NovInheriting Cambodian property as a foreigner
If a Cambodian apartment is meant to be a family asset, inheritance should be planned before the purchase, not left for heirs to solve later. For a foreign owner, the safest approach is to separate what public sources support for a private unit in a co-owned building from what still needs a lawyer's confirmation for the specific property, contract and heir documents.
What can pass by succession
Public sources support a cautious baseline: Cambodia's foreign-ownership law for private units in co-owned buildings expressly mentions succession as a way special co-ownership can be created, transferred or modified. The same law says successors of a special co-owner receive the deceased person's rights and obligations under laws and regulations in force.
This is not the same as a foreigner inheriting Cambodian land. The verified route concerns a qualifying private unit in a co-owned building: a unit above the ground floor, without ownership of the land parcel under the building and with obligations under the building's internal rules.
Strata unit, land and other structures
| Asset | What is supported | Cautious position |
|---|---|---|
| Private unit in a co-owned building | The 2010 law allows foreign special co-ownership and expressly mentions succession. | Check title, floor, quota, internal rules and registration of the transfer. |
| Land parcel | The land parcel under a co-owned building is excluded from special co-owner ownership. | Do not promise direct foreign ownership inheritance of land. |
| Contractual or corporate structures | Public research does not provide one rule for every structure. | Review the contract, company, beneficial owners and death consequences separately. |
What follows from the Civil Code
Cambodia's Civil Code has a dedicated book on succession: statutory succession, testamentary succession, legally secured portions, acceptance or renunciation, management of succession property, partition, cases with no successors and recovery claims. In practice, inheritance is not just a developer letter or a single certificate.
If there is no will: who inherits and in what share
Under Articles 1156 and 1159–1162 of Cambodia's Civil Code, the deceased's children are first-rank successors, with natural and adopted children taking equal shares. If there are no descendants, the nearest lineal ascendants inherit; if none exist, siblings follow. The surviving spouse is a successor in each of these statutory scenarios. Source: the unofficial English translation prepared through the Ministry of Justice of Cambodia and JICA (jica.go.jp); the Code was adopted on 8 December 2007 and entered into force on 22 December 2011.
Where a spouse and children inherit, the spouse and every child take equal shares: a spouse and two children would each receive one-third of the succession estate. With a spouse and both parents, the spouse takes one-third and the parents together take two-thirds; with only one surviving parent, that parent and the spouse take one-half each. With a spouse and siblings, or more remote lineal ascendants, the spouse takes one-half and the relevant class shares the other half. These are shares in the estate as a whole, not an automatic allocation of the apartment to one person; assigning the unit to one successor requires partition and, where appropriate, compensation to the others. Source: Article 1162 of the same Civil Code.
For a foreign-owned apartment, two regimes meet: the general succession regime under the Civil Code and the special foreign-ownership regime for private units. The right framing is therefore careful: succession of special co-ownership is supported, but process, documents and taxes depend on the specific case.
The role of a will
The Civil Code recognises formal will types including notarial document, privately produced document and secret document, plus special forms. In the translated Civil Code, a privately produced will must be handwritten and signed by the testator; a typed or third-party-written private will does not fit that form.
When a will must be presented to the court
Article 1213 of Cambodia's Civil Code requires the custodian of a testamentary document—or, if there is no custodian, the successor or other interested person who discovers it—to present it to the court without delay and apply for probate. That requirement does not apply to a will made by notarial document. The choice of form therefore affects not only how the will is signed, but also what procedural step the family inherits. Source: the unofficial English translation prepared through the Ministry of Justice of Cambodia and JICA (jica.go.jp); the Code was adopted on 8 December 2007 and entered into force on 22 December 2011.
A sealed testamentary document may be opened only by the court in the presence of successors, interested parties or their representative. Opening it outside the court can attract a civil fine of up to KHR 1,000,000 under Article 1213, although that breach alone does not invalidate the document. A notarial will, meanwhile, requires a notary and at least two eligible witnesses under Article 1173 of the same Code.
We could not find an official source confirming automatic recognition of a foreign will for Cambodian property. The safer recommendation is to plan the will for a Cambodian asset with an independent Cambodian lawyer, checking form, language, translation, notarisation and enforcement procedure.
A will may not be able to leave the entire apartment to one person
Article 1230 of Cambodia's Civil Code protects legally secured portions for lineal descendants, parents or grandparents, and the surviving spouse. If parents or grandparents are the only successors, the protected pool is one-third of the estate; in the other cases covered by the Article it is one-half. Where several protected successors exist, that pool is allocated between them in proportion to their statutory shares. Source: the unofficial English translation prepared through the Ministry of Justice of Cambodia and JICA (jica.go.jp); the Code was adopted on 8 December 2007 and entered into force on 22 December 2011.
A clause leaving the whole unit to one person should therefore be tested against protected shares, not read in isolation. Article 1245 gives an entitled person one year from learning both that succession has opened and that a disposition infringes the secured portion to bring an abatement claim; the right expires in all cases five years after succession opens. With an indivisible apartment, the practical outcome may be a value adjustment or a wider estate partition rather than a physical division of the unit. Source: Article 1245 of the same Code.
Heir documents
We could not find an official public checklist for the heir of a foreign owner. In practical terms, heirs should expect a document-led process: proof of death, heir identity documents, the basis for succession, translations, notarisation, proof of the specific unit right and registration steps.
Translation, notarisation, legalisation or other formalities should not be described as a universal checklist without verification. For a specific family, these should be confirmed by a lawyer before purchase or during estate planning.
