Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a major relaxation for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) by removing the need to be physically present in India while completing their digital re-KYC. Until now, NRIs had to be located within India during verification, which caused major inconvenience for those living or working abroad.
This new rule will make re-KYC faster, simpler, and more practical for millions of NRIs who maintain investments in India.
Why SEBI Changed the Rule
SEBI took this decision after receiving repeated feedback from stakeholders. Many highlighted that expecting NRIs to be in India during digital verification was unrealistic. Some NRIs visit India rarely, and others may not be able to travel for years due to work commitments or personal reasons.
Understanding these challenges, SEBI has updated the framework to make the process more user-friendly.
In its circular, SEBI clearly stated that the rule requiring clients to be “physically located in India” during digital verification will no longer apply to re-KYC of existing NRI clients.
What Is Re-KYC?
Re-KYC (Re-Know Your Customer) is a routine update of personal and financial information with institutions like stockbrokers, mutual funds, and banks. This ensures that customer records stay compliant, accurate, and secure.
Re-KYC Now Possible From Anywhere in the World
Under the revised rules, NRIs who are already registered can now complete their re-KYC digitally from any country. However, SEBI has kept strict security checks in place to prevent misuse.
The digital KYC system must include:
- Random on-screen prompts to confirm the session is live, not pre-recorded
- Time-stamped interactions
- Geo-tagging to verify the client’s real-time GPS location
- GPS match with the address proof country
- Automatic blocking of spoofed or manipulated IP addresses
These steps ensure the digital verification remains safe and authentic.
What Still Hasn’t Changed?
Only re-KYC has been relaxed.
New NRI clients who want to open an account digitally must still be physically present in India for the first-time onboarding.
