Skip to content
Mero Vidyalayaमेरो विद्यालय
NewsStudy abroad

Studying abroad from Nepal in 2026: new consultancy rules, NOC numbers and Australia's visa refusals

Nepal now regulates education consultancies and foreign-affiliated colleges much more tightly. Australia refused most Nepali student visa applications this year, and more students are enrolling at home. Here's what changed and what to check before you pay anyone.

Mero Vidyalaya Team · · 4 min read

The entrance to Tribhuvan University in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, under a bright sky
Photo: Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Nepal issued more than half a million permits to study abroad in the past six years. In 2026 three things changed:

  • Nepal introduced its first detailed rules for education consultancies and for colleges affiliated with foreign universities.
  • Australia began refusing most student visa applications from Nepal.
  • More students chose to study at home.

Here's what changed, with figures dated and sourced. Facts are as of 24 September 2026.

The new rules for consultancies and foreign-affiliated colleges

On 8 July 2026 Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel announced that the Cabinet had approved two regulations:

  • the Educational Consultancy, Language and Preparation Classes (Operation and Management) Regulations 2026
  • the Educational Programmes under Foreign University Affiliation (Operation) Regulations 2026

For consultancies

  • Every consultancy must lodge a deposit of Rs2.5 million and pay Rs25,000 a year to renew its licence.
  • Foreign investment in consultancies is banned.
  • Education fairs promoting study abroad are banned.

Nepal has about 1,500 consultancies, of which 924 have renewed licences, the Kathmandu Post reported.

For colleges affiliated with foreign universities

  • The partner university must be ranked. It must have taken part in the Times Higher Education or QS rankings for five years in a row and been in the top 1,000 at least once. Existing colleges have three years to comply.
  • Deposits: Rs2.5 million for postgraduate programmes and Rs3.5 million for undergraduate programmes.
  • Free places: full scholarships for 20% of students at foreign-invested colleges and 10% at Nepali-owned ones.
  • Class size: no more than 30 students per section, with admissions twice a year.
  • Credit transfer: no more than 40% of coursework can be transferred.

Nepal has 49 foreign-affiliated colleges. The industry was divided on the rules. Laxman KC of the International Education Providers' Association called them "a positive step". Laxman Paudel of the Educational Consultancy Association criticised the deposit requirement.

How many students go, and where

Students need a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the education ministry to study abroad. These figures come from the ministry's Foreign Study Permit Branch and were reported by Republica in August. Only the years Republica listed are shown:

Fiscal yearNOCs issued
2020/2127,211
2021/2291,221
2023/24102,295
2024/25117,805

That's 548,717 NOCs from 2020/21 to 2025/26. The Kathmandu Post gives a slightly different figure for 2024/25: about 123,000.

Most popular destinations over those years:

  1. Japan: 156,407
  2. Australia: 127,916
  3. United Kingdom: 75,927
  4. Canada: 42,870
  5. South Korea: 33,871

Nepal Rastra Bank figures reported by Republica show about Rs556.68 billion spent on study abroad over the same period.

Australia is refusing most applications

From January to May 2026, Australia approved 2,700 of 7,500 offshore student visa applications from Nepal, a 64% refusal rate. In the same months of 2025 it approved 7,167 of 8,028 (about 11% refused). The Kathmandu Post reported these figures from Australia's Department of Home Affairs.

  • Nepal was moved to Evidence Level 3, which means applicants must provide more documents.
  • The visa fee is A$2,500, and it is not refunded if the visa is refused.
  • For vocational courses, 493 of 549 applications were refused.

More students are staying home

Nepal's universities and academies now enrol 749,392 students, up from 672,489 in 2024/25, the Kathmandu Post reported. Former UGC chair Dev Raj Adhikari linked part of the rise to students whose plans to go abroad were "disrupted by wars and geopolitical instability".

The government has also directed seven universities to give free scholarships to 10% of their students, meaning meritorious, economically disadvantaged and targeted-group students. That includes Tribhuvan University and Pokhara University.

Before you pay a consultancy: a checklist

  1. Check that the consultancy is licensed and its licence has been renewed. Ask to see it.
  2. Get every promise in writing: the university, the course, the total cost, and the refund terms.
  3. Check the university yourself. Look at its official website and its ranking, and don't rely on brochures.
  4. Pay through a bank, and keep receipts.
  5. Budget for refusal. Australia's A$2,500 visa fee is non-refundable, and most applications from Nepal were refused this year.
  6. Compare with studying in Nepal first, including foreign-affiliated colleges that meet the new rules.

We'll also cover scholarships like Erasmus Mundus on this blog, with official figures and deadlines for each intake.

Facts as of 24 September 2026. Visa rules and NOC totals change often: check the official sources before applying.

Sources

More guides