SEBI allows digital KYC from abroad for NRIs and OCI cardholders from 3 December

Non-resident Indians, Overseas Citizens of India and foreign nationals will be able to complete digital KYC for India’s securities market without setting foot in the country, under a circular the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued on Wednesday, 4 November. The change applies to investors who live in countries that comply with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, and it takes effect on 3 December 2026.

Until now, a broker or depository participant taking a client through digital KYC had to make sure the person was physically in India at that moment. SEBI said the condition stopped investors overseas from finishing the process online when they first opened an account.

What investors abroad will need

The client gives a PAN, which the firm checks against Income Tax Department records with no copy needed, plus a passport copy and, where it applies, the OCI card. The current address on the form must be the overseas one. If original documents cannot be shown, the firm may accept DigiLocker records, Aadhaar-based e-KYC, or copies attested by a notary, an Indian embassy or consulate, or an overseas branch of an Indian bank. Papers in any language other than English must be translated and attested.

Where a meeting in person is not possible, the firm will run a video verification with one of its own officials present. The recording must carry the client’s live GPS location, connections through VPNs or proxy servers must be blocked, and the client’s internet address must trace to India or to an FATF-compliant country that matches the one on the KYC form. Clients who send a signature digitally will sign on paper during the call. Every session will be audited as it takes place.

The KYC record will also travel with the investor. Firms may rely on checks a different SEBI-registered firm has already carried out, or on those done by entities regulated by the RBI, IRDAI, PFRDA or IFSCA, and must send a completed record to a KYC registration agency within three working days.

Investors in countries that fall short of FATF standards stay on the existing process, and KYC finished before 3 December remains under the old rules. The new steps will also apply when overseas clients in FATF-compliant countries redo their KYC.