Guide · Before you sign anything
How to choose an education consultancy in Nepal
Check five things before you pay anyone. The consultancy is on the Ministry of Education's list for this year. Its fees are published and written into a contract. It takes money only by bank. It never promises a visa. And it can show real results for your country. Since 8 July 2026, the first four are the law.
Written bySushma Karki, Senior counsellorHandles Australia and Finland files, from offer letter to visa.
Checked byRabindra Joshi, Head of complianceChecks every money and visa page against the official source.
Published · 8 min read
The 5 checks that matter most
- Licence
- On the Ministry of Education's approved list for this fiscal year
- Fees
- Published on its website and in the office, and written in your contract
- Payment
- Bank or digital only, with an official receipt. Never cash
- Promises
- No visa, admission or scholarship guarantee
- Results
- Files lodged and refused, for your country, for a stated year
Rules from the Educational Consultancy, Language Teaching and Preparation Class Regulations, 2083, as reported in October 2026.
Check the licence before anything else
A consultancy needs a licence from the Ministry of Education, and the licence lasts one year. A firm that didn't renew isn't on the ministry's list of consultancies approved for the year, even if its signboard is still up.
That gap is wide. In July 2025 the government estimated about 5,000 consultancies in the Kathmandu Valley alone, and only about 900 had a ministry permit. By July 2026, 924 of about 1,500 registered consultancies had renewed.
- Find the ministry's list of consultancies approved for the current fiscal year in the notices on moest.gov.np. It is published after the renewal window closes each Shrawan.
- Ask to see the licence certificate and this year's renewal. A licensed office shows them without being asked twice.
- Match the names. The company on the licence, the name on your contract and the account your fee goes into should be the same company.
- Check the address. A licence is issued for an office. A firm that only meets you in a café or online is a warning sign.
Membership of an association such as ECAN is fine to have, but it isn't a licence. Only the ministry issues those.
What Nepal's 2026 consultancy law requires
On 8 July 2026 the Cabinet passed the Educational Consultancy, Language Teaching and Preparation Class (Operation and Management) Regulations, 2083. Before that, consultancies followed a 2073 directive that was rarely enforced. The new rules give you rights you can ask for by name.
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Written agreement before any service | Your contract must state the fee, the consultancy's registration details, admission conditions, scholarships and the refund policy |
| Fees published | Every service charge is on the consultancy's website and displayed in the office |
| Bank or digital payment only | No cash. You get an official bill or receipt for every payment |
| No false or misleading claims | A licence can be cancelled for misleading information. That covers visa and admission guarantees |
| Rs 25 lakh security deposit | Money the government holds, and can use to compensate students stranded abroad by wrong advice |
| A, B or C grade | The ministry can grade consultancies on service, performance and student results |
| No study-abroad fairs | Fairs aimed at Nepali students going abroad are no longer approved |
Two points are still argued over: whether the deposit applies to every branch or only the head office, and how the ministry will run the grading. Neither changes what you should ask for.
The 10 checks before you pay a consultancy
Take this list to your first meeting. A good consultancy answers all 10 without being pushed.
- Licence. On this year's ministry list, with the certificate on the wall.
- Fee in writing. The full fee, what it covers, and when you pay each part, before you sign.
- Refund rule in writing. What comes back if the visa is refused, and what doesn't.
- Commission told to you. Universities pay consultancies when you enrol. Ask how much, and whether it's in the contract.
- Bank payment and a receipt. Every rupee, every time.
- No guarantee. Not for the visa, not for admission, not for a scholarship.
- Results by country. Files lodged, approved and refused for your destination last year.
- A named counsellor. The person who will handle your file, how long they've done it, and which countries they know.
- More than one country. A firm that only knows one country will send you there whether it fits or not.
- Support after the visa. Who you call in your first week abroad, and for how long they stay on your side.
Questions to ask in your first meeting
Ask these out loud, with your parents in the room if they are paying. Then compare the answers between two or three consultancies.
- What is your total fee for my file, and what does it not cover?
- How much will the university pay you if I enrol, and will you write that into my contract?
- Who writes my statement of purpose? I want to write it with you, in my own words.
- Who lodges my visa, and who checks the file before it goes?
- How many files did you lodge for this country last year, and how many were refused?
- If my visa is refused, what do I get back, and what happens next?
- Is there any reason I shouldn't apply this intake?
The last question is the most useful. A consultancy that can never find a reason to wait is selling, not advising. Last year we told 312 students "not yet" after their profile check, mostly over money, a study gap or an English score that wasn't ready.
Red flags that should end the conversation
Any one of these is enough to walk out.
- "100% visa", "guaranteed admission" or "no visa, no fee" with fine print you only see later
- Cash only, or a discount for cash
- Fees that appear one by one after you've started
- An offer to arrange bank balance, experience letters or any document you don't already have
- Pressure to pay today because "seats are closing"
- A university you can't find on the government's list of recognised institutions, or a "Cyprus" university that turns out to be in the north of the island
- No contract, or a contract with no licence number on it
Fake documents deserve their own line. A visa file with a fake bank statement or experience letter is a fraud case, not a refusal. It can bar you from that country for years. If a consultancy offers to arrange one, it is risking your future, not its own.
How to read a visa success rate claim
A success rate means nothing until you know what was counted. Ask four questions: which country, which year, out of files lodged or students who enquired, and how many were refused.
Anyone who guarantees your visa is lying. No consultancy controls the visa officer. We lodged 1,159 student visa files in FY 2025/26 and 88 were still refused, with clean files and honest money papers. Since the July 2026 law, a guarantee claim can cost a consultancy its licence and its Rs 25 lakh deposit.
We publish our numbers by country on each country page, for example our Australia results and our UK results, with the year and the count behind each rate. Ask any consultancy you're considering for the same.
When you don't need a consultancy at all
Some students are better off on their own, and we tell them so.
- You've chosen one university, its application is online, and you're confident with the visa form. Many European universities expect you to apply directly anyway.
- You only need help with one task, such as the NOC from the Ministry of Education. That's a Rs 2,000 online form you can do yourself.
- You want a work visa, or a country we don't cover. Go to someone who specialises in it.
A consultancy earns its fee when there is a real decision to make: which country fits your marks and budget, how to explain a gap or a refusal, how to build a money file an officer believes, and in what order to do the offer, NOC, payment and visa.
How Prasthan answers each check
We'd rather you check us than trust us. Here is where each answer is.
| Check | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Licence | Licensed by the Ministry of Education and renewed under the 2026 rules. Our licence and registration |
| Fee | First counselling free. Rs 20,000 per application file, paid by bank, written in your contract |
| Refund | Rs 10,000 back if your visa is refused, unless information was hidden from us |
| Commission | Usually 10 to 15% of first-year tuition, paid by the university, written in your contract. How we make money |
| Results | Files lodged, approved and refused for FY 2025/26 on every country page |
| Office | One office in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu. Visit or call us |
| After the visa | Your counsellor calls within 7 days of landing and stays with you until you graduate |
If we don't pass a check for you, don't hire us.
