NRI Legal Heirs: How to Claim a Parent's Shares in India From Abroad

An heir living in London, Toronto or Dubai claims a parent's Indian shares under exactly the same transmission rules as a sibling in Pune. What differs is logistics: documents signed abroad have to be made acceptable in India, and the shares must land in an account that suits your residential status.

The rules don't change

SEBI's July 2026 framework applies whatever your residence: an indemnity bond and affidavit-cum-NOC within ₹10 lakh per company (physical) or ₹30 lakh (demat), and a will, legal heirship certificate or succession certificate above that. The routes in detail.

Documents signed abroad

Affidavits, indemnity bonds, NOCs and powers of attorney you sign outside India need two things before an Indian registrar will accept them:

• Notarisation: where you sign them
• Authentication: an apostille if you live in a country that is party to the Hague Apostille Convention, such as the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore or Saudi Arabia; or attestation by the Indian embassy or consulate if you live somewhere that isn't, such as the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait

The steps for each are in apostille and consular attestation for share documents.

Documents issued in India, such as the death certificate or a legal heirship certificate, don't need an apostille to be used in India.

For a death certificate issued abroad, SEBI's July 2026 framework added another route: as well as the usual authentication, it allows verification through an overseas branch of an Indian bank, or a foreign bank that has a correspondent banking relationship with an Indian bank. If authentication is proving slow where you live, ask the registrar whether it will take that route. A death certificate carrying a QR code is also accepted, because the registrar can verify it at source.

Stamp duty on bonds signed abroad

An indemnity bond is normally on stamp paper. When it's signed outside India, Indian stamp law generally lets it be stamped within three months of its first arriving in India. Your adviser or the registrar can tell you how that's handled in the relevant state.

Your KYC

• PAN, which you'll need for the demat account and the claim
• Passport, and OCI card if you're a foreign citizen
• Overseas address proof
• Bank details, for the ISR-1 form

Which demat account

Shares you inherit are usually held in a demat account linked to an NRO bank account. Dividends and sale proceeds are credited to the NRO account. Talk to your bank and depository participant before opening accounts; they apply FEMA rules to your specific situation. NRE or NRO for recovered shares.

Bringing the money abroad

NRIs can remit up to USD 1 million per financial year from NRO balances, including the sale proceeds of inherited assets, with the bank's documentation. That normally includes Form 15CA and a chartered accountant's certificate in Form 15CB, and evidence of the inheritance.

Avoiding a trip to India

Most transmission work can be done without travel: documents signed and authenticated locally, couriered to India, and a demat account opened online. Where something must be done in person, a power of attorney to a trusted person in India, itself notarised and authenticated, often covers it. Ask the registrar and your bank beforehand whether they accept action under a power of attorney for the specific step.