When tragedy strikes and a loved one passes away, UAE expat families often face a difficult decision — whether to repatriate the body or bury the deceased in the UAE. For many residents, the choice is clear: they want their loved ones to be laid to rest in the Emirates.
Mohamed Ahmed, a 28-year-old Sudanese expat, was in this dilemma when his mother died in 2018. “My father wanted to take her body back to Sudan, but I refused,” Mohamed recounted.
“The UAE has been my home for as long as I can remember. My mother loved this country, and I know she would have wanted to be laid to rest here, near her family.”
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The grieving family was faced with a difficult decision as their mother passed away after a long time of treatment and hospital visits. “As much as we wanted to bury her in our country, we didn’t want to make her go through much more and let her finally rest in her grave,” he told Khaleej Times.
“Now, five years later, I think it was the best decision we made given the situation in Sudan. We would’t have been be able to visit her grave now.”
In the UAE, when someone passes away, there is an established set of procedures that people can follow in order to obtain essential documentation for the last rites. Aside from that, there are services in the country that offer different ways to lay the dead to rest.
Hindu expat Aarush Bala cremated his uncle in the UAE when he passed away back in March. “It was a very emotional time. His kids, my cousins were back in India, so it was my responsibility to honour my uncle,” Aarush said. “The cremation process here was so smooth and convenient. I was able to collect his ashes right away.”
Aarush, who has lived in the UAE for 12 years, said he never expected he would need such services but was grateful they were available. “This is my home now, and I would want my own ashes to be kept here.”
The costs of cremation and burial services in the UAE can vary but are generally reasonable.
Aarush said the total fees for his uncle’s cremation — Dh2,500 cremation fee, Dh500 deposit, and Dh1,010 municipality fee — amounted to around Dh4,000.
Amelia Saab, a 42-year-old Lebanese expat, had a similar experience when she laid her father to rest in Dubai Christian cemetery last year. “My father had lived in the UAE for over 25 years. This was his home, and he loved this country dearly. I knew that when he passed, he would want to be buried here,” she said
Amelia and her family had initially considered transporting her father’s remains to Lebanon, but the cost was prohibitively high, estimated at around Dh18,000. “We thought that since his loved ones are here in the UAE, he would want to be buried close to his family,” Amelia said.
“It was important to me that my father’s final resting place be close by so that my family and I could visit and maintain his grave. I’m grateful we were able to honour his wishes here in the UAE,” Amelia said.