SEBI relaxes KYC rules for NRIs, OCIs: Can overseas investors now onboard digitally from abroad? Decoded

SEBI Eases Overseas KYC Norms

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has issued a circular dated November 4, 2026, relaxing Know Your Client requirements for individual Persons Resident Outside India. The relief covers Non-Resident Indians, Overseas Citizens of India and foreign nationals who live in jurisdictions that comply with Financial Action Task Force standards. Such investors may now submit KYC information and supporting documents digitally to intermediaries without being physically present in India. The earlier insistence on physical presence within the country had, in practice, blocked remote onboarding for those living abroad. The revised framework takes effect from December 3, 2026, or thirty days from the circular's date, and applies only to individual PROI clients. Those residing in FATF non-compliant countries remain outside its scope.

What The Framework Allows

Intermediaries will gather the investor's PAN, passport and OCI card where relevant. PAN particulars will be checked against the Income Tax database, so neither the original card nor a physical copy is needed. KYC forms may be filed physically, as scanned copies bearing electronic signatures, or as digitally signed documents. Proof of identity and address is still mandatory, and overseas addresses are acceptable for PROI clients. Foreign nationals whose identity papers omit an address may furnish a document from a government department in their home jurisdiction or a letter from a foreign embassy or mission in India. Where in-person verification is impractical, intermediaries may conduct Video In-Person Verification, which must capture live GPS coordinates, date and time stamps, random actions to defeat pre-recorded sessions, and safeguards against spoofed IP addresses, VPNs and proxy servers. An authorised official of the intermediary must be present, and the exercise is subject to concurrent audit. Clients submitting digital specimen signatures must also give a wet signature during VIP…