."
Money
Insurance and cost
Check whether there was travel insurance. This is the single most useful thing you can do today. Travel insurance normally covers repatriation, and if it does, the insurer deals with the cost directly.
One warning worth knowing: some policies exclude trips taken for medical treatment. If that applies, the cover may not be there even though a policy exists.
If there is no insurance, the cost falls to the family or the estate. No embassy and no government will cover it.
We will give you a written estimate before anything is ordered — the same as we do for every family. You will not get a bill with a surprise in it.
Timeline
How long does it take?
Honestly: it depends, and anyone who gives you a fixed number is guessing.
The timeline depends on whether a post-mortem is ordered, when the authorities release your family member, how quickly the transit documents are issued, what your own country requires, and flight schedules from a small airport in northern Norway.
What we can promise is that you will know where things stand. We will tell you what we are waiting for and who we are waiting on, and we will not leave you guessing.
[VERIFY] Whether Norway's ten-working-day deadline binds a repatriation case is unresolved — confirm in writing with the Statsforvalteren (national burial authority) before stating any timeline. Do not publish a fixed number of days.
Common questions
Questions we are often asked
Do I need to come to Norway?
Not necessarily. Much of this can be handled from where you are. Some families want to come, and some need to. We will tell you honestly whether your presence is needed for anything.
[VERIFY] Confirm this answer with Nord Gravferd before publishing.
Can I see them?
Usually, yes. If you are coming to Lofoten, tell us, and we will arrange it quietly and without a time limit.
[VERIFY] Confirm this answer with Nord Gravferd before publishing.
Nobody in the family speaks Norwegian.
That is fine. We will handle everything that has to happen in Norwegian, and tell you what it said.
We do not know what they would have wanted.
Most families do not, at first. There is no decision here that has to be made today.
Who pays if we cannot?
If no one arranges a funeral, Norwegian law places that duty on the municipality where the death occurred. Talk to us before you conclude that you cannot manage — there may be options, and it costs nothing to ask.
[VERIFY] Substance confirmed (municipality where the death occurred), but confirm with Nord Gravferd before publishing.
We are here
Nord Gravferd is a small funeral director in Svolvær, Lofoten. There are two of us, and we live here.
If someone you love has died here, call us. We will not rush you, and we will not sell you anything on the phone.
+47 760 88 000 — any hour.
This page describes Norwegian procedure as at 19 July 2026. Rules change, and requirements differ depending on your country. We will confirm what applies in your case.