Inheriting Taiwan Property as a Foreigner: Which Law Applies and How Land Is Registered

Imagine your mother lived abroad for most of her life but kept a small apartment in Taipei. She has now died, and you and your siblings are not Taiwanese. Two questions come first. Whose law decides who inherits the apartment? And can foreign heirs hold Taiwan real estate at all?

Those are separate questions. The first is answered by Taiwan's choice-of-law statute. The second is answered by the Land Act and the Land Registration Rules. Estate tax sits between them, because the land office will not change the title until the tax is settled.

The general rules on liability for the deceased's debts, the three-month window to renounce an inheritance and the six-month estate tax return are explained in our analysis of Taiwan inheritance and custody. This column covers only what changes when the heirs are foreign.

Which country's succession law applies?

Under Article 58 of the Act Governing the Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements, succession is governed by the law of the deceased's nationality at the time of death. If the deceased held only a foreign nationality, that country's law generally decides who the heirs are and what shares they take, even for an apartment in Taipei.

Article 58 has a proviso. Where a Taiwan national is an heir under Taiwan law, that person may inherit the property located in Taiwan. So if the deceased left a Taiwanese spouse or child, you cannot work out the heirs from the foreign law alone.

Two further rules can change the answer. If the deceased held more than one nationality, Article 2 uses the nationality with the closest connection. And under Article 6, where the deceased's national law says the issue must be decided under some other law, that other law applies. If either that national law or that other law says the law of the Republic of China applies, ROC law applies. The first sentence is transmission to the other law; the proviso is the renvoi to Taiwan. Start by confirming the deceased's nationality and what that country's own rules say, including whether a will chose a governing law.

Are there limits on the land a foreigner can inherit?

Article 17 of the Land Act bars transferring, encumbering or leasing certain land to foreigners: forest land, fishery land, hunting land, salt land, mining land, water-source land, and land in fortified, military or border areas. The second paragraph carves out inheritance. A foreign heir may take such land by inheritance but must sell it to a Taiwan national within three years of completing the inheritance registration. If it is not sold in time, the land administration authority refers it to the national property agency for public tender. An ordinary city apartment is usually not in these categories, but rural plots and forest land should first be checked with the land office where the property is located, to see whether they fall within Article 17(1).

Article 18 adds reciprocity: a foreigner may acquire land rights in Taiwan only if, by treaty or under the foreigner's own national law, Taiwan nationals enjoy the same rights in that country. The land office Q&A of Fenglin Land Office, Hualien County states that inheriting Taiwan real estate is also subject to reciprocity, and points readers to the Ministry of the Interior's list of reciprocal countries. The list changes over time, so check the current version before registration rather than relying on an older copy.

Does estate tax have to be settled before registration?

Yes. Article 8 of the Estate and Gift Tax Act says that until estate tax is paid the estate cannot be partitioned, a bequest cannot be delivered, and the transfer cannot be registered, unless the tax office has issued a transfer-consent certificate, an exemption certificate, or a certificate that the asset is excluded from the estate. Article 42 requires the land office to ask for a copy of that certificate and not to register without it.

Whether Taiwan estate tax applies to a foreign decedent's assets, and where and when to file, is explained in Taiwan estate tax when the deceased was a foreigner. For registration, the key point is simple: tax first, title second.

Article 119 of the Land Registration Rules lists the documents for inheritance registration. They include a household registration transcript recording the death, the heirs' current household transcripts, a family tree of heirs (繼承系統表), the estate tax payment or exemption certificate, and court acknowledgment of any renunciation. Foreign heirs have no Taiwan household record, so identity and family-relationship documents from abroad take their place. Ask the land office where the property is located which documents it accepts, and in what form, before you order them.

Timing matters too. Article 33 of the Land Registration Rules and Article 73 of the Land Act set the inheritance registration period at six months from the start of succession, and Article 73 allows a fine calculated as a multiple of the registration fee for late filing. If some heirs cannot join the application, Article 120 lets one heir register the property in joint ownership (公同共有) for all the heirs.

How do heirs abroad sign and send documents?

You do not have to fly to Taiwan to register. Under Article 41(7) of the Land Registration Rules, a foreigner who authorizes someone in Taiwan to handle the registration does not need to appear in person if the power of attorney has been authenticated by a Taiwan overseas mission. Authentication by Taiwan missions is governed by the Act on Document Authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Missions.

For a document made abroad, the usual route is authentication by the Taiwan mission responsible for the place of issue (Article 10 of that Act). An agreement covered by Article 15-1 may instead give a designated foreign authority's authentication the same effect. Nothing cited in this column says an apostille replaces that authentication, so confirm the route with the mission and the receiving office. Check with the land office and the tax office whether they also need a Chinese translation, and how that translation must be certified. Confirm Taiwan's requirements first, then order the documents at home, so each document is issued once in the right form.

Contact

When you email Attorney Wei Tseng (曾雋崴) at Hovering International Law Firm, briefly give the deceased's nationality and date of death, each heir's nationality and country of residence, the address or lot number of the Taiwan property, whether there is a will, and whether an estate tax return has been started. She will explain how to send sensitive records such as family documents and title records. This column is general information; the answer in a particular estate depends on the documents.

Email: wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw · Address: 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan (103 臺北市大同區承德路一段35號7樓之2)

Official sources

• Act Governing the Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements, Art. 2, Art. 6, Art. 58
• Land Act, Art. 17, Art. 18, Art. 73
• Estate and Gift Tax Act, Art. 8, Art. 42
• Land Registration Rules, Art. 33, Art. 41, Art. 119, Art. 120
• Act on Document Authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Missions, Art. 10, Art. 15-1
• Fenglin Land Office (Hualien County) land Q&A

Checked: September 29, 2026