- For immovable property, succession follows the law of where the property sits — your Shanghai apartment passes under Chinese law, whatever your foreign will or home law says. 不动产法定继承适用不动产所在地法：在华房产一律按中国法继承。
- Movables (bank accounts, shares) in statutory succession follow the law of the deceased’s habitual residence at death. 动产法定继承适用被继承人死亡时经常居所地法。
- Mainland China currently levies no estate or inheritance tax; transfer costs and procedures still apply — subject to current regulations. 中国内地目前不征收遗产税，但继承过户仍有程序与费用。
- A China-specific will, properly executed in a Civil Code form, can save your heirs years of cross-border paperwork. 为中国资产按民法典形式单独立遗嘱，可为继承人省去数年跨境文书。
- Without any will, Chinese statutory succession puts spouse, children and parents all in the first order — often not what expats expect. 无遗嘱时配偶、子女、父母同为第一顺序继承人。
Which law governs what
The conflict rules sit in Articles 31–33 of the Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations. Statutory (intestate) succession is split: movable property follows the law of the deceased’s habitual residence at death; immovable property follows the law of its location — full stop. Testamentary formality is treated generously (a will valid where made, or under the testator’s national or habitual-residence law, is formally valid), but the substantive devolution of Chinese real estate still runs into Chinese law and Chinese registration practice. The practical consequence: your home-country estate plan governs most of your worldwide estate, except the Chinese apartment — which is often the single largest China asset an expat leaves behind.
《涉外民事关系法律适用法》第 31–33 条：法定继承动产适用死亡时经常居所地法，不动产适用不动产所在地法；遗嘱方式从宽认定，但中国境内不动产的实体继承与登记仍按中国法运行。
Chinese will forms under the Civil Code
Book VI of the Civil Code (in force 1 January 2021) recognises six will forms — notarised, holographic (fully handwritten, signed and dated), dictated with two witnesses, printed with two witnesses on every page, and audio-video or emergency oral forms with witnesses. The 2021 reform also abolished the old automatic supremacy of notarised wills: now the last valid will controls. For a foreign testator covering China assets, the notarised will remains the most friction-proof in practice — registries and banks recognise it fastest — and a bilingual text avoids the interpretation fights that a translated-after-death document invites.
《民法典》继承编承认公证、自书、代书、打印、录音录像及紧急口头等遗嘱形式，并废除公证遗嘱优先规则，以最后一份有效遗嘱为准。对外籍立遗嘱人，公证遗嘱在登记与银行环节阻力最小，双语文本可避免身后翻译争议。
How foreign heirs actually inherit
| Step 环节 | What it involves 要点 |
|---|---|
| 1 · Prove the relationships 亲属关系证明 | Foreign marriage, birth and death certificates must be notarised and apostilled (or consular-legalised) with Chinese translations — usually the slowest single step, and the one a China-side will shortens most. |
| 2 · Establish the succession 继承权确认 | Uncontested estates typically proceed through notarisation of the succession; contested ones go to the people’s court at the place of the estate. All first-order heirs — spouse, children, parents — must be accounted for, including renunciations in writing. |
| 3 · Transfer and register 过户登记 | Real estate transfers at the registry on the strength of the notarial deed or judgment; bank balances release against the same. No inheritance tax currently applies, though registration fees and, for later resale, tax attributes matter — subject to current regulations. |
| 4 · Repatriate if desired 资产出境 | Inherited assets can be converted and remitted through the dedicated SAFE inheritance-transfer channel with the succession documents and tax records — see the Money guide. |
Frequently asked
- Civil Code of the PRC, Book VI (Succession)《中华人民共和国民法典》继承编 —— will forms, statutory heirs and estate administration, supporting "Chinese will forms under the Civil Code" and "How foreign heirs actually inherit".
- Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations《涉外民事关系法律适用法》Arts. 31–33 —— the choice-of-law rules for succession, supporting "Which law governs what".
- Deed tax rules on succession transfers —— supporting the transfer and tax points in "How foreign heirs actually inherit".
- SAFE rules on inheritance-related asset transfers —— supporting the remittance points in "How foreign heirs actually inherit" and "Frequently asked".
This page is general legal information, not legal advice on any specific case. Tax treatment is subject to current regulations. 本页为一般性法律信息，不构成个案法律意见；税费以现行规定为准。
