Cost of studying abroad for Indian students in 2026: country by country, in rupees

The first number most families hear is the tuition fee, and it is the wrong number to plan with. Once living costs, the visa and health cover are added, the worked examples in this guide come to roughly one and a half to two and a half times the tuition fee, and in Germany, where most public universities charge no tuition, living costs are almost the whole bill. The families we see struggle in the final month are usually the ones who budgeted for tuition alone.

I help students in Chennai fund their degrees, and this guide puts every destination we advise on side by side in rupees: what a typical course costs in total, what goes into that figure, where the costs hide, and how the exchange rate and part-time work change it. Each official figure was checked on its government page in the last week of September 2026 and links to it. Tuition varies by university, so tuition figures are indicative.

How much does it cost to study abroad from India?

A master’s abroad costs an Indian student from about ₹24 lakh in total, for a one-year master’s in Ireland at the lower end of tuition, or ₹27 lakh for two years at a German public university, to nearly ₹1 crore for two years in Australia. Germany is by far the cheapest a year; our cheapest countries guide ranks the low-cost options, including France, Italy and Austria. The table below uses one typical course in each country, sorted from the lowest total to the highest, and each row is worked through on that country’s destination page.

Every total counts tuition and living costs and leaves out flights. The visa fee is included everywhere except Germany and Ireland. Health cover is included for the UK, through the immigration health surcharge, and for Australia and Dubai; in Canada, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and the USA it is extra. Rupee figures use rounded mid-market rates on 23 September 2026: £1 ≈ ₹127, €1 ≈ ₹109, US$1 ≈ ₹96, C$1 ≈ ₹68, A$1 ≈ ₹68, SEK 1 ≈ ₹9.7 and AED 1 ≈ ₹26. The last column divides the total by the length of the course.

Compare totals, not yearly figures. A one-year UK master’s looks expensive a year and is often cheaper in total than a two-year degree elsewhere, and it gets you earning a year sooner. These figures are for postgraduate courses. A bachelor’s degree abroad usually runs three or four years, so multiply the yearly figure accordingly, and check the undergraduate tuition on the course page.

What goes into the cost of studying abroad?

Seven things make up the real budget. Only the first two are large.

• Tuition. Set by each university and course, and the widest range in the budget. Check the fee for international students on the course page itself.
• Living costs. Rent, food, transport and everyday spending. The visa living-cost figures below are the official minimums, and a useful floor to plan from.
• Visa and health cover. The visa fee, and the UK’s immigration health surcharge or health insurance elsewhere.
• Getting there. Flights, and in some countries a travel amount you must show for the visa.
• Before you land. Tuition deposits, an accommodation deposit, the first month’s rent and whatever you buy for the move.
• Applications and tests. Application fees, set by each university, and an English test such as IELTS or PTE. Small beside the rest, but paid first.
• The cost of the money. Loan interest, and tax collected at source if you send your own savings above the limit.

What are the official living-cost figures for each country?

Every country sets the amount it wants a student to show for living costs, and those amounts are the most reliable numbers in any budget. They are the minimum the government considers enough, not a comfortable figure, so plan at or above them.

Dubai sets no single government figure; universities publish their own estimates. Our guide to proof of funds for a student visa explains how each country wants the money shown.

What does it cost to study in each country?

The totals above come from one worked example per country. The assumptions are set out here so you can swap in your own course. Each destination page has the full breakdown and its sources.

UK: about ₹50 lakh for a one-year master’s

Tuition of £24,000, twelve months of living at £1,171 and £1,722 for the visa fee and one and a half years of the immigration health surcharge (a one-year course gets a visa of about 16 months, and the surcharge is charged by the half year) come to £39,774, or ₹50.5 lakh. The visa fee is £558 and the surcharge £776 a year. Tuition for a taught master’s typically runs £16,000 to £32,000, so most one-year courses outside London land between ₹40 and 60 lakh. London adds about ₹5.5 lakh (£4,300) in living costs. See studying in the UK, and our guide to the UK student visa bank balance.

Canada: about ₹28 lakh a year

A two-year Ontario college diploma at C$18,000 a year, with living costs at the minimum set by IRCC, Canada’s immigration department, and C$235 for the study permit and biometrics, comes to C$83,131, or ₹56.5 lakh in total. The study permit fee is C$150 and biometrics C$85. A two-year university master’s, at C$20,000 to C$40,000 a year in tuition, comes to about ₹59 to 86 lakh on the same basis. Health insurance depends on the province. See studying in Canada.

Germany: about ₹27 lakh for a two-year master’s

Most public universities charge no tuition for a master’s, only a semester contribution of roughly €70 to €430 for student services, often including a local transport pass. Some now charge non-EU students tuition, including TUM at €4,000 to €6,000 a semester, so check each course. At €300 a semester and €992 a month for living, two years come to €25,008, or ₹27.3 lakh, by far the lowest cost a year of any country here. The living money goes into a blocked account before the visa appointment: a German account you pay into in advance and can draw only €992 a month from. See studying in Germany and Europe.

