The landscape of international education for Indian students is undergoing a significant shift, driven by a weakening Indian rupee and increasingly stringent visa policies. These factors are compelling many to reconsider pursuing studies in traditional hubs like the United States and the United Kingdom.
Sushil Sukhwani, founder of Edwise International, a firm that facilitates overseas admissions for thousands of Indian students annually, has observed a notable slowdown. "The market is clearly showing signs of slowing down," Sukhwani told the BBC. "We've already seen enrolments to the UK and US fall by 20% over the last two years, and I expect another 10-15% decline from those levels going forward."
Stricter visa requirements have already impacted admissions. Approximately 76% of universities in the UK reported a decrease in Indian student enrollments for the January intake. In the United States, enrolments saw a decline of nearly 7% between February 2025 and February 2026.
The depreciation of the Indian rupee has exacerbated the financial challenges for both prospective students and those already studying abroad. "Many students who are already abroad have paid part of their tuition fees, but are now having to refinance loans and arrange additional funding to cover future installments, with the rupee down more than 10% against the US dollar in the last year," Sukhwani explained. He estimates that the Indian rupee has depreciated between 35% and 47% against the currencies of major study destinations since 2019.
While some graduates who secure employment abroad are finding career success, the path to obtaining skilled jobs in their fields of study has become more arduous for many international students. "They arrive hoping to secure skilled jobs in the fields they trained for and end up working in the gig economy," said Sudhanshu Kaushik, founder of the North America Association of Indian Students in Washington. "Earlier, that work helped fund their education. Now many are graduating and doing it full-time." This situation, Kaushik noted, is diminishing the appetite for risk among upper-middle-class Indian families, especially as the weaker rupee has made international education prohibitively expensive.
Despite these headwinds, the overall demand for foreign education remains robust. The Global Student Flows Report 2026 projects that Indian student enrollments in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia—collectively known as the "big four" destinations—are expected to decrease by an average of 0.5% annually through 2030.
Concurrently, there is a growing interest in alternative study destinations. "Countries such as Germany, Ireland, Italy and several other European destinations are attracting increasing interest from Indian students because of lower tuition costs, favourable post-study work pathways, strong employment prospects and a more attractive overall value proposition," stated Mayank Maheshwari, co-founder and COO of University Living.