Inheritance in Pakistan when the heirs live in Canada.
For Pakistani-Canadian families transferring a parent’s land, house or bank account in Pakistan, or pursuing a share kept from them.
Short answer. When all heirs agree, a succession certificate or letter of administration comes through NADRA’s Succession Facilitation Units, with heirs in Canada verifying through the Pak ID app. Disputes go to court under the Succession Act, 1925. A provincial probate certificate deals with the Canadian estate; it does not transfer property in Pakistan.
Reviewed by Khalil Ahmad Bhullah, Founding Partner · Last reviewed 7 October 2026 · Pakistani law only. We are Pakistani advocates. We are not members of any Canadian law society and do not advise on Canadian or Quebec law.
Three things Canadian heirs run into.
Provincial probate is only half the job
If your parent lived in Canada, the Canadian estate goes through the probate process of that province. Land in Pakistan still needs a Pakistani succession certificate or court order and an inheritance mutation.
Provincial death certificates
A death certificate from a province with its own competent authority — Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan — is apostilled there; others go to Global Affairs Canada. We tell you which certified copy to order.
A parent who wanted to plan ahead
A Muslim’s will reaches only one-third and not an heir. Parents in Canada who want to provide for one child usually do it by a registered gift (hiba) in Pakistan during their lifetime, with possession delivered. Done badly, it is challenged later.
How the file runs from Canada.
You stay where you are. We appear in Lahore on your power of attorney; a court can still ask for you by video link at a particular stage.
Records first
Death registration, and a current Family Registration Certificate from NADRA listing every legal heir. Missing or wrong family records cause most rejections.
One applicant, biometrics from Canada
The heirs authorise one person in Pakistan — a sibling or your attorney. Heirs in Canada verify through NADRA’s Pak ID app.
Certificate or court
If all heirs agree, a succession certificate or letter of administration through NADRA’s Succession Facilitation Unit after the objection period. If anyone objects, the Succession Act, 1925 route in court.
Transfer each asset
Land by inheritance mutation at the Arazi Record Centre; society plots on the society file; bank accounts and shares by presenting the certificate.
A typical Canadian file.
A father dies in Toronto. He owned a house in Gujranwala. His four children live in Ontario and Alberta; one daughter lives in Lahore.
His Ontario death certificate is apostilled by Ontario. The daughter in Lahore is the applicant; the four in Canada verify through the Pak ID app. After the objection period the succession certificate issues and the house is transferred to the heirs. They then decide together whether to sell, using one special power of attorney.
Illustrative example, not a client file. Timelines depend on the court, the district and the other side.
Document route from Canada.
The single most expensive mistake overseas clients make is paying for the wrong signing route.
- Notary plus apostille. Sign before a Canadian notary, then an apostille from Global Affairs Canada, or from the competent authority in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan for documents signed there. The Apostille Convention operates between Canada and Pakistan, so no further attestation by a Pakistani mission is legally needed — though some registrars still prefer a mission-attested document, and we check first.
- NADRA online power of attorney. For CNIC, NICOP and POC holders at poa.nadra.gov.pk: biometrics for you and two witnesses, online payment, and an online interview with the mission you select. No visit.
- In person at a mission. The High Commission of Pakistan in Ottawa, or the consulates general in Toronto and Montreal. The route for anyone with no Pakistani identity document who does not want the notary route.
- Canadian documents signed or issued on or after 11 January 2024 can be apostilled. Anything older went through authentication and legalisation, and we check whether it still works or has to be redone.
What we will ask for
- Death certificate, and proof the death is recorded where Pakistan requires it.
- NADRA Family Registration Certificate (FRC).
- CNIC, NICOP or POC of every heir.
- A list of what was owned in Pakistan: land, houses, society plots, bank accounts, vehicles, shares.
- Any will, gift deed or bank nomination.
Time difference with Lahore.
- Lahore is 10 hours ahead of Toronto in winter and 9 in summer, 12 and 11 ahead of Calgary, 13 and 12 ahead of Vancouver. Pakistan does not change its clocks.
- Our office day starts at 11:00 PM Toronto time in winter (midnight in summer). Hearings happen in your night and the summary is on WhatsApp by morning.
- In Toronto, 7:00 AM is 5:00 PM in Lahore in winter. In Vancouver, an 8:00 PM call in winter (9:00 PM in summer) is 9:00 AM the next day in Lahore.
- WhatsApp is read Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Pakistan time. Fees are quoted in writing before any work starts.
Questions from Canada.
Largely, yes. One heir or an attorney starts the application in Pakistan, and heirs abroad verify biometrically through NADRA’s Pak ID app. If anyone objects, the matter goes to court, which can also be run through an attorney.
No. Land in Pakistan is transferred by a Pakistani succession certificate or court order and an inheritance mutation in the revenue or society record.
The competent authority of the province that issued it, if that is Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan; otherwise Global Affairs Canada.
Not if you are Muslim and the will is the only instrument. Pakistani law limits a Muslim’s will to one-third and not to an heir, unless the other heirs consent after death. A properly registered lifetime gift is the usual planning tool.
Read next.
Property cases from Canada
Occupied, rented out or sold behind your back.
Power of attorney from Canada
Which signing route works, and the wording.
Divorce & khula from Canada
Talaq, khula, maintenance and custody.
All matters for Pakistanis in Canada
The country desk: missions, time zones, every service.
Inheritance and succession: the full guide
The law and the routes, for clients in any country.
Child adoption from Canada
Court guardianship of a child in Pakistan.