On 8 July 2026, Nepal’s Council of Ministers endorsed two new regulations governing international education: the Foreign Academic Programme (Operation and Regulation) Regulations, 2083, and the Educational Consultancy, Language Teaching and Preparatory Class (Operation and Management) Regulations, 2083. Both were drafted by the Ministry of Education and Sports and announced by Minister Sasmit Pokharel, and both were reported on locally, including by Nepal News, The Rising Nepal, and confirmed via the Cabinet’s own decision list carried by Ratopati.
Until now Nepal’s roughly 2,500+ education consultancies operated under ministry guidelines and directives — administrative tools without the force of law. This is the first time the sector has been brought under a dedicated regulation, and it sets out licensing, financial and conduct requirements that go well beyond the previous framework.
Licensing and capital requirements
Consultancies will need a licence from the Ministry of Education to commence and maintain operations. To obtain it, firms must:
- deposit NPR 2.5 million (~ US$16,500) as a security deposit
- pay a NPR 50,000 (~ US$330) annual licence fee
- renew the licence annually
- employ counsellors holding at least a bachelor’s degree plus relevant professional training, and
- operate from owned premises or premises secured under a lease of at least three years
Cash is out, digital payments are in
Education consultancies will no longer be permitted to accept cash payments. Every fee transaction between a consultancy and a student must now go through a bank or digital payment channel, with a receipt issued for each one. Consultancies must also publish their service fees on their own websites — a direct transparency measure aimed at the fee inconsistency that has long been a source of complaints in the sector.
Consultancies now carry downstream liability
Under the new rules, a consultancy can be held liable to compensate students if:
- the student becomes stranded abroad, or
- the overseas institution the consultancy recommended is later found to have been operating illegally
Students must also obtain a No Objection Letter (NOC) before remitting tuition payments abroad through the banking system — tightening a control that already existed in practice.
Ownership and rating
Foreign investment in consultancy businesses is now prohibited. Consultancy firms must operate solely with domestic investment. Firms with existing foreign ownership have one year to transfer that ownership entirely to domestic investors. Existing firms with foreign investment will be given one year to transfer ownership entirely to domestic investors.
The Ministry will also grade consultancies into A, B and C categories based on service quality, performance and student outcomes. It has also been given powers to designate high-risk foreign universities and prohibit consultancies from placing students with them.
Recruitment fairs banned
Recruitment-focused education fairs aimed at recruiting students for foreign study programs are now banned. Other education fairs and exhibitions may only proceed with prior Ministry approval. This is a significant change and seems very restrictive on paper. It will be interesting to watch how it operates in practice.
This new law is an important consideration for university or college international recruitment staff who may be considering a student recruitment visit to Nepal, or any institution considering having in-country staff in Nepal participate in a fair.
Industry pushback
The reforms have not landed uncontested. Nepali-language commentary from within the consultancy sector — including an op-ed on Ratopati and reporting on Makalu Khabar — argues the NPR 2.5 million deposit is disproportionate for small operators and questions how a consultancy can realistically be expected to track a student’s wellbeing for the duration of their time abroad. Some in the sector frame the liability and deposit provisions as protective in principle but drafted without adequate consultation.
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