Will NRIs soon update KYC without being in India?

SEBI has proposed easing the geo-tagging rule so NRI clients do not need to be physically in India during digital KYC or re-KYC, including V-CIP, for updates and modifications to existing records. The draft seeks public comments by November 13, 2025, and aims to cut compliance friction for overseas investors.

Today, intermediaries must confirm an NRI’s physical presence in India by capturing geo-location during digital onboarding, which has been hard for clients abroad and expensive for market players to implement. SEBI’s draft relaxes this for existing NRI clients during re-KYC or KYC modification, so they can complete the process remotely with verified location checks.

The proposal keeps safeguards intact. Apps must still capture GPS coordinates and verify them against the country on the client’s proof of address, and use measures like random action prompts, time stamping and blocking spoofed IPs to ensure authenticity and prevent misuse. SEBI has posted the draft circular for feedback on its website.