SEBI drops the trip home for NRI KYC. The pen signature stays
From 3 December 2026, an NRI can open an account with a broker or other SEBI-registered firm without being in India. The video call still asks for a signature in ink. The country they log in from has to match the form.
SEBI's circular of 4 November 2026 lets an NRI, OCI or foreign national living in a FATF-compliant country complete KYC with a SEBI-registered intermediary digitally, without being in India, from 3 December 2026. The address on record is the overseas one. A signature sent digitally is signed again in ink on the video call, and the IP address must match the country in the KYC form.
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SEBI issued a circular on 4 November 2026 that changes how a person living outside India completes KYC. KYC, or know your client, is the identity check a broker, depository participant or other SEBI-registered firm must run before opening an account.
Until now, SEBI's KYC rules required the client to be physically in India during digital KYC. For an NRI opening a new account from abroad, that ruled out finishing KYC digitally.
The new rule starts on 3 December 2026, thirty days after the circular. It covers NRIs, OCI cardholders and foreign nationals who live in a country SEBI calls FATF compliant.
Re-KYC went first, in December 2025
SEBI's circular of 10 December 2025 removed the India location check for existing NRI clients doing re-KYC, the periodic refresh of a KYC record. A new NRI client still had to be in India for the first onboarding.
The 4 November circular extends the relaxation to new accounts. It also replaces the December 2025 circular, so from 3 December both new KYC and re-KYC from abroad follow one process.
What the son abroad sends
As an illustration, take a family in Mumbai whose son works overseas and wants an Indian demat account in his own name. Under the circular, the firm collects these items from him.
| Item | What the circular asks for |
|---|---|
| PAN | The number, checked against the Income Tax database. No copy of the card needed. |
| Passport | A copy, plus the OCI card where it applies. |
| Address | The overseas address is his current address. |
| KYC form | The original paper form, or a scanned or digital form under an electronic signature. |
| Mobile and email | Indian or international number. If the number can't be verified, every message goes to his verified email. |
| Language | Documents in English, or translated and attested. |
The firm must also see his original identity and address documents. If he can't show them, the circular accepts any of these instead:
- a DigiLocker copy, or an e-document from the issuing authority that can be verified
- Aadhaar e-KYC by OTP, biometric or face authentication
- a copy attested by a notary, a court magistrate or a judge
- a copy attested by the Indian embassy or consulate in the country where the client lives
- a copy attested by an overseas branch of a bank registered in India, or by an overseas bank that Indian banks work with
The video call has rules of its own
If an in-person check isn't practical, the firm runs a video in-person verification, or VIPV. The circular sets out what that call must do.
- Record the client's consent in a way that can be audited and can't be altered.
- Prompt the client to do random actions, so the video can't be pre-recorded.
- Capture live GPS coordinates and a time stamp on an uninterrupted recording.
- Block connections through VPNs, proxy servers or spoofed IP addresses.
- Check the client's face is live and matches the photo on the form and documents.
An official of the firm must be present on the call, and each call is subject to concurrent audit.
The pen signature
The client can send a specimen signature as a cropped image under an electronic signature. If they do, they must sign in ink in front of the firm during the video call. The firm then checks that the two match.
The other route is a wet signature on a physical form. Either way, a pen comes out at some point.
The IP address has to say the right country
The client's IP address must come from India or a FATF-compliant country. It must also match the country given in the KYC form and on the identity document.
So an NRI who lives in one country but makes the video call from another would fail that match. A call through a VPN is blocked.
One KYC, more than one firm
KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) hold KYC records for the securities market. A KRA will tag each detail as "validated" when it is checked against an official database. That covers PAN, passport, address, mobile and email.
Every record is portable, whether or not every detail is validated. A second firm, such as a portfolio manager, can rely on the record a broker created. It can also rely on a KYC done by an entity regulated by RBI, IRDAI, PFRDA or IFSCA, through the central KYC registry.
The first firm must send the record to the KRA within 3 working days.
What the circular leaves open
- Which countries count. The circular says FATF compliant "as per details published by FATF" and names no country. Clients in a FATF non-compliant country stay on the current process.
- Extra checks. Each firm keeps "ultimate responsibility" for KYC and may add its own safeguards to the video call. A firm can still ask for more.
- Bank accounts and FEMA. The circular covers KYC with SEBI-registered firms. It says nothing on NRE or NRO bank accounts, or on which investments an NRI may hold.
- Old records. KYC completed before 3 December stays under the earlier rules.
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Questions
- Can an NRI open a demat account without coming to India?
- From 3 December 2026, yes, if they live in a FATF-compliant country. SEBI's circular of 4 November 2026 removes the requirement to be in India during digital KYC for NRIs, OCIs and foreign nationals.
- Does an NRI still need a wet signature for KYC?
- If the specimen signature is sent digitally, the client must sign in ink before the firm during the video in-person verification, and the firm checks the two match. The other option is a wet signature on a physical form.
- Can I do NRI video KYC while travelling?
- The circular requires the IP address on the call to come from India or a FATF-compliant country and to match the country in the KYC form and identity document. VPNs and proxy servers must be blocked.
- Do NRIs who already have accounts need to redo KYC?
- KYC completed before 3 December 2026 stays under the earlier rules. Re-KYC from a FATF-compliant country follows the new process.
- Can one KYC be used with another broker or fund house?
- The circular makes every KYC record held by a KRA portable, with each detail tagged as validated or not. Another SEBI-registered firm may rely on it, but keeps final responsibility for its own client's KYC.
Sources
- SEBI circular HO/38/30/12(3)2026-MIRSD-POD2/I/25175/2026, Review of KYC process for individual PROI clients (4 Nov 2026)
- SEBI circular text, PDF (4 Nov 2026)
- SEBI circular HO/38/30/12(1)2025-MIRSD-SEC-FATF, Relaxation on geo-tagging requirement in India for NRIs while undertaking re-KYC (10 Dec 2025)
Compound is analysis, not investment advice. Reva Money is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser.
