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You are going to die. None of us want to hear this, but it is going to happen. It’s important for you to know the consequences if this should happen while you are in Thailand.
Foreigners die in Thailand through accident, illness or natural causes just like anywhere else. In this section we look at the procedures and formalities for dealing with a deceased person in Thailand.
In Thailand there are two definitions for death: “natural death through old age or illness: and “unnatural death” by accident, murder, or natural disaster. In Thailand any death of a foreign national or Thai citizen must be reported to the police of the district office within 24 hours, even if it is a national holiday. (If the district office is closed, the death can be reported at a police station.)
If a foreigner dies in an apartment or hotel, the landlord or the hotel manager will be required to report to the district office or police station with the deceased’s passport and death certificate(if available) The district office will make a record of the death in the passport.
The district office or the police will inform the embassy of the deceased foreigner within seven days and the embassy will notify the relatives as soon as possible. All forms of death- whether natural, accidental, or criminal- require a police report that in turn requires an investigation by the police at the scene, along with a forensic team to determine the cause of death. The body will be sent to a hospital or an examining office. If the person dies in a hospital, a death certificate will be issued by a doctor from that hospital and the police will file a report. If the cause of death is known to be normal or without complications, the body will be released to the family within two to three days. Any expenses for medical treatment or a hospital stay must be paid before the body will be released. Another death certificate called the “Civil Death certificate” will be issued by the district office when the death is confirmed.
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