Resealing a Foreign Grant of Probate in England and Wales

When someone dies leaving assets in more than one country, executors often find themselves holding a grant of probate issued in a Commonwealth jurisdiction and wondering whether it can be used to deal with property, bank accounts or investments held in England and Wales. In many cases the answer is yes, and the mechanism is called resealing. Rather than starting a fresh probate application from scratch, the Probate Registry here can place its own seal on the foreign grant, giving it the same effect as if it had been issued in England and Wales.

Resealing is a long-standing procedure, rooted in legislation from the Victorian era, and it remains a genuinely useful tool for cross-border estates. It usually saves executors time and money, but it is only available for grants issued in a specific list of countries and territories. Where resealing is not available, executors must apply for a fresh grant instead.

In this guide we explain when resealing applies, which countries qualify, what documents the Probate Registry requires, how inheritance tax fits into the process, and when a fresh application is the better route.

The legal foundation: Colonial Probates Acts 1892 and 1927

Resealing is governed by two pieces of legislation. The Colonial Probates Act 1892 allows grants of probate and letters of administration issued in specified Commonwealth countries and dependencies to be resealed in England and Wales. The Colonial Probates (Protected States and Mandated Territories) Act 1927 later extended the scheme to certain additional territories.

The countries and territories to which the Acts apply are set out in Orders in Council. In practice, once resealed, a foreign grant has the same authority in England and Wales as a domestic grant. Executors can then use it to close bank accounts, sell property, transfer shares and complete estate administration in the usual way.

Which countries and territories qualify?

The list of jurisdictions whose grants can be resealed under the Colonial Probates Acts includes:

• Australia (all states and territories)
• New Zealand
• Canada (all provinces and territories, including Quebec)
• South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe
• Hong Kong and Singapore
• Caribbean states including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Montserrat
• Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands
• Certain African and Pacific jurisdictions including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tuvalu and Kiribati

The list changes occasionally as constitutional arrangements evolve, so we always check whether the country in question is currently within scope before advising clients to pursue resealing. If it is not, executors need to apply for a fresh grant under English probate rules.

Procedure at the Probate Registry

Applications to reseal a foreign grant are made to the Probate Registry, part of HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The application must be made either by the person to whom the original grant was issued or by someone authorised by power of attorney to act on their behalf. A solicitor acting for the executor can lodge the application on their client’s authority.

The Registry examines the original grant, checks that it comes from a qualifying jurisdiction, confirms that all inheritance tax obligations have been dealt with, and then applies the seal of the Probate Registry to the document. Once resealed, the grant can be exhibited to English banks, land registries and other institutions in exactly the same way as a domestic grant.

Documents required

The Probate Registry needs a specific bundle of documents before it will reseal a grant. In our experience the following are almost always required:

• The sealed and certified copy of the foreign grant of probate or letters of administration, issued by the court of the original jurisdiction
• An official copy of the will (if any) as proved abroad, again sealed by the issuing court
• A certified copy of the death certificate
• The relevant inheritance tax account or clearance for the English assets (typically IHT400 or IHT205/IHT207 equivalents, with any IHT paid or an exemption confirmed by HMRC)
• The application form together with a statement of truth from the applicant executor
• The Probate Registry fee and requested number of official copies

Where documents are in a language other than English, certified translations must be provided. We also verify that the foreign grant clearly names the executor or administrator applying to reseal it, because Registry queries most often arise where the identity of the applicant is not obvious on the face of the document.

Inheritance tax considerations

Resealing does not remove the need to deal with UK inheritance tax on the English assets. If the deceased was domiciled outside the UK, only assets situated in England and Wales fall within the charge to IHT, but they still need to be valued and reported. If the deceased was UK-domiciled or deemed domiciled, worldwide assets are within scope.

The nil-rate band remains at £325,000 and the residence nil-rate band at £175,000, with anything above chargeable at 40%. Executors must file the correct IHT account and settle any tax due before the Probate Registry will reseal. Where a double taxation treaty applies, we advise on relief for tax paid abroad to prevent the same asset being taxed twice.

Guidance on the IHT reporting requirements is set out at gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance, and we always cross-check the position with HMRC before lodging a resealing application.

Fees and timescales

The Probate Registry fee for resealing is aligned with the standard probate application fee. From 13 July 2026 that fee is £526 where the value of the English estate exceeds £5,000. Additional sealed copies are charged separately at a small fee per copy, and it is usually worth ordering several for banks, share registrars and the Land Registry.

Timescales vary. Straightforward resealing applications, where the foreign grant is clearly within scope and inheritance tax has been dealt with cleanly, typically complete within eight to sixteen weeks of lodging the papers, sometimes faster. Applications involving translated documents, unusual jurisdictions or complex tax positions take longer, and we build that into our timetable when we set expectations with executors at the outset.

When resealing is not available: the fresh grant alternative

If the deceased’s grant was issued in a country outside the Colonial Probates Acts scheme (for example, the United States, most European countries, the United Arab Emirates or many other non-Commonwealth jurisdictions), resealing is not an option. In those cases the executor must apply for a fresh grant of probate in England and Wales.

A fresh application is more involved. The Probate Registry will normally require the original will, a certified translation if applicable, evidence of the deceased’s domicile, and confirmation that the will is admissible under English law. Where the deceased died intestate abroad, the appropriate English administrator must be identified by reference to the domicile rules under Rule 30 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules.

We regularly advise executors on the choice between resealing and a fresh application, and on the tax and timing consequences of each route.

When resealing beats a fresh application

Where resealing is available, it almost always beats a fresh application on cost, speed and simplicity. The estate has already been through a court process abroad, the executor’s authority has already been established, and the Probate Registry here is essentially recognising what another qualifying court has done. That saves duplication of evidence, avoids the need to prove the will again, and gets executors to a usable English grant faster.

Resealing is particularly valuable where:

• The English assets are a modest part of a larger overseas estate
• The executor is based abroad and wishes to deal with English administration from a distance
• Time is pressing, for example because a UK property is being sold or a business needs decisions
• Multiple beneficiaries are waiting for interim distributions

Further practical guidance for executors is published at gov.uk/applying-for-probate, and we sit alongside that guidance with the cross-border experience needed to move an application forward without avoidable Registry queries. Executors dealing with assets on both sides of the border may also find our companion piece on foreign assets in a UK estate helpful.

How Curtis Legal supports cross-border executors

Cross-border probate rewards a methodical approach. We take instructions from the executor, verify the foreign grant, prepare the inheritance tax account for the English assets, lodge the resealing application, chase the Registry where necessary, and then use the resealed grant to close down the English estate. Where the deceased’s affairs also touch inheritance tax planning, executor duties, or potential disputes about the will (see our note on contested wills and on intestacy), we coordinate all of it under one file so executors are not shuttled between advisers. For an overview of the wider service, see our main estate administration hub.

If you are holding a foreign grant and need to unlock English assets, please call us on 0800 214 216 for a same-day callback. We will confirm within one conversation whether resealing is available, what documents you need to gather, and how quickly we can lodge the application. You can reach the team on 0800 214 216.

If you would like a plain-English second opinion or want us to take the file on, call our probate team on 0800 214 216. We offer a same-day callback and clear, fixed-fee options where they fit. We work with families across England and Wales.