When an estate includes houses and land but one or more co-heirs live abroad, the inheritance process becomes considerably more complex: who may be named on the land certificate, who may only receive the monetary value, and how can procedures be completed when those abroad cannot return to Vietnam? Here are 7 legal notes under the Land Law 2024, the 2015 Civil Code and the Notarization Law 2024.
1. Determine the status of the co-heir abroad: the “Article 44 test”
Point dd, Article 37.1 of the Land Law 2024 provides that a land user has the right to bequeath land use rights and their owned assets attached to the land by will or by law. Where the beneficiary is a person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad falling under Article 44.1, they may inherit the land use rights; otherwise they may only receive the value of that inherited share. The “test” in Article 44.1 has two key conditions: being of Vietnamese origin (as opposed to a foreigner of non-Vietnamese origin) and being permitted to enter Vietnam. Note: “permitted to enter” is a legal condition — it does not mean “currently living in Vietnam” or “holding Vietnamese nationality”; do not infer more. Three groups of persons must be clearly distinguished: (a) persons of Vietnamese origin residing abroad who are permitted to enter Vietnam — may inherit land use rights and houses; (b) persons of Vietnamese origin residing abroad who are not permitted to enter — may only receive the value; (c) foreigners (of non-Vietnamese origin) — may not be granted a certificate, and may only transfer or donate the inherited land use rights under Article 44.3.
2. Being ineligible for a certificate does not mean losing everything
Under point b, Article 44.2 of the Land Law 2024, where a house is donated or bequeathed to a person not entitled to own houses in Vietnam, that person may only receive the value of the house attached to the residential land use rights and shall not be granted a certificate. And where all co-heirs live abroad and are ineligible, Article 44.3 still opens three lawful paths: (a) transfer — the inheritor is named as the transferor in the contract; (b) donation — the donee must be an eligible recipient in accordance with housing law, with the inheritor named as the donor; (c) neither transferred nor donated yet — the inheritor or their written authorized representative submits the inheritance dossier to the land registration office for updating in the cadastral register. Note: option (c) is only a stopgap where no transfer or donation has yet occurred — it should not be understood as “being named on the certificate”. Persons abroad may authorize in writing someone in Vietnam to carry out these procedures.
3. Co-heirs abroad are not required to return to Vietnam to sign documents
A common misconception is that a co-heir abroad “must return to Vietnam” to sign the estate distribution agreement. In fact, Article 73.1 of the Notarization Law 2024 provides that Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad may notarize wills, written disclaimers of inheritance, and all kinds of powers of attorney and other transactions as prescribed — except contracts for the sale, conversion, transfer, donation, lease, mortgage or capital contribution of real estate in Vietnam. In practice: a person abroad prepares a power of attorney (notarized at a Vietnamese representative office abroad, or prepared abroad and then consular-legalized) authorizing someone in Vietnam to sign the estate distribution agreement and complete land registration procedures on their behalf.
4. The estate distribution agreement must be notarized or certified — then register the change within 30 days
Article 59 of the Notarization Law 2024 provides that heirs by law or by will may request notarization of a written estate distribution agreement; a notarized distribution agreement serves as the basis for the competent state authority to register the transfer of land use rights and asset ownership to the beneficiaries. Point c, Article 27.3 of the Land Law 2024 likewise requires documents on the inheritance of land use rights to be notarized or certified in accordance with civil law; for certification, point h, Article 5.2 of Decree 23/2015/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 07/2025/ND-CP) allows commune-level People’s Committees to certify estate distribution agreements and estate declarations. A reference dossier includes: the draft distribution agreement; identification papers (a foreigner’s passport translated into Vietnamese, notarized or certified); the death certificate; the land use rights certificate; and papers proving the relationship or the will. Note: notarization is not the end of the process — under Article 133.3 of the Land Law 2024, within 30 days from the date of the change (for inheritance: counted from the completion of distribution), the land user must register the change with the competent authority.
5. The house and land must be eligible before they can be distributed
Not every parcel of land can be distributed immediately. Article 45.1 of the Land Law 2024 sets the conditions: (a) holding a certificate (except for inheritance of land use rights and certain special cases); (b) the land is dispute-free or disputes have been resolved; (c) the land use rights are not distrained or subject to enforcement security measures; (d) the land is within its land use term; (e) no provisional urgent measures apply. If the land is under dispute among the co-heirs, a distribution agreement cannot replace a court judgment — the dispute must be resolved first.
6. The limitation period for claiming division of a real-estate estate: 30 years — do not let procedures drag on too long
Article 623.1 of the 2015 Civil Code provides that the limitation period for an heir to claim division of an estate is 30 years for real estate (10 years for movables), counted from the opening of the inheritance. After this period expires, the estate belongs to the heir currently managing it, or is otherwise dealt with as prescribed by law. For families with co-heirs abroad who have lost contact or whose procedures drag on for years, this is an important warning: distribution should not be left hanging for more than 30 years.
7. The disclaimer tool when a co-heir wishes to yield their share to others
In many families, a co-heir abroad wishes to yield their share to siblings in Vietnam. The suitable legal tool is disclaiming the inheritance under Article 620 of the 2015 Civil Code: made in writing, sent to the parties concerned, and expressed before the time of estate distribution (except where the disclaimer aims to evade property obligations). Notably, a written disclaimer of a real-estate inheritance may be notarized without provincial limitation under Article 44 of the Notarization Law 2024 — a co-heir abroad returning to Vietnam may have it notarized at any notarial practice organization, without having to go to the province where the land is.
FAQ
Can a person of Vietnamese origin abroad be named on the land certificate when inheriting?
Only if they fall under Article 44.1 of the Land Law 2024 (a person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad who is permitted to enter Vietnam). Otherwise they may only receive the value of the inherited share and shall not be granted a certificate.
What if all co-heirs live abroad and are ineligible?
They shall not be granted a certificate but may still transfer or donate the inherited land use rights; where no transfer or donation has occurred, they submit the inheritance dossier to the land registration office for updating in the cadastral register (Article 44.3).
Must a co-heir abroad return to Vietnam to sign the estate distribution agreement?
No. They may authorize someone in Vietnam in writing, or have the power of attorney notarized at a Vietnamese diplomatic or consular office abroad (Article 73.1 of the Notarization Law 2024).
References
- Land Law 2024 (31/2024/QH15): point dd, Article 37.1 (right to bequeath land use rights), Article 44 (rights of persons of Vietnamese origin residing abroad), Article 45.1 (conditions for exercising land user rights), point c, Article 27.3 (notarization and certification of inheritance documents), Article 133.3 (deadline for change registration).
- 2015 Civil Code (91/2015/QH13): Article 620 (disclaimer of inheritance), Article 623.1 (limitation period for claiming estate division).
- Notarization Law 2024 (46/2024/QH15, effective from 01/7/2025): Article 59 (notarization of estate distribution agreements), Article 44 (jurisdiction for notarizing real-estate transactions), Article 73.1 (notarization at Vietnamese representative offices abroad).
- Decree 23/2015/ND-CP on certification (as amended by Decree 07/2025/ND-CP): point h, Article 5.2 (commune-level People’s Committees certify estate distribution agreements and estate declarations).
The legal content of this article is reviewed by FLAT’s AI Legal Council and submitted to the owner for approval; it is not an opinion of a licensed lawyer and does not replace legal advice for specific cases.
Does your family have co-heirs abroad and need help with house and land inheritance procedures? Contact FLAT Law Firm for advice.