SEBI FPI KYC Review Extended to 8 Years for Eligible Investors

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday, 30 October, extended the KYC review cycle for eligible foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to eight years, down from the one-year and three-year cycles that applied to many of them. The change, issued in a circular titled “Rationalisation of periodicity of KYC review for FPIs”, takes effect from 1 December 2026. SEBI said the aim is to cut repeated paperwork and ease the compliance burden on foreign investors.

Eight Years for Some, Two for Others

The new cycle depends on the investor’s category, home jurisdiction and regulatory status. Category I FPIs from non-high-risk jurisdictions, and regulated Category II FPIs from such jurisdictions, move to an eight-year review. Category I FPIs from high-risk jurisdictions get eight years only if they are registered under Regulation 5(a)(i), which covers government and government-related investors. Other Category I and Category II investors in that group move to a two-year cycle, according to reports by Business Standard and The Tribune.

SWAGAT-FI investors keep their existing 10-year cycle. FPIs that invest only in government securities continue to follow the periodicity of their bank accounts, as set by the Reserve Bank of India.

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No More No-Change Declarations

When an FPI continues its registration, it no longer has to report changes to earlier information or file a no-change declaration, except for government-securities-only FPIs. The fee rule stays: an FPI continuing for the next three-year block must pay the fee to its designated depository participant at least 15 days before its current registration expires. For SWAGAT-FI investors the block is 10 years.

Custodians Must Update Their Systems

Depositories, custodians and designated depository participants have to change their systems and processes before the 1 December start date and inform the FPIs they serve. SEBI has not said whether it will issue further operating guidelines. The circular follows the regulator’s other rule changes taking effect on 1 November and sits alongside the site’s wider economy coverage.

Source: SEBI circular, 30 October 2026. Also based on reporting by Business Standard and The Tribune.

Image: Bloomberg.