A Kenyan resident can make a will covering Indian assets, signed before two witnesses as required by Indian law. Many families make a separate Indian will alongside the Kenyan will made under the Law of Succession Act. After death, Indian probate or letters of administration may be needed before banks, buyers or revenue offices act, and a Kenyan grant does not extend to Indian property.
- Document route
- Kenyan notary, foreign ministry authentication, then Indian High Commission attestation
- Time difference
- IST is 2h30 ahead of Kenya all year (no daylight saving)
- Law
- Indian Succession Act 1925
- Witnesses
- Two attesting witnesses
Wills & Probate from Kenya: how it works
We draft the Indian will with your Kenyan advocate so that the two wills fit together and neither revokes the other. The Indian will is signed in Kenya before two independent witnesses, preferably people who could give evidence later. Registration in India is optional but adds strength; a video recording of the signing helps where an elderly testator's capacity may be questioned. We also check whether Indian agricultural land is being left to someone who is not a person of Indian origin, which FEMA restricts.
Once the testator has died, the named executor petitions the Indian court for the district holding the property. Probate is mandatory for wills covering property in Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai; elsewhere it is often practically required. If the will has been proved in Kenya, letters of administration with the will annexed may be granted in India on an authenticated copy of the Kenyan grant. Notice goes to heirs, and any objection turns the petition into a contested suit.
What clients in Kenya should know
- Kenyan grants of probate must be authenticated through the Kenyan foreign ministry and the Indian High Commission before use in India.
- Kenyan Asian families often hold Indian property in the name of a deceased grandparent; the will should not assume that the property is already mutated.
- Where heirs live in Kenya, the UK and India, the executor should be someone able to act in India or willing to appoint an attorney there.
Step by step from Kenya
Video consultation
A call at a time that suits Kenya, after we have read your documents.
Documents signed in Kenya
Kenyan notary, foreign ministry authentication, then Indian High Commission attestation
Work in India
Our team files, appears and follows up in India, and shares scans of everything filed.
Result and handover
Certified copies and originals are couriered to you in Kenya where needed.
The full guide
This page covers what changes when you are in Kenya. For the law, the documents and the step-by-step procedure, read our main page on Wills & Probate, or see all services for clients in Kenya and the Inheritance & Documents practice area.
Questions from clients in Kenya
Is a will made in Kenya valid for property in India?
Yes, if it complies with Indian formal requirements, but Indian property is governed by Indian law and an Indian grant may still be needed.
Should I register my will in India?
Registration is optional. It provides strong evidence of execution and safekeeping, but an unregistered will is equally valid.
Can heirs in Kenya avoid probate in India?
For small estates outside Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, heirs sometimes proceed on the will with consent of all heirs. Banks and buyers often still ask for a grant.