Inheritance in Pakistan when the heirs live in the United Kingdom.
For sons, daughters and widows in the UK who need a parent’s house, land, plot or bank account in Pakistan transferred — or whose share is being kept from them by family in Pakistan.
Short answer. When all heirs agree, a succession certificate or letter of administration is issued through NADRA’s Succession Facilitation Units, and heirs in the UK verify biometrically through the Pak ID app. If anyone objects, the case goes to court under the Succession Act, 1925. Land is then mutated into the heirs’ names. UK probate is a separate process and does not by itself transfer anything in Pakistan.
Reviewed by Khalil Ahmad Bhullah, Founding Partner · Last reviewed 7 October 2026 · Pakistani law only. We are Pakistani advocates. We are not solicitors in England and Wales or Scotland and do not advise on UK law.
Three things UK heirs run into.
Two estates, two systems
If your parent lived in the UK, the UK estate goes through UK probate and the Pakistani property through Pakistani succession. A UK grant of probate does not move a plot or a fard in Pakistan. Run both at once and tell each adviser about the other.
A death in the UK, a record in Pakistan
NADRA needs the death on record and a current Family Registration Certificate. For a death registered in the UK we tell you which certified copy to order, whether it needs an FCDO apostille, and how the death is recorded on the Pakistani side.
Sisters in the UK, brothers in Pakistan
Depriving a woman of her inheritance by deceit or coercion is an offence under section 498-A of the Pakistan Penal Code. Sisters abroad can pursue their share through an attorney, with a civil suit for declaration and partition alongside.
How the file runs from the United Kingdom.
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 the UK
The heirs authorise one person in Pakistan — a sibling or your attorney. Heirs in the United Kingdom 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 UK file.
A father dies in Bradford. He owned a house in Jhelum and agricultural land outside the city. His widow and two sons live in Bradford; his daughter lives in Jhelum. Everyone agrees on the Islamic shares.
The daughter is appointed applicant. The heirs in Bradford give biometric verification through the Pak ID app. NADRA’s Succession Facilitation Unit issues the succession certificate after the objection period, and we file the inheritance mutation for the land at the Arazi Record Centre. Nobody flies.
Illustrative example, not a client file. Timelines depend on the court, the district and the other side.
Document route from the United Kingdom.
The single most expensive mistake overseas clients make is paying for the wrong signing route.
- Notary plus apostille. Sign before a UK notary, then an apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office. The Apostille Convention operates between the United Kingdom 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 Pakistan High Commission in London, or the consulates in Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester and Glasgow. The route for anyone with no Pakistani identity document who does not want the notary route.
- Documents issued in the UK — a death certificate, a decree, a deed poll — are apostilled by the FCDO Legalisation Office before use in Pakistan.
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 4 hours ahead of the UK in summer (BST) and 5 hours ahead in winter (GMT). Pakistan does not change its clocks.
- A 10:00 AM hearing in Lahore is 5:00 AM in London in winter and 6:00 AM in summer, so the day’s update is usually with you before UK lunchtime.
- The easiest window for a call is your morning: 9:00–11:00 AM in London is 2:00–4:00 PM in Lahore in winter, 1:00–3:00 PM in summer.
- 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 the UK.
Largely, yes. One heir or an attorney starts the application in Pakistan, and heirs abroad give biometric verification through NADRA’s Pak ID app. Since August 2025 the application can be filed at a NADRA centre anywhere in Pakistan.
For a Muslim, Pakistani law limits a will to one-third of the estate, and not to an heir, unless the other heirs consent after death. The rest passes by fixed Islamic shares, whatever the UK will says. Take UK advice on the UK estate and Pakistani advice on the Pakistani one.
A complaint under section 498-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, a complaint to the Punjab Ombudsperson for women’s property rights, and a civil suit for declaration and partition can all be pursued through an attorney while you stay in London.
No. Land in Pakistan is transferred by succession certificate or court order and an inheritance mutation in the revenue or society record. The UK grant is useful evidence but is not the instrument Pakistani offices act on.
Read next.
Property cases from the UK
Occupied, rented out or sold behind your back.
Power of attorney from the UK
Which signing route works, and the wording.
Divorce & khula from the UK
Talaq, khula, maintenance and custody.
All matters for Pakistanis in the UK
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 the UK
Court guardianship of a child in Pakistan.