An heir has three months to review both assets and debts
Under Article 1248 of Cambodia's Civil Code, a successor has three months from becoming aware that succession has opened in their favour to choose absolute acceptance, qualified acceptance or renunciation. The court may extend the period on application, and the successor may inspect the succession property before deciding. For a minor, Article 1250 starts the period when the legal representative becomes aware that succession has opened in the minor's favour. Source: the unofficial English translation prepared through the Ministry of Justice of Cambodia and JICA (jica.go.jp); the Code was adopted on 8 December 2007 and entered into force on 22 December 2011.
Absolute acceptance transfers the deceased's rights and duties without limitation. Qualified acceptance protects the successor's personal property from succession creditors, but requires an inventory and a court filing; where there are several successors, it can be made only by their joint act. Selling or otherwise disposing of succession property before the choice, or missing the three-month period, can amount to deemed absolute acceptance, apart from preservation and ordinary management. These consequences follow from Articles 1254–1258 of the same Code, so debts and procedural status should be checked before signing any sale or transfer document for the unit.
If the project is still under construction or installments remain
We could not find an official public source for the death of a buyer during an unfinished SPA or installment plan. That means the answer is primarily contract-specific: who can step into the buyer's position, what happens to paid installments, whether there are default events, what documents the developer requires and whether assignment or completion by an heir is allowed.
Before booking, ask for the SPA or draft SPA and raise the direct question: what happens if the buyer dies before handover, before title issue or before the payment plan is completed?
Taxes and registration costs
We could not find an official source confirming a separate inheritance tax. At the same time, we do not claim there is no tax: transfer taxes, registration fees, stamp duty or other charges may apply to a specific transfer of rights.
The GDT FAQ confirms annual property tax for taxable real estate, but does not resolve succession transfer treatment. A secondary source was also found on 2024 stamp-tax guidance where succession is described as a transfer of ownership or possession of immovable property; official English confirmation for page-level guidance needs further checking.
Where sources conflict or go silent
The main issue here is not a direct contradiction but incomplete public sourcing. The 2010 law supports succession for special co-ownership, while the first pass did not find an official English source on foreign-will recognition, an heir-document checklist, stamp tax specifically on succession, or the treatment of an unfinished SPA after the buyer's death.
The correct position is: succession of a qualifying private unit exists as a legal category, but the procedure should be confirmed by an independent lawyer and the documents for the specific property.
With several heirs, the apartment remains part of a jointly owned estate until partition
Article 1148 of Cambodia's Civil Code makes co-successors joint owners of succession property, with rights and obligations passing in proportion to their shares. If physically dividing an asset would seriously damage its value, Article 1267 allows it to devolve to one successor subject to compensation to the others. If no agreement can be reached, any co-successor may apply to the court; under Articles 1270–1271, the court may partition the estate or sell the disputed property and divide the proceeds. Source: the unofficial English translation prepared through the Ministry of Justice of Cambodia and JICA (jica.go.jp); the Code was adopted on 8 December 2007 and entered into force on 22 December 2011.
Article 1277 bars changing the registered owner's name on succession property to a successor or testamentary donee until the three-month acceptance period has expired, unless the change is needed to pay the deceased's debts. After partition, Article 1273 states that each co-successor receives an ownership certificate for the property devolving to them. The exact registration instrument and cadastral steps for a foreign-owned strata unit still need confirmation against the unit's actual title.
Questions to ask a lawyer before buying
- What exact title or registration document will this unit have, and can it transfer to an heir?
- How should a will be structured so it can be used for a Cambodian asset?
- What heir documents will be needed, in which language and with what legalisation?
- What happens if the buyer dies before handover, before title issue or before installments are fully paid?
- What taxes, stamp duty, registration fees or other charges may arise on the transfer?
- Who at the building or developer receives heir documents, and what timeline is realistic?
Buying an apartment as a family asset? Contact us — we'll help prepare the questions to ask the developer and lawyer for the specific project, title, SPA and inheritance scenario.
Review the inheritance scenarioTake the quizFrequently asked questions
Can a foreigner inherit an apartment in Cambodia?
The foreign-ownership law for private units expressly mentions succession as a way special co-owner rights can transfer, and says successors receive the deceased person's rights and obligations. This relates to a qualifying private unit in a co-owned building, not ownership of land.
Can I simply rely on a foreign will?
We could not find an official source confirming automatic recognition of a foreign will for Cambodian property. The safer practical route is to plan the will and supporting documents with a lawyer who can check form, translation and enforcement procedure.
Is there a separate inheritance tax?
We could not find an official source confirming a separate inheritance tax. However, transfer, registration or stamp-duty taxes may still apply, so the tax treatment should be checked before any specific transfer.
Can a beneficiary act as a witness to the will?
No. Article 1172 of Cambodia's Civil Code excludes presumptive successors, testamentary beneficiaries, their spouses and their lineal blood relatives from acting as witnesses or observers. Minors and persons under general guardianship are also excluded; for a notarial or sealed will, the participating notary's spouse, lineal relatives, clerks and employees are excluded as well. Source: the unofficial English translation prepared through the Ministry of Justice of Cambodia and JICA (jica.go.jp); the Code was adopted on 8 December 2007 and entered into force on 22 December 2011.
Sources
Civil Code of Cambodia, Book Eight on succession · Law on Providing Foreigners with Ownership Rights in Private Units of Co-Owned Buildings, Articles 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14 · General Department of Taxation FAQ · Deloitte tax@hand note on Cambodia 2024 stamp-tax guidance · first-pass local inheritance-law commentary. This is an editorial source review, not legal advice; before a deal or estate-planning decision, current documents and an independent lawyer should be used.