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The short answer
When a Nigerian dies in the US, the death is first certified and registered under US state law, and the Nigerian mission only becomes involved if the body is going home or Nigerian records need updating. For repatriation, the consulate issues a letter permitting shipment once it has the death certificate, burial or transit permit, embalming and casket letters, a non-communicable disease letter and the deceased's Nigerian passport; the Atlanta consulate also lists a waiver from Port Health Services in Abuja.
The order things happen in
Families are often told to "go to the embassy" first. In practice the consulate is a middle step. A typical sequence:
- US certification. A doctor, coroner or medical examiner certifies the death, and the death is registered with the state, usually by the funeral home. Certified copies of the death certificate come from that state process.
- Choose burial in the US or repatriation. This decides how much consular paperwork follows.
- If repatriating: the consular letter. The funeral home and family assemble a file for the Nigerian mission that covers the state, which issues a letter permitting shipment to Nigeria.
- Nigerian clearance. Atlanta lists a waiver for the repatriation of a corpse from the Federal Ministry of Health, Port Health Services, Abuja.
- Nigerian records. Register the death with the National Population Commission and deal with the deceased's Nigerian accounts and property.
Each step depends on the one before. The consulate will not issue its letter without the US certificate and permits, and Nigerian banks and registries will want the death evidenced before they act.
What the consulate asks for
The Atlanta consulate publishes the most detailed list of any US Nigerian mission we checked. Its page on shipping human remains, dated October 2026, asks for:
- A copy of the death certificate and of the transit or burial permit.
- An original non-communicable disease letter from the coroner, medical examiner or state or city health agency.
- An original notarised embalmer's affidavit and a notarised funeral home letter confirming a hermetically sealed metal casket.
- The deceased's Nigerian passport, or a notarised affidavit from a relative holding a valid Nigerian passport stating the relationship and that the deceased was Nigerian.
- A formal letter from the funeral home asking for the shipment letter, and the name, address and phone number of the receiving party in Nigeria.
- A $50 postal money order or certified bank cheque, and a self-addressed stamped express envelope.
- The Port Health Services waiver.
A separate Atlanta page on the burial transit permit gives a shorter list with a $15 money order and a three-business-day processing time. Ask the consulate which applies to your case. Our companion guide on documents for repatriating a body from the US sets the two lists side by side. New York's published page does not cover remains, so families in its states should call the consulate before preparing the file.
If the family chooses burial in the US
Not every family repatriates. Cost, timing and where close relatives now live all weigh on the decision, and burial or cremation in the US needs no consular letter at all. What still matters on the Nigerian side is the record: the death should be registered with the National Population Commission, and the Nigerian passport, if there was one, should not be left in circulation. Ask the mission what it wants done with the deceased's passport; some families keep it as evidence for the estate, which institutions in Nigeria may want to see.
If relatives in Nigeria want a memorial or reburial later, keep several certified copies of the US death certificate and the burial permit. Exhumation and later shipment raise their own rules, which are outside this guide.
If the deceased had no valid Nigerian passport
This is common: passports lapse, or the person had moved to a US passport only. Atlanta's answer is the relative's affidavit described above. A US citizen of Nigerian origin with no Nigerian passport may still be shipped home, but the file must show Nigerian identity some other way. Gather what you can: an old Nigerian passport, a Nigerian birth certificate, the NIN slip.
Registering the death in Nigeria
A US death certificate does not update Nigerian records by itself. The National Population Commission says civil registration has been digital nationwide since 1 July 2026, and a commissioner said in July 2026 that Nigerians abroad can start birth and death registration through the self-service platform. Nigerian institutions will often ask for the US certificate too; where they need it authenticated, see authenticating US documents for use in Nigeria.
Accounts, pensions and property
Expect each Nigerian institution to ask for the death certificate, proof of the claimant's relationship or authority, and, for larger estates, court papers. Pension records held by a PFA, land documents and bank accounts each follow their own rules. Start a list early and keep certified copies of the US certificate: Atlanta's transit permit page alone asks for four.
Where Pryme fits
Funeral costs usually fall on family in two countries at once. A Pryme account opened from the US holds dollars and naira, so relatives can send naira to the receiving family in Nigeria, with the rate and the fee shown before they approve. Naira deposits are held by a licensed Nigerian microfinance bank; outside Nigeria Pryme works through regulated partners.
Questions people ask
Who do I contact when a Nigerian dies in America?
Start with the funeral home, which handles the US certificate and permits. If the body is going to Nigeria, contact the Nigerian mission that covers the state where the death occurred.
What does the Nigerian consulate charge to ship a body to Nigeria?
Atlanta's remains page lists a $50 processing fee by postal money order or certified cheque; its burial transit permit page lists $15. Ask the consulate which applies.
Can a body be repatriated if the Nigerian passport has expired?
Atlanta accepts a notarised affidavit from a relative with a valid Nigerian passport, stating the relationship and that the deceased was Nigerian.
How do I register the death in Nigeria?
Through the National Population Commission. Its civil registration went digital from 1 July 2026, and Nigerians abroad were told they can start registration on the self-service platform.
Sources
- Consulate General of Nigeria, Atlanta: requirements for shipping human remains to Nigeria · accessed Oct 2026
- Consulate General of Nigeria, Atlanta: burial transit permit · accessed Oct 2026
- Peoples Gazette (NAN): Nigerians abroad can now register births and deaths online, NPC says (24 July 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Consulate General of Nigeria, New York: passport requirements and jurisdiction · accessed Oct 2026
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