Canadian Victim of Violent Crime Abroad — Federal Victims Fund

The Department of Justice Victims Fund

When a Canadian citizen or permanent resident dies as a result of a serious violent crime abroad — homicide, aggravated assault, or another violent criminal act — the family may be eligible for financial assistance through the federal Department of Justice Victims Fund.

This fund covers reasonable expenses where no other source of funding, such as travel insurance, is available. It is not an automatic payment: the family must apply, document the crime, and demonstrate that the expenses are not covered elsewhere.

Eligible expenses include:

• Funeral service and cremation or burial costs
• International repatriation fees for remains
• Travel expenses for a support person to fly to the country where the crime occurred immediately after the incident
• Document replacement fees (passport, identification)
• Professional grief counseling upon return to Canada

What the fund does not cover:

• Lost wages for the surviving family members
• General civil legal fees (suing the perpetrator, for instance)
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Any expense already covered by a private travel or medical insurance policy

The exclusion of insurance-covered expenses means the fund functions as a last resort, not a supplement. If your travel insurer covers repatriation, you cannot also claim that cost from the Victims Fund.

Eligibility Requirements

Three conditions must be met:

1. The applicant must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is a close family member of the victim.
2. The crime must be a serious violent offence — the fund does not cover accidents, medical malpractice, or negligence cases.
3. The crime must be reported to local police in the country where it occurred and to the Canadian Embassy or Consulate. A copy of the official police report must accompany the application.

In the Dominican Republic, this means filing a report with the Policía Nacional (or POLITUR in tourist areas) and registering the incident with the Canadian Embassy in Santo Domingo. The embassy can help facilitate the police report request, though they cannot intervene in the criminal investigation itself.

Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime

A separate federal benefit exists specifically for parents of victims under age 25. The Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime (PBYVOC) provides income support of $500 per week for up to 35 weeks to parents who take time off work to cope with the death of a child killed as a result of a violent crime.

This benefit is administered by Service Canada and requires its own application, separate from the Victims Fund. The parent must have been employed or self-employed, and the leave from work must be documented.

The two programs — Victims Fund and PBYVOC — can run in parallel. A parent could receive Victims Fund assistance for repatriation costs while simultaneously receiving PBYVOC income support during their leave from work.

Practical Steps After a Violent Death Abroad

The immediate administrative burden after a violent crime is heavier than after a natural death because the forensic and legal holds last longer. In the Dominican Republic:

The prosecutor (Fiscalía) controls the body. INACIF will conduct the mandatory forensic autopsy, and the prosecutor can withhold permission to embalm, cremate, or ship the remains indefinitely if the criminal investigation requires it. This can stretch the timeline from the typical 7–14 days to several weeks or months.

Document everything for the Victims Fund application. Keep receipts for every expense — flights, hotels, translation services, funeral home deposits, document authentication fees. The fund reimburses documented costs, so undocumented expenses will be denied.

Coordinate with the embassy early. Consular staff can provide referrals to local lawyers (important if you want to pursue a civil claim in Dominican courts), facilitate communication with the Fiscalía, and help with the police report request.

The Canadian Dies in the Dominican Republic — Family Emergency Guide includes an agency communication log and a document procurement tracker designed for exactly this scenario — tracking every interaction with Dominican police, INACIF, the prosecutor, the embassy, and the Victims Fund application in one place.