As an overseas Vietnamese, you have the right to inherit an estate your parents left in Vietnam; but if you live abroad and cannot fly back, a house or a savings account worth several billion dong can still sit "frozen" for months, or even slip out of your hands. The estate does not disappear on its own, yet a misstep in the procedure, a delay, or letting relatives in Vietnam complete the inheritance declaration and leave you out is enough to put your rights at risk.
Who will carry out the formalities in Vietnam on your behalf when you cannot be present? Holding a foreign nationality, are you entitled to hold title to the inherited house, or only to receive its value in cash? And once you receive it, how do you lawfully transfer that money out of Vietnam? These three questions cause many overseas Vietnamese to hesitate, leaving their files to drag on year after year. This article goes straight to what you need to know: how far your inheritance rights extend, how to claim the estate remotely through a power of attorney, and the common mistakes to avoid so that you never have to start over.
Inheritance rights of overseas Vietnamese and the governing law
The most common, and most damaging, misconception is that "holding a foreign nationality means you cannot inherit in Vietnam." That is not true. The right to inherit is tied to your status as an heir (a marital, blood, or adoptive relationship with the deceased), not to whether you have kept or relinquished your Vietnamese nationality. The Civil Code 2015 affirms that every individual is equal in the right to inherit under a will or by operation of law.
For an estate with a foreign element, the next question is which country's law applies. The Civil Code sets out a clear principle:
This means that if your parents were Vietnamese citizens, the class of heirs to which you belong is governed by Vietnamese law; and any immovable property located in Vietnam is governed by Vietnamese law, no matter which passport you hold. Where there is no will, the estate is divided by classes of heirs: the first class comprises the spouse, parents, and children of the deceased (Article 651 of the Civil Code 2015), and heirs of the same class receive equal shares.
If your parents left a will made abroad, that will may still be recognized in Vietnam if its form complies with the law of the country where it was made, the country where the testator resided or held nationality, or the country where the immovable property is located (Article 681 of the Civil Code 2015). This, too, is a frequent source of disputes, as explained in the risk section below.
Receiving the asset or its value: the real-estate question for overseas Vietnamese
Where the estate is real estate, what worries overseas Vietnamese most is: "Can I hold the title in my own name?" The Land Law 2024 answers along two paths, depending on whether you fall within the category permitted to own housing in Vietnam.
A person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad who is permitted to enter Vietnam may inherit and hold residential land use rights just like a person living in the country:
Conversely, if all of the heirs are foreigners or persons of Vietnamese origin who do not fall within the category permitted to own housing attached to residential land in Vietnam, the law does not strip you of your share; you are still entitled to its value:
In other words, you do not lose your inheritance rights because of your nationality; you simply receive them in a different form: holding title to the asset if you qualify, or receiving its value (typically by transferring the inherited share to an eligible person) if you do not. Determining which path applies to you should be done at the very outset, because it shapes the entire file and your plan for transferring the proceeds abroad later.
Claiming the estate remotely through a power of attorney
Good news for those who cannot return to Vietnam: the law does not require your presence. You may authorize someone in Vietnam to carry out almost the entire procedure on your behalf. A Vietnamese diplomatic mission or consular office abroad can notarize a power of attorney and certain inheritance documents right in the country where you live:
Because the mission cannot notarize transactions involving real estate in Vietnam, the standard approach is this: you sign the power of attorney (and a document declining or accepting the inheritance, if needed) at the Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate, then send it back so that your authorized representative in Vietnam can carry out the inheritance declaration and division. A practical note: you should not authorize one of the co-heirs, because that person would be both your representative and a party with an opposing interest in the division, which can create a conflict of interest; authorizing an independent lawyer is safer.
The remote process generally involves the following steps:
- Identify the classes of heirs and the estate and devise the authorization plan; sign the power of attorney at the Vietnamese representative mission abroad.
- Obtain consular legalization and notarized Vietnamese translations of all documents issued abroad.
- The authorized representative files the request to notarize the estate-division (or declaration) document at a notarial practice organization, together with the death certificate, documents proving the inheritance relationship, and documents evidencing the assets (Article 59 of the Notarization Law 2024).
- The notarial organization posts public notice of the matter for 15 days before notarization.
- Once the posting period ends with no complaints, the notary notarizes the estate-division document; the authorized representative uses it to transfer title to the real estate or to work with the bank to release the account.
The posting step deserves attention for files with a foreign element. Under Article 44 of Decree 104/2025/NĐ-CP, if the deceased's last place of residence was not in Vietnam and cannot be determined, the notarial organization asks the Department of Justice to publish the notice on its electronic portal; and if the estate includes real estate, the notice must also be posted at the commune-level People's Committee where that real estate is located. Many people are unaware of this, leading to incomplete filings and the need to wait all over again.
