How to apply for holding the ashes of the deceased in a niche managed by Food and Environmental Hygiene Department?

Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) manages niches at the following locations：

Diamond Hill Columbarium	Cape Collinson Columbarium
Wo Hop Shek Columbarium	Fu Shan Columbarium
Kwai Chung Columbarium	Tsang Tsui Columbarium
Wong Nai Chung Road Columbarium	Cheung Chau Columbarium*
Peng Chau Columbarium*	Lamma Columbarium*
Lai Chi Yuen Columbarium*

* Niches at Cheung Chau Columbarium are only available for indigenous villagers, or bona fide residents of Cheung Chau for a continuous residing period of not less than 10 years, or their minor children. Niches at other columbaria in Islands District are only available for indigenous villagers of the Islands District, or bona fide residents of the District for a continuous residing period of at least 7 years, or their minor children. The applicant must produce a certificate from the respective rural committee to certify that the deceased was an indigenous villager, a local resident or a minor child of such person of the island concerned. “Continuous residing period” means the period that the deceased continuously resided on the island concerned right before his/her death.

Criteria to deposit ashes of the deceased in FEHD’s columbaria:
The ashes of the deceased can be deposited in niches at FEHD's columbaria if the deceased falls into one the following categories:

who was a resident of Hong Kong at the time of his death and whose remains were cremated in a FEHD crematorium within three months after his death; or
who was a resident of Hong Kong for a period of at least ten years during the period of twenty years immediately preceding his death and whose remains were cremated outside Hong Kong; or
whose remains are lawfully exhumed and cremated at a FEHD crematorium.

Application to deposit ashes of the deceased in FEHD’s Columbaria:

From 26 April 2019 onwards, FEHD has ceased to receive applications for reused public niches and froze the existing waiting list for reused niches. The applicants in the waiting list could still wait for the reused niches and also apply for the new extendable niches. Please click here for the waiting time for allocation of reused niches.
New niche(s) will be available for purchase only during the period announced by FEHD. Public may refer to the related public notice in FEHD’s website for details on the selling of new niches. FEHD will announce application details in the public notice when new niches are available for purchasing.
Citizens may also consider to placing additional urn(s) in existing FEHD niches owned by them.

Types of niches available at the columbaria of FEHD:

Standard niche: with capacity for two urns for holding the ashes of two deceased persons with kinship.
Large niche: with capacity for four urns for holding the ashes of four deceased persons with kinship.

Kinship generally refers to the spouse, parent, brother, sister, parent-in-law, daughter-in law or son-in-law, or a direct descendant of either the paternal or maternal line of the deceased person whose ashes were the first to be kept in the niche. FEHD has since January 2014 removed the cap on the number of sets of cremated ashes that may be placed in a public niche.

The application procedures for a used niche and deposit of additional ashes in a niche are the same. The details are as follows:

Application procedures for allocation of a niche (for new niche at outlying islands only) and deposit of additional ashes in a niche

Form

Application for Allocation of a Niche (For New Niche at Outlying Islands Only) (FEHB 136) / Application for Placing Additional Cremated Ashes of the Deceased (FEHB136A)

Documents required

The following documents should be submitted (if appropriate):

a copy of the applicant’s own identity card;
a copy of the identity card of the deceased;
the original and a copy of the Permit to Take Away Cremated Ashes of the deceased;
for application to deposit the ashes of two or more deceased persons in the same niche, the documentary proof of the relationship of the deceased to each other is required. If such proof is not available, the applicant shall take an oath at the Cemeteries and Crematoria Offices of FEHD;
for application for niches on outlying islands, a letter from the relevant islands rural committee and a statutory declaration made by the legal representative or next of kin of the deceased person is required to certify the eligibility of the deceased.

Points to note when apply for deposit of additional ashes in niches

The applicant must be the original permittee of the niche, however：

if the original permittee niche owner cannot complete the procedures in respect of the niche in person, he may authorize in writing a person to act on his behalf, the authorized person should produce the authorization letter when completing the procedures;
if the original permittee has lost contact with his relatives or friends, the latter shall provide evidence that the owner cannot be contacted and take an oath at the Cemeteries and Crematoria Offices of FEHD in order to apply for deposit additional ashes;
if the original permittee has passed away, his descendants may, upon production of his death certificate or other documentary proof, apply under oath for succession of the niche and deposit of additional ashes at the above office.

Submission method

Applicant / the authorised person can submit in person the completed application form to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Offices of FEHD.

Fee