RBI Eases KYC Process for FPIs, Allows Overseas-Certified Documents

The Reserve Bank of India has made the KYC documentation process easier for foreign portfolio investors by allowing Indian banks to accept specified documents certified by recognised authorities overseas. 

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The change took effect on September 18, 2026, under the RBI (Commercial Banks – Know Your Customer) Amendment Directions, 2026. It extends to FPIs a certification facility that was already available to non-resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin. 

The amendment gives overseas investors another way to complete the document-certification process without changing the KYC checks that banks are required to carry out. 

FPIs get an overseas certification route 

Under the amended framework, Indian banks can obtain original certified copies of specified KYC documents from FPIs when those documents have been certified by authorities recognised under RBI rules. 

These include authorised officials at overseas branches of Scheduled Commercial Banks registered in India, as well as branches of foreign banks that have relationships with Indian banks. 

Documents can also be certified by a Notary Public abroad, a Court Magistrate, a Judge, or an Indian Embassy or Consulate General in the country where the non-resident customer lives. 

For an FPI operating outside India, this provides an alternative to arranging certification through a process in India. The relevant documents can instead be certified through one of the recognised overseas channels before being submitted to the Indian bank. 

KYC requirements remain in place 

The amendment does not remove the responsibility of banks to conduct KYC checks on foreign portfolio investors. 

RBI’s existing definition of a certified copy also remains in place. Where offline Aadhaar verification cannot be carried out, the bank must compare the copy of the proof of possession of Aadhaar, or another officially valid document submitted by the customer, against the original. 

An authorised bank official is required to record that comparison on the copy in line with the applicable provisions. 

For FPIs, the new provision creates an additional route: banks can obtain an original certified copy that has already been certified by one of the specified overseas authorities. 

The change, therefore, relates to how documents can be certified and submitted rather than to the underlying customer identification and verification requirements. 

What changes for foreign investors 

FPIs often manage their investment, banking and compliance requirements from outside India, sometimes across several jurisdictions. Physical documentation and certification can add steps to both onboarding and ongoing account-maintenance processes. 

The amended framework gives these investors more flexibility over where the required certification can be completed. 

An eligible FPI, for instance, can have the relevant document certified by a Notary Public overseas or through an Indian Embassy or Consulate General in the country where it is based. The Indian bank can then accept the original certified copy under the revised provision. 

By extending an existing facility for NRIs and PIOs to foreign portfolio investors, RBI has widened the options available for completing KYC documentation. FPIs will still need to meet the applicable KYC requirements, but overseas certification is now explicitly recognised as an alternative route.