Estate Issues For Foreigners In Qatar

The mortality of your employees is not something one usually considers during the day to day running of a business. However for the employers of expatriate workers in Qatar it is useful to understand what happens to assets, such as real estate, cars, usufruct rights (99 year leases), company shares and bank accounts held in Qatar in the event of a worker's death. This article addresses the fate of the assets and also provides some information on the process to be followed and the documents required for the heirs/beneficiaries to secure the release of the deceased's assets.

There is a common belief that Shariah law will apply to the deceased's assets in Qatar. This is incorrect. Articles 23 and 24 of the Qatari Civil Code Law 22 of 2004, provide that the country laws of the deceased's nationality (the deceased's home country) at the time of his or her death will apply in relation to inheritance laws, even if the deceased was Muslim. Qatari law will apply only if the deceased is a Qatari national, or if an estate exists in Qatar which is left without any beneficiaries or heirs.

For the purposes of this article, we shall concentrate on the procedure of securing the release of funds from a deceased's bank account since this is by far the most common asset held by foreign workers in Qatar. It is worth noting however, that the documentation and authentication process required to release or liquidate each type of asset is identical, only the procedure will differ.

What happens to assets following the death of a bank account holder?

The bank will, as a matter of practice, freeze the bank account of the deceased immediately after being informed of the death. The bank account shall remain frozen until the deceased's beneficiaries produce an official inheritance certificate to the bank. The inheritance certificate might take different forms or have different names depending on the jurisdiction of the deceased's home country. It should be issued by the competent authority in that jurisdiction. The inheritance certificate should contain the name(s) of the beneficiaries and their allocated share. This share shall be determined by the law of the home country.

Before being submitted to the bank the inheritance certificate needs to be duly authenticated by the following:

The issuing authority; The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the home country; The Qatari Embassy in the home country; and The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After receiving the duly...