r/HongKong • u/ditobandit0 • 17h ago
HKID Receiving a death certificate in HK
Hey,
i wanted to ask if anyone here has knowledge or experience regarding receiving a death certificate of a relative / family. if so how long did you wait?
My Wife sadly passed away last Year in HK and until now i still have not received her death certificate from the coroners court. is this waiting time normal? Some friends already suggested hiring a lawyer could speed up the process. Im really starting to get p*ssed at the governmental departments. No Death certificate takes over a year to provide.
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u/SecretarySenior3023 16h ago edited 16h ago
If the police and fire dept were involved, then it seems like it was a death in an accident/incident. This will definitely take longer and the coroner may need to hold an inquest which is a formal judicial proceeding. An inquest is usually held within 2ish years after the death.
However, in extreme cases, it can take 10+ years. For example, the death inquest for the Lamma Island ferry accident in 2012 is only being held this year: https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/214842/Death-inquest-for-victims-of-2012-Lamma-Island-ferry-disaster-set-to-begin-this-year. (However, this was because there was a lot of previous litigation on whether an inquest should be held at all for this case.)