Inheritance for Hong Kong Residents in Japan When the Heirs Also Live in Japan

A Hong Kong national who lived in Japan for a long time has died, and both the spouse and children live in Japan. There are bank deposits and a home in Japan—very little exchange of documents with overseas parties arises in this family's inheritance.

There is only one difficulty: the decedent has no Japanese family register, and Hong Kong has no system equivalent to a family register.

Key Points of This Article

• For a person who resided in Hong Kong, Hong Kong law is treated as the national law.
• Hong Kong law distinguishes between movables and immovables: movables are governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death, while immovables are governed by the law of their location. If the decedent's center of life was in Japan, either route tends toward Japanese law.
• If the heirs are registered as residents in Japan, they can obtain both seal certificates and residence certificates. Signature-related procedures are the same as for a Japanese person's inheritance.
• Since Hong Kong has no system equivalent to a family register, the heirs are established by combining several documents.
• The Legal Inheritance Information List cannot be used.

1. Governing Law

Article 36 of Japan's Act on General Rules for Application of Laws provides that inheritance is governed by the decedent's national law. For a person who resided in Hong Kong, the arrangement is to treat Hong Kong law as the national law.

Hong Kong law divides inheritance property into movables and immovables, providing that movables are governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death and immovables by the law of their location.

If the decedent's center of life was in Japan,

• Real property in Japan is governed by Japanese law as the law of its location
• Deposits and other movables are governed by Japanese law as the law of the domicile

Both routes therefore tend toward Japanese law. The scope of the heirs and their inheritance shares are determined under Japan's Civil Code.

Domicile is not determined solely by the length of residence. It is determined after confirming the type of status of residence, the actual circumstances of life, and the strength of ties to Hong Kong.

2. Meaning of the Heirs Living in Japan

A person who holds a residence card and is registered as a resident in a Japanese municipality can register a seal.

For the heirs,

• Affix a registered seal to the estate division agreement and attach a seal certificate
• Use a residence certificate to prove the address

The matter can proceed in the same form as a Japanese person's inheritance. Notarization by a notary is not required.

3. Establishing the Decedent-Side Heirs

The decedent has no Japanese family register, and Hong Kong has no system equivalent to a family register. The inheritance relationship is proven by combining the following materials.

Materials Obtainable in Japan

• Certificate of removal from the residence record: Foreign nationals are also recorded in the Basic Resident Register, which states household composition, status of residence, and nationality
• Alien Registration Record: A record from the alien registration system operated through July 2012, currently kept by the Immigration Services Agency
• Certificate of matters stated in the death notification submitted in Japan

The longer the residence in Japan, the more complete the Japanese-side records are.

Materials Obtainable in Hong Kong

• Birth registration records and marriage registration records issued by the Immigration Department
• Identification materials such as a Hong Kong Identity Card
• A Statutory Declaration made before a notary

In Hong Kong, it is not possible to show in one document that “these three people are all of this person's heirs.” What is stated in the Statutory Declaration determines whether the procedure succeeds. The required contents differ depending on the recipient.

Submit it to the Japanese recipient with a Japanese translation attached. An apostille is needed only when the recipient requires it.

The Legal Inheritance Information List Cannot Be Used

The Legal Inheritance Information Certification System of the Legal Affairs Bureau is a system for proving inheritance relationships using Japanese family registers. It cannot be used when the decedent is a foreign national without a Japanese family register. If there are five financial institutions, submit the complete set of supporting materials to all five.

4. When Some Heirs Are in Hong Kong

There are cases where the spouse and children are in Japan but another child of the decedent is in Hong Kong.

For address proof when an heir in Hong Kong inherits Japanese real property and becomes the registered owner, Ministry of Justice Civil Affairs Bureau Notice No. 1596 dated December 15, Reiwa 5 (applicable to applications filed on or after April 1, Reiwa 6) specifies the handling. Attach either a document proving the address prepared by the government of the home or country of residence, or a notary-certified Statutory Declaration and a copy of the passport.

The procedure cannot be completed until everyone's documents are ready.

5. Japanese Inheritance Tax

Property located in Japan is subject to Japanese inheritance tax regardless of the nationalities of the decedent and heirs. The basic exemption is ¥30 million＋¥6 million×the number of statutory heirs.

Hong Kong's estate duty was abolished in 2006. A tax accountant must confirm the scope of taxation, including the treatment of overseas property.

6. Expected Timeline

When all heirs are in Japan, the overall guideline is 5〜8 months.

Our Office's Services

Gyoseishoshi Arch Office has been based in Osaka for more than 15 years and has handled procedures including status-of-residence applications for foreign nationals living in Japan. We can assist in Japanese, Chinese, and English.

• Organizing the residence status needed to determine domicile
• Investigating Japanese-side materials such as the certificate of removal from the residence record and Alien Registration Record
• Preparing a Statutory Declaration draft tailored to the recipient's requirements
• Preparing the estate division agreement
• Preparing the complete supporting materials for each financial institution and supporting cancellation and payment procedures
• Coordinating with a judicial scrivener when inheritance registration is needed and with a tax accountant when an inheritance tax return is needed

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. My whole family lives in Japan. Can we proceed in the same way as Japanese people. A. The heirs' documents are the same as for Japanese people. The difference is that, because the decedent has no Japanese family register, Hong Kong-side documents are needed to establish the heirs.

Q. Can I register a seal if I have a residence card. A. You can register a seal if you are registered as a resident in a Japanese municipality.

Q. What should be written in the Statutory Declaration. A. It mainly covers the scope of the heirs and their relationship to the decedent, but the required contents differ depending on the recipient.

Q. What if the decedent had naturalized as Japanese. A. If the decedent was a Japanese national at death, Japanese law is the national law and a Japanese family register exists. Hong Kong-side materials may be needed to show family relationships before naturalization.

Q. Can inheritance registration be completed for real property in Japan. A. Yes. When the decedent is a foreign national, the Legal Affairs Bureau determines the required documents, so proceed after confirming with the competent Legal Affairs Bureau.

Contact Us

For a consultation, please prepare the decedent's nationality, date of death, time of arrival in Japan and residence status, the number, relationships, and places of residence of the heirs, and the types of property in Japan. We can respond in Japanese or Chinese.

Related Articles

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• Establishing heirs when the decedent is a foreign national without a Japanese family register
• Can the Legal Inheritance Information List be used for people living overseas
• Procedures for inheriting a Japanese bank account