Overview: SEBI has relaxed digital Know Your Client (KYC) requirements for individual Persons Resident Outside India (PROIs). From 3rd December, 2026, eligible NRIs, OCIs and foreign nationals residing in FATF-compliant countries can complete digital KYC from abroad. The revised framework also covers document verification, specimen signatures, video verification, contact details and portability of KYC records.
Overseas investors who want to open securities market accounts in India have faced an additional procedural requirement: they had to be physically present in India to complete digital KYC. This made remote onboarding difficult, even when the required identity documents were available electronically.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has now relaxed this requirement through its circular of 4th November, 2026. The revised process allows eligible individual overseas investors to submit KYC information and supporting documents digitally while remaining abroad. However, the relaxation does not remove the identity verification and due diligence requirements that intermediaries must follow.
Who Can Use the Revised KYC Facility
- Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)
- Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs)
- Foreign nationals
The facility is available to individuals located in countries compliant with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) framework. The intermediary may accept their digital KYC submissions without requiring them to be physically present in India.
The existing process will continue for clients located in FATF non-compliant countries. The relaxation also applies to re-KYC of eligible overseas clients.
Revised Document and Verification Requirements
SEBI has prescribed the following requirements for onboarding individual PROI clients.
1. PAN, passport and existing KYC records
The intermediary must collect the client’s Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCRR) identification number, if available. It must first retrieve existing KYC records from the KYC Registration Agency (KRA) and CKYCRR.
PAN details must be verified against the Income Tax database. The intermediary need not insist on the original PAN or a copy of it. A passport copy and an OCI card, wherever applicable, must also be collected.
2. KYC form and specimen signature
The KYC form can be submitted physically or digitally. Permitted options include an original physical form, a scanned physical form bearing an electronic signature, or a digital KYC form bearing an electronic signature.
The specimen signature can be provided as a wet signature on the physical form or as a cropped image submitted under electronic signature.
Where the signature is submitted digitally, the client must provide a wet signature before the intermediary during Video In-Person Verification (VIPV). The intermediary must compare both signatures.
3. Proof of identity and address
The intermediary must collect an officially valid document or deemed officially valid document for identity and address verification. The overseas address will be treated as the current address of an individual PROI client.
Where a foreign national’s identity document does not contain an address, an address document issued by a foreign government department or a letter from a Foreign Embassy or Mission in India may be accepted.
4. Original document verification and alternatives
Under the Original, Seen and Verified (OSV) requirement, the intermediary must ordinarily examine the original identity and address documents and collect physical self-attested copies.
If the original documents are not produced, SEBI permits alternative verification through:
- Equivalent electronic documents available through DigiLocker.
- Electronic documents issued by the concerned authority through another verifiable mechanism.
- Aadhaar e-KYC using OTP, biometric or face authentication.
- Copies attested by a Notary Public, an authorised official of an overseas branch of an Indian scheduled commercial bank, an overseas bank having a relationship with an Indian bank, a Court Magistrate, a Judge, or the Indian Embassy or Consulate General in the client’s country of residence.
The intermediary must record the certifying authority’s details, location, date and time, along with the relevant identification particulars.
Mobile Number, Email and Video Verification
The intermediary may collect an Indian or international mobile number and the client’s email address. Aadhaar-linked contact details may be preferred. The mobile number, where feasible, and email address must be verified through OTP or another verifiable method. If the mobile number cannot be verified, all communications must be sent to the verified email address.
Physical In-Person Verification (IPV) remains the prescribed process. Where physical verification is not feasible, the intermediary may conduct VIPV.
The video process must include recorded client consent, random actions to establish that the interaction is live, uninterrupted recording with GPS coordinates and time stamps, and safeguards against spoofed IP addresses, VPNs and proxy servers. The client’s IP address must originate from India or a FATF-compliant country and match the country declared in the KYC documents.
An authorised official of the intermediary must be present during VIPV. The process must also undergo concurrent audit.
KRA Record Portability and Submission Timeline
SEBI has directed KRAs to mark individual KYC attributes as validated when verified against official or source databases. However, KYC records remain portable and can be shared with other intermediaries even if every attribute has not been validated.
An intermediary may rely on KYC completed by another SEBI-registered intermediary or an entity regulated by another financial sector regulator, using records available through the KRA or CKYCRR. The receiving intermediary continues to remain responsible for its client’s KYC and appropriate due diligence.
The completed KYC information must be submitted to the KRA within three working days of completion of the process. Documents submitted by individual PROI clients must be in English. Documents in another language must be translated into English and attested by a certifying authority.
Separate Framework for Foreign Portfolio Investors
The relaxation is meant for individual PROI clients and does not replace the separate KYC framework for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). Foreign nationals seeking FPI registration will continue to follow SEBI’s FPI Master Circular dated 30 May 2024, as amended.
Setindiabiz Support
Overseas businesses planning to establish operations in India must complete the applicable incorporation, foreign investment and corporate compliance formalities. Setindiabiz provides India Entry Services for Foreign Investors, covering Indian subsidiary and joint venture incorporation, branch, liaison and project office registration, and related FEMA and corporate compliance.
FAQs
Yes. Eligible NRIs residing in FATF-compliant countries can complete digital KYC from abroad from 3 December 2026.
Yes. Both OCI cardholders and foreign nationals are covered, provided they meet the applicable FATF country condition.
Yes. Equivalent electronic documents available through DigiLocker or other verifiable mechanisms can be used where the original documents are not produced for verification.
Yes. Intermediaries can collect Indian or international mobile numbers. Where a mobile number cannot be verified, communications must be sent to the client’s verified email address.
No. FPI registration continues under its separate SEBI regulatory framework.
SEBI’s revised KYC framework makes it easier for eligible overseas individual investors to enter India’s securities market without travelling to India solely for KYC formalities. However, the relaxation does not reduce the responsibility of intermediaries to verify identity, authenticate documents and complete due diligence.
Foreign nationals seeking Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) registration will continue to follow the separate FPI regulatory framework. Investors and securities market intermediaries should review the applicable requirements before the revised provisions take effect on 3 December 2026.
