Don't die overseas

[snopes]

Comment: My aged mother, who adores travel, no longer ventures out of the
U.S. because someone told her that if you die in Europe or elsewhere, they
will not allow you to be shipped to the U.S. for burial but that you must
be cremated due to health reasons. Is this true?

[JoeBentley]

From US Customs and Border Protection:

What is the process for bringing bodies in coffins and ashes in urns? What paperwork is required?

Human remains intended for interment or subsequent cremation after entry into the United States must be accompanied by a death certificate stating the cause of death. If the death certificate is in a language other than English, then it should be accompanied by an English language translation.

CBP Officers will examine the death certificate to determine the cause of death and ensure that the remains are shipped in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirements. If CDC requirements are not met, CBP will hold the casket and contact the appropriate quarantine station for instructions.

If the remains/bodies are embalmed and the casket is hermetically sealed, the remains may be released under any conditions. Also, if the remains have been cremated they may be admitted into the United States without restriction, regardless of the cause of death.

Link: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/237

And from the CDC:

Human remains intended for interment or subsequent cremation after entry into the United States must be accompanied by a death certificate stating the cause of death. If the death certificate is in a language other than English, then it should be accompanied by an English language translation.
If the cause of death was a quarantinable communicable disease (i.e., cholera, diphtheria, infectious tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fevers, SARS, or pandemic influenza), the remains must meet the standards for importation found in 42 CFR Part 71.55 and may be cleared, released, and authorized for entry into the United States only under the following conditions:
The remains are cremated; OR
The remains are properly embalmed and placed in a hermetically sealed casket; OR
The remains are accompanied by a permit issued by the CDC Director. The CDC permit (if applicable) must accompany the human remains at all times during shipment.
Permits for the importation of the remains of a person known or suspected to have died from a quarantinable communicable disease may be obtained through the CDC Division of Global Migration and Quarantine by calling 866-694-4867 or the CDC Emergency Operations Center at 770-488-7100. If a CDC permit is obtained to allow importation of human remains, CDC may impose additional conditions for importation beyond those listed above.
If the cause of death was anything other than a quarantinable communicable disease, then the remains may be cleared, released, and authorized for entry into the United States under the following conditions:
The remains meet the standards for importation found in 42 CFR Part 71.55 , (i.e., the remains are cremated, or properly embalmed and placed in a hermetically sealed casket, or are accompanied by a permit issued by the CDC Director); OR
The remains are shipped in a leakproof container.

Link: http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/human-remains.html

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

My BIL's mother died in England and is buried here. So I knew this was false even without Joe's research (although thank you for that).

Seaboe

[Die Capacitrix]

Actually my thought was about the soldiers' coffins returning from Afghanistan. I expect that the soldiers are not cremated.

I expect that many do choose cremation as the travel costs are much cheaper.

[snopes]

The "they" referenced in the OP is ambiguous. Who is it that supposedly won't allow the shipping of uncremated corpses, the originating country or the receiving country?

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Good point. I'm not sure you can predict the answer from the return of military bodies. I seem to recall there were some interesting hoops at the English end for my BIL's mother, involving the English equivalent of the Department of State.

Seaboe

[Sooeygun]

Thought this was going to be abouthis article

"After two strikingly similar women died in St. Maarten in late November, a grim mix-up caused a Barrie family to unknowingly mourn — and then cremate — the wrong body.

The family of Kathleen Togwell didn’t realize that the beloved Barrie matriarch was not in the casket during her funeral last December. Togwell, 82, died of natural causes while vacationing in St. Maarten."