Inheritance in Russia: A Guide for Foreign Heirs

A foreign citizen can inherit an apartment, a bank deposit or shares in a Russian company on the same terms as a Russian heir. The key rule is time: the inheritance must be accepted within six months of the death, through a notary at the place of the deceased's last residence in Russia. Miss that deadline and you will have to restore it in court.

How Russian Succession Works

Property passes either under a will or by law. Without a will, heirs are called in classes: children, spouse and parents first, then siblings and grandparents, and so on. Heirs of one class share equally. Certain close relatives, such as minor or disabled children and dependent spouses, receive a compulsory share even if the will leaves them nothing. Russian law governs real estate located in Russia, whatever the citizenship of the deceased.

The Six-Month Window

The period runs from the day of death, or from the day a court declares a person dead. Within it, an heir either files an application with the notary or takes actual possession of the property: moves in, pays the bills, protects it from third parties. For a foreigner living abroad, the first route is safer because actual possession is harder to prove later.

A court may restore the term if the heir did not know and could not have known about the death, or missed the deadline for another valid reason, and applies within six months after that reason ceased.

Working with the Notary

The notary opens the inheritance file, requests data from banks and Rosreestr, checks the heirs' kinship and calculates shares. You can file by post with a signature certified by a notary abroad or at a Russian consulate, or appoint a representative in Russia by power of attorney. After six months the notary issues a certificate of inheritance for each asset.

Papers from Abroad

Names written differently in foreign and Russian documents are a frequent reason for delay. A court can establish the fact of kinship when papers are missing.

Tax on Inheritance

Russia does not tax inheritance itself. The heir pays only the notarial fee, which depends on the degree of kinship and the value of the assets. Once registered, real estate is subject to annual property tax. Your home country may tax the inheritance separately.

Selling What You Inherited

Register ownership with Rosreestr first. The ownership period for tax purposes counts from the date of death, not from registration. A seller who is a tax non-resident pays income tax on the sale price reduced by documented expenses, at the higher non-resident rate. Proceeds can be transferred abroad subject to current currency control rules, which change and must be checked at the time of sale.

Accepting an Inheritance with Attorney E. V. Petrova

Attorney E. V. Petrova checks the estate, prepares applications to the notary, organises legalisation of your documents, represents you in Russia by power of attorney and handles court proceedings to restore a missed deadline or confirm kinship.

The main channel of communication with the lawyer is email: lawyer@lawyer-moscow.com.