SEBI enables digital identity checks for eligible overseas individual investors

The Securities and Exchange Board of India issued a circular on 4 November 2026 revising identity checks for individuals resident outside India. Eligible non-resident Indians, Overseas Citizens of India and foreign nationals can supply Know Your Client details and documents digitally from jurisdictions compliant with Financial Action Task Force standards. The previous digital process required the client to be physically present in India. The change addresses that location requirement while preserving checks on the person’s identity and address.

The circular also allows identity records to move between intermediaries even when some fields are not yet validated. A registration agency marks individual attributes as verified after checking them against official or original databases. Intermediaries can draw on records from registration agencies or the central registry. The firm taking on the client still has to check that the information is sufficient and obtain additional details where needed. If video verification is used, an authorised representative of the intermediary must participate, and the process is subject to concurrent audit.

Facts to remember

• Circular issued on 4 November 2026; the revised process takes effect on 3 December 2026.
• The overseas digital route is for eligible individual clients in jurisdictions compliant with Financial Action Task Force standards.
• Identity records can be shared across intermediaries even if some attributes are not marked as validated.
• The onboarding intermediary remains responsible for checking identity and address.

Background

Section 11 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, gives the Board responsibility for investor protection and for developing and regulating the securities market. Its functions include oversight of securities intermediaries. In the identity verification framework, a registration agency checks and maintains records, while the intermediary uses the records to carry out its own checks on the customer.

Why it matters for exams

For CLAT Economy and UGC-NET Law, revise securities regulation, market intermediaries and the difference between sharing identity records and completing due diligence.