India's securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), will permit market intermediaries to accept digital know-your-customer (KYC) records from eligible investors abroad from Dec. 3, easing an account-opening barrier.
The Nov. 4 circular takes effect Dec. 3, 2026. It covers individual Persons Resident Outside India (PROIs) located in Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-compliant countries. Eligible groups include Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders and foreign nationals. Individuals in FATF non-compliant countries are excluded.
Intermediaries may accept KYC information and supporting documents digitally. The process also applies to re-KYC, or repeat identity checks. Submissions must be in English; documents in another language need an English translation attested by a certifying authority. The circular permits intermediaries to use the option but does not require each firm to adopt it.
SEBI’s October 2023 master circular described geolocation tagging as a way to check whether clients completing online KYC were physically in India. The new circular relaxes that condition for eligible individuals abroad. SEBI said it revised the framework after reviewing it and considering representations from market participants.
Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath welcomed the finalized changes in a Nov. 5 blog post. He said the former process for overseas applicants seeking fresh KYC involved getting documents certified by a notary or Indian embassy, then sending paper records to India. Kamath estimated the process could shrink from weeks to two or three days, but SEBI set no processing deadline.
Kamath said easier onboarding could help bring more long-term capital to India, but he gave no estimate of possible investment. SEBI did not project a change in capital flows or say when individual intermediaries would offer the option. The new provisions take effect Dec. 3, 2026.
