Guide
A relative died abroad.
What has to happen in Pakistan?
When someone dies away from home, the family faces two countries at once. The country where the death happened issues its papers; Pakistan needs its own. This page is about the Pakistani side: bringing the person home, the record, and the estate that is left.
Where this applies This page covers a Pakistani who died outside Pakistan and whose family, property or dues are in Pakistan. What the country where the death happened requires, and what an employer there owes, is that country’s business, though Pakistani offices can help pursue it.
What this is about
The death certificate from abroad has to be attested so that Pakistani offices accept it. With it, the identity card is cancelled, the family record is updated, and the heirs can apply for the paper that names them. For a worker who went abroad on a registered contract, the welfare foundation for overseas Pakistanis helps with transport home and with recovering what the employer still owed.
The order matters. Bringing the person home comes first, and the mission in the country where the death happened handles that with the family. The papers in Pakistan come after, and they take time, so it helps to start them while the family is still gathered.
What has to be in place
What has to be clear.
The death certificate from where the death happened, and whether it has been attested.
Whether the person went abroad on a registered work contract, because that opens the welfare foundation’s help.
Who in the family will act in Pakistan, and who the heirs are.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
The papers asked for in Pakistan.
- The death certificate from abroad, attested, and a translation where needed.
- The identity card and passport of the person who died.
- Identity documents of the relative who applies, and the family record.
- The work contract or the registration with the emigration office, if there was one.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does for the family.
- Tells the family the order of the papers, so that nothing is done twice.
- Has the identity card cancelled and the family record updated, and obtains the Pakistani death certificate where one is issued.
- Applies for the succession certificate so that the bank and the land can be dealt with.
- Files the claim for unpaid dues with the welfare foundation, and follows it.
What to ask before you agree
- What is the order of the papers in Pakistan, and which can you start now?
- Was he registered as a worker abroad, and does that open the welfare foundation’s help?
- What will the bank and the land office ask for, and can you get it?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Citizenship and identity
A CNIC, passport, birth certificate or family recordCitizenship and identity
A visa or a stay in Pakistan for someone in my familyCitizenship and identity
A relative died in Pakistan. Which papers come first?Citizenship and identity
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- welfare foundation
- The foundation that helps families of overseas workers: transport home, dues, aid.
- attestation
- The stamps that make a foreign death certificate acceptable in Pakistan.
- succession certificate
- The court paper that names the heirs.
Sources
Official pages read on 11 September 2026. The page says only what these say, and what an advocate does; nothing specific to your case.
Checked
11 September 2026
Pakistan. Sources listed at the end of the page.