SEBI Allows Digital Onboarding Of NRIs, OCI Cardholders And Foreign Nationals

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has eased Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for individuals residing outside India, allowing eligible overseas investors to complete onboarding digitally without visiting the country.

The revised framework, announced on Wednesday, will take effect from Dec 3. It covers Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and foreign nationals located in countries compliant with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.

SEBI-registered intermediaries can accept electronically submitted KYC information and supporting documents from these clients.

The regulator said the changes aim to simplify onboarding and reduce compliance difficulties for overseas investors.

Under the revised rules, individual persons resident outside India (PROIs) will no longer need to be physically present in India during digital onboarding, provided they meet the prescribed eligibility conditions.

SEBI has also directed KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) to mark individual customer details as validated when verified against official databases.

KYC records will remain portable across intermediaries even when every recorded attribute has not been independently validated.

Intermediaries may rely on KYC completed by another SEBI-registered entity or an institution regulated by another financial sector regulator.

Such reliance can be based on information maintained by KRAs or the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCRR).

However, intermediaries remain responsible for regulatory compliance and enhanced due diligence based on individual risk assessments.

Intermediaries must collect clients' Permanent Account Number (PAN), passport, applicable OCI card and identity and address documents.

For overseas clients, their foreign residential address will serve as the current address.

SEBI has permitted electronic submission of KYC forms and specimen signatures, subject to verification requirements.

Where physical in-person verification is impractical, intermediaries may conduct Video In-Person Verification (VIPV).

The process must include safeguards such as live geo-tagging, face-liveness checks, end-to-end encryption and participation by an authorised intermediary official.

The changes are intended to make overseas investor onboarding more accessible while maintaining identity verification and compliance safeguards.