Nepali student visas up 121 percent since 2018

Nepali students are rapidly becoming a significant presence in the international education landscape, according to a new report by ApplyBoard, an international student mobility platform. The study reveals that Nepali students have shown impressive growth across key study destinations, including Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia. The report highlights that Nepal is emerging as a major player in the international education sector, joining countries like India, Nigeria and the Philippines.

In 2023, nearly 45,000 Nepali students received post-secondary student visas to these four English-speaking countries, marking a 15 percent increase from the previous year and a 121 percent rise since 2018. This growth underscores Nepal’s increasing prominence as a source of international students and indicates that the country is poised to play a significant role in global education in the coming decade, says ApplyBoard.

Nepali students have shown a strong desire to study abroad, with 19 percent of tertiary-level students studying internationally in 2021. This is notably higher compared to India and China, which had ratios of 1.3 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. Over the past five years, Nepal has had one of the highest outbound mobility ratios globally, with many students in the 18 to 25 age group. The country’s growing economy, projected to expand at an average rate of 5 percent in 2025 and 2026, could further drive this trend.

In 2023, nearly 16,000 Nepali students received Canadian student visas, representing over three percent of all Canadian study permits that year, a significant increase from 0.2 percent in 2018. The number of study permits for Nepali college students tripled from 2022 to 2023, with strong growth observed at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Nepali applicants using ApplyBoard had a 75 percent approval rate for Canadian student visas for Winter 2024.

From Oct 2023 to June 2024, 9,200 Nepali students were issued US student visas, a 61 percent increase from the total number issued in 2023. Data from the Institute of International Education indicate that 70 percent of Nepali students in the US during the 2022-23 academic year pursued STEM programs.

Over 8,500 Nepali students received UK student visas in 2023. Despite a 22 percent decrease in overall student visa issuance in the UK for international students in the first quarter of 2024, Nepali student visas increased by 27 percent. Nepal has traditionally had a lower ratio of dependents to main applicants for student visas compared to countries like India and Nigeria. The median age of Nepali students approved for UK student visas in 2024 was 21, with younger students less affected by recent UK policy changes regarding dependents, says ApplyBoard.

Australia experienced a record number of visas granted to Nepali students in 2022 following a two-year border closure. However, the high demand in 2022 resulted in a 33 percent decline in visas in 2023. Vocational education and training (VET) studies saw the most significant decrease, partly due to restrictions imposed by the Nepali government on non-degree programs and changes in Australian policy, as per the ApplyBoard report. From January to June 2024, 55 percent of student visas granted to Nepali students in Australia were for New South Wales, compared to 34 percent for the overall international student population.