Sweden and Ireland

Two years at Jönköping University, at SEK 85,000 a semester in tuition, comes to about SEK 597,000 with living costs and the SEK 1,500 permit fee, or around ₹58 lakh. A one-year master’s in Ireland, at €12,000 to €25,000 in tuition, comes to roughly ₹24 to 38 lakh with the €10,000 living minimum, and Dublin rents push the real figure towards the top of that range.

Australia: close to ₹1 crore for two years

A two-year master’s in Melbourne at A$40,000 a year, living costs at the Home Affairs figure, our planning figure of A$1,000 a year for health cover and the A$2,500 visa application charge come to A$143,920, or ₹97.9 lakh. It is the highest of the worked examples here, though a private US university can cost more. Work rights during term, at 48 hours a fortnight, match Canada’s 24 hours a week. See studying in Australia.

USA: ₹62 lakh to over ₹1 crore

A two-year STEM master’s at a public university, at $28,000 a year in tuition and $16,000 a year for living, plus the $185 visa fee and the $350 SEVIS fee, paid to the US student records system before the interview, comes to $88,535, or ₹85 lakh. Private universities cost considerably more. An assistantship, a paid teaching or research role at the university, can remove most of the tuition, but plan without one until it is in writing. See studying in the USA.

Dubai: about ₹34 lakh for a one-year master’s

A one-year master’s at a branch campus, at AED 75,000 in tuition and AED 50,000 for living in shared housing, plus about AED 6,500 for the visa, medical test and insurance, comes to AED 131,500, or ₹34.2 lakh. Chennai is a short flight away, which matters to families who expect to visit. See studying in Dubai.

Which costs do families most often leave out?

The visa asks you to show less than you will actually spend. From the budgets we build with families, these are the lines most often missed:

• Flights, including a trip home if you plan one, and higher fares near the start of term.
• The months outside the visa figure. The UK counts nine months of living costs for the visa, but a one-year master’s runs for twelve.
• Deposits, for tuition and accommodation, often due months before you travel.
• The first weeks, before any part-time income: rent in advance, bedding, a phone plan, transport cards and winter clothing.
• Health insurance outside the UK, where the surcharge covers it. It is in our Australia and Dubai figures above, but not in the Canada, Germany, Ireland, Sweden or USA totals.
• Course costs, such as a laptop that meets the course requirements, software, or field trips.
• Loan interest during the course, if the family chooses to pay it as it accrues.

How does the exchange rate change the cost?

Every figure above moves with the rupee. Take the UK example: £39,774 at ₹127 to the pound is ₹50.5 lakh. If the pound rises 5 per cent, to about ₹133.35, the same course costs ₹53 lakh, an extra ₹2.5 lakh for nothing you did. Build a margin of at least 5 per cent into the rupee budget, and more for a two-year course, where the second year is paid at a rate nobody knows yet.

Can part-time work cover the cost?

It can help with living costs, but budget without it. Work limits during term are set by each country, and your first job may take weeks to find. The limits below come from each government’s own rules, linked in each row.

How do Indian families pay for it?

Most families we work with combine savings, an education loan and, for some, a scholarship or assistantship. Two points affect the cost itself:

• Scholarships rarely cover everything. Most are partial tuition awards. Each destination page lists the main scholarships for its country, but do not count one in the budget until it is awarded in writing.
• An education loan adds interest. Our guides to education loans for abroad studies and loans without collateral compare lenders, rates and worked EMIs, so you can see what a loan of this size costs each month once repayment starts.
• Tax collected at source depends on where the money comes from. Money sent abroad for education out of a loan from a financial institution has carried no TCS since 1 April 2025. From your own savings, TCS applies only to the amount above ₹10 lakh sent by the same person in a financial year, and the 2026 Budget cut the rate on education remittances above that to 2 per cent, now under section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. Any TCS collected is credited against the remitter’s income tax.

How do I work out my own study abroad budget?

Work through it in this order, and write down each figure with its source.

• Take the tuition for international students from each course page, for every year of the course.
• Add living costs for the full length of the course, at or above the official figure.
• Add the visa fee, health cover and any travel amount the visa asks for.
• Add flights, deposits and the first month’s costs.
• Convert to rupees at today’s rate, then add at least 5 per cent for the exchange rate.
• Decide how much comes from savings, a loan and any scholarship, and what the loan will cost.
• Compare courses on that total, not on the tuition fee.

Can someone cost my shortlist for me?

Yes. If you would like a second pair of eyes on the numbers, bring your shortlist to a free profile evaluation and we will cost it with you course by course. Our education loan service can then help you fund it.