PA19 Probate Overseas Death: How to Submit a Foreign Death Certificate for UK Probate

Why the Probate Registry Rejects Foreign Death Applications

The UK Probate Registry rejects a significant proportion of applications involving foreign deaths, often for documentation errors that could have been avoided. The most common cause: an incomplete or missing Form PA19.

When a British person dies abroad — whether in Greece, Spain, Turkey, or anywhere else — the standard probate application process has an additional mandatory step that executors frequently miss.

What Form PA19 Is

Form PA19 ("Foreign death certificate") is the Probate Registry's required supporting document for any grant of probate or letters of administration application where the death occurred outside England and Wales. It serves two purposes:

1. It formally presents the foreign death certificate as evidence of death.
2. It contains a signed translator's declaration, confirming the translation is accurate and complete, made under penalty of contempt of court.

Without PA19, the Probate Registry will not process the application — regardless of whether the death certificate itself is perfectly in order.

What You Need to Submit

The Probate Registry requires all three documents to be physically mailed together:

The original foreign death certificate — apostilled under the Hague Convention if the country of death is a signatory (Greece, Spain, Turkey, and most European countries are). The apostille certifies the signature, capacity, and seal of the issuing foreign registrar. Photocopies are not accepted.

The certified English translation — produced by a translator with recognised professional credentials. For translations done in the UK, the translator must be registered with the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), the Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI), or a company holding membership in the Association of Translation Companies (ATC). For translations done in the country of death, the translator must hold credentials recognised by that country's legal system.

Completed Form PA19 — the translator signs the PA19 declaration themselves, confirming their qualifications and that the translation is a true and accurate rendering of the original document. This signature is made "on penalty of contempt of court" — it is a formal legal declaration, not a casual certification.

Common Mistakes That Trigger Rejection

Missing apostille. The death certificate looks legitimate, the translation is professional, but the original never received the Hague Apostille stamp from the foreign country's competent authority. The Probate Registry returns the entire package.

Translator credentials not stated. PA19 requires the translator to declare their professional qualifications. A translation by an unregistered freelancer — even an excellent one — does not meet the standard.

Sending copies instead of originals. The Probate Registry requires the original apostilled death certificate. They will return it after processing, but photocopies or scanned documents are rejected immediately.

Submitting online without PA19. You can start a probate application online, but foreign death certificates and the PA19 must be physically mailed. Executors who complete the online form and assume the digital upload is sufficient receive a rejection.

How Long Probate Takes with a Foreign Death

A correctly submitted application with PA19, the original apostilled certificate, and a properly credentialed translation avoids the preventable resubmission delay caused by missing documents; processing time still depends on the Probate Registry's current queue.

A rejected application restarts the clock. More critically, while probate is pending, UK bank accounts remain frozen. If the family needs those funds to pay Greek funeral director invoices, repatriation costs, or cemetery fees, a preventable rejection creates a cash-flow crisis at the worst possible moment.

One More Option: Consular Death Registration

If the family registers the death through the FCDO's consular death registration service, the GRO in Southport can issue a UK-style certified death certificate. This certificate is accepted by the Probate Registry without Form PA19 — because it is a UK document, not a foreign one. Both routes work; the consular registration adds a few weeks but simplifies the probate submission.

The British Person Dies in Greece guide covers both the PA19 route and the consular registration route, with step-by-step instructions and a timeline for each.