Guide · Consultancy · 3 min read
How to choose an education consultancy in Nepal: ten checks before you sign.
Check ten things before you sign with any consultancy in Nepal: its Ministry of Education licence, every fee in writing, the commission on each option, named and trained counsellors, a written plan before you pay, a second check on your money file, outcomes with counts, honest 'not yet' advice, clear refund terms, and no guarantees. The 2026 rules require a licence, published fees, written contracts, no cash and no guarantees.
The short version
- Ask for the Ministry of Education licence number, and check it's on the contract.
- Get every fee and the commission on each option in writing. Commission is normal; hiding it isn't.
- Ask for outcomes with counts: files lodged, approved and refused, for one country and one year.
- A good consultancy says 'not yet' when your file isn't ready. Ours did for 19.5% of first sessions last year.
- Walk out at the word 'guarantee', a request for cash, or an offer to 'arrange' a bank balance.
The ten checks
| # | Check | The question to ask | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Licence | “What’s your Ministry of Education licence number?” | Hesitation, or “it’s being renewed” |
| 2 | Every fee in writing | “What will I pay, to whom, and when?” | A large fee before any written plan |
| 3 | Commission shown | “What does each university on my list pay you?” | “That’s confidential” |
| 4 | A named, trained counsellor | “Who handles my file, and what training do they have for this country?” | “Whoever is free” |
| 5 | A written plan first | “Can I have the plan in writing before I pay anything?” | Pressure to pay today |
| 6 | A second check on money | “Who reads my money file, and what for?” | “Leave the money to us” |
| 7 | Outcomes with counts | “How many files did you lodge last year, for this country, and how many were refused?” | A percentage with no counts |
| 8 | Honest “not yet” | “Would you tell me not to apply yet?” | Every profile is “eligible” |
| 9 | Refund terms | “What happens if my visa is refused?” | No written refund terms |
| 10 | No guarantees | Listen for the word | Any guarantee |
The 2026 rules, in plain words
Under the 2026 regulations for consultancies in Nepal, a consultancy must be licensed, publish its fees, sign a written contract with you, take payments without cash, and must not promise admission or a visa. If a consultancy can’t meet these basic rules, nothing else it says is worth much.
Commission, explained
Universities in Australia, the UK and many private European institutions pay consultancies a commission on your first-year tuition, usually 10% to 25%. It’s legal and normal. The problem is when you can’t see it, because then you can’t tell whether a university was recommended for you or for the commission.
Ours is on every shortlist, in writing: 10% to 25% of first-year tuition, paid by the university, with at least two options on every list that earn us nothing or less. For public universities that pay no commission (most in Germany, Norway and Finland), we charge one flat fee of Rs 25,000, told on day one.
Outcomes you can test
A real outcome looks like this: 1,986 files lodged in FY 2025/26, 1,792 approved, 194 refused, 90.2%. Our refusals by cause, and our numbers by country, are on our About page. Compare any consultancy’s claim with the official data: Home Affairs granted 64.1% of Nepali student visa decisions in FY 2025/26; the UK refused 4.1% of Nepali study applicants in the year to June 2026.
The most valuable thing a consultancy can say
Last year we told 612 of 3,140 students not to apply yet (19.5%), most often because the money couldn’t yet be shown honestly. That’s why 90.2% of the files we did lodge were approved. A consultancy that never says no isn’t on your side; it’s on the side of the lodgement.
When you don’t need a consultancy
- Your file is simple: strong grades, a parent sponsor with clean tax records, a test score in hand.
- You’re applying to one country through one portal (Finland’s Studyinfo, Sweden’s universityadmissions.se).
- You’re organised and read official pages carefully.
When you do: a refusal in your history, a gap, business income, an education loan, or a country you’ve never researched.
Our view
Anyone who guarantees a visa is lying to you. No consultancy decides a visa: the embassy or the immigration department does. If someone promises one, walk out, and take your documents with you.