Transferring inherited money and asset value out of Vietnam
Receiving the estate is only half the story; for overseas Vietnamese, the other half is lawfully moving those proceeds back to where you live. Vietnamese foreign-exchange law permits this. Transferring inheritance funds abroad is a permitted purpose for a one-way remittance:
In practice there are two scenarios. First, where the estate is in cash, such as a savings book or a bank account: once the declaration is complete, the bank releases the funds and you carry out the procedure to purchase and transfer foreign currency abroad through a licensed bank, presenting documents proving the funds derive from the inheritance. Second, where the estate is real estate you are not eligible to hold in your name: you transfer the inherited share to an eligible person, then remit the resulting value abroad under the same mechanism. A licensed bank is responsible for examining the documents for each transaction, so the more complete and clear your inheritance file is, the faster the transfer.
Legal risks and common mistakes in practice
Most overseas Vietnamese inheritance files drag on not because the law is difficult, but because of the same mistakes made again and again:
- Being left out of the declaration. Co-heirs in Vietnam complete the inheritance declaration on their own and "forget" the share of the person living abroad. When you discover this, you must sue to have the estate redivided, a civil case with a foreign element that takes far more time and effort than getting the declaration right the first time.
- Waiting too long. Inheritance is not a right that lasts forever: there is a limitation period for requesting division of the estate. The longer you delay, the easier it is to lose your right or to fall into a dispute with whoever is managing the assets.
- Documents not yet consular-legalized. Personal documents issued abroad that have not been legalized or translated under notarization will be rejected by notaries and banks, stopping the file at the very first gate.
- Disputes over a will made abroad. A will valid in the host country is not necessarily accepted in Vietnam if its form does not fall within the recognized categories; check carefully before relying on it.
- Forgetting that inheritance includes obligations. For a home bought on installments that are not yet fully paid, the heir inherits both the rights and the obligations under the contract, so you must decide whether to terminate the contract to recover the amounts paid or to continue performance, rather than leaving it untouched.
- Getting stuck at the foreign-currency transfer. Completing the declaration but lacking documents proving the origin of the estate means you still cannot transfer the money abroad; plan this from the start, not at the very end.
DEDICA's role in handling inheritance for overseas Vietnamese
For an inheritance file with a foreign element, a lawyer's role is not merely to "handle the paperwork," but to design the entire roadmap so that you ultimately receive the estate. DEDICA acts under a power of attorney for clients abroad from start to finish: reviewing and standardizing the file, guiding the notarization and consular legalization of documents in the host country, and working with the notarial organization, banks, and project developers on the client's behalf to declare and divide the estate, release accounts, or resolve an unfinished home-purchase contract, all without the client needing to be present in Vietnam.
When disputes arise (being left out of the declaration, uncooperative co-heirs, or a contested will), DEDICA represents clients in negotiation and in litigation before the courts, follows through to the judgment-enforcement stage, and advises on how to lawfully transfer the funds or asset value back to the client abroad.
Conclusion
As an overseas Vietnamese who cannot return to Vietnam, you can still receive your inheritance if you follow four steps: (1) establish your status as an heir and the governing law, as a foreign nationality does not deprive you of your inheritance rights; (2) clarify whether you may hold title to the asset or will receive its value, especially for real estate under the Land Law 2024; (3) sign a power of attorney at the Vietnamese representative mission abroad, have your documents consular-legalized, and let your authorized representative in Vietnam declare and divide the estate and complete the public posting as required; (4) transfer the funds or asset value abroad through a licensed bank. The three mistakes that most often prolong a file are acting too slowly and being left out of the declaration, documents that have not been consular-legalized, and overlooking the foreign-exchange step when transferring money. Being absent does not mean losing your share, but staying silent for too long does; if someone in Vietnam is preparing to declare the inheritance, authorize a lawyer to step in right away.
Every overseas Vietnamese inheritance file has its own circumstances as to nationality, the type of estate, the number of heirs, and place of residence. DEDICA Law Firm accompanies you from reviewing and legalizing the file, to representing you in the inheritance declaration, through to the moment the funds or asset value reach your account abroad, even when you cannot be present in Vietnam. Contact DEDICA to have a lawyer analyze your specific situation and propose a suitable roadmap for receiving your inheritance.
This article is for reference only, based on the law in force at the time of writing. Each case has its own facts; please consult a DEDICA lawyer for advice tailored to your situation.
