The new digital journey allows an investor living overseas to fill an online application, which is digitally routed to a notary in the investor’s country of residence
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With around 16,000 investors from overseas already participating in alternative investment funds (AIFs) in GIFT City, the International Financial Services Centre has made it significantly easier for global investors to come on board.What once took 20-30 days can now be completed in as little as 60 minutes, Dipesh Shah, Executive Director at International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), said on the inaugural day of the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai on Wednesday.The unified regulator in GIFT City, he said, has significantly streamlined the onboarding journey for non-resident Indians and foreign investors, who typically do not have Aadhaar. “Aadhaar is not the only platform that we use,” Shah added. He pointed to the challenges faced by overseas investors earlier, including restrictions around IP addresses, physical documentation, consular attestations and apostille requirements — all of which added friction to the onboarding process.The new digital journey allows an investor living overseas to fill an online application, which is digitally routed to a notary in the investor’s country of residence. The document can then be e-notarised and e-apostilled, followed by a cloud-based digital signature, before being submitted to the IFSCA. The result is a process that earlier took 20-30 days can now be completed in about 60 minutes, Shah said.The push is already gaining traction. Investors from 90 countries have been onboarded in GIFT City. Shah credited fintech service providers for playing a key role in compressing timelines and making GIFT City’s investor onboarding process more seamless.Published on September 9, 2026
