Planning to go study abroad? Falling rupee increases expense of studying foreign countries

Due to the severe decline in the rupee, studying abroad has become more expensive. The expense of attending school in the US has increased by Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh annually.

Another factor contributing to the higher cost of studying overseas is the 10–20 per cent increase in tuition fees in the US, UK, and Australia. Additionally, recent increases in airfare have added to the hardship on students who are studying abroad.

Millions of Indian students' visa applications have been rejected by nations including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, compounding their problems.

Long wait times exist for student visas, and those students whose visas have been accepted are also experiencing inflation because of the weakening of the rupee.

Due to the rise in the cost of hostels and homestays, Indian students studying abroad are having trouble securing housing.

Due to the delay in other nations' granting of student visas, Germany appears to be benefiting.

Recent research by the German Academic Exchange Service indicates that from 17,570 in 2017 to 34,134 in 2021, there will be more Indian students studying in Germany.

The German government funds education. There are no tuition costs for any foreign students attending state-funded universities in Germany. In light of the more expensive education in other well-known nations, this is one of the largest advantages for international students in Germany and a huge relief for Indian students.

Indian students can take a variety of courses for cheap in places like Germany, but the students are resistant to changing their tastes.

The average additional cost to study in the US has increased by Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh per year due to the depreciation of the rupee, according to Sumeet Jain, co-founder of Yocket, a community-based platform for international education. Despite this, the students never make choices without carefully weighing all available options.

Moving to another country makes little sense for certain students who desire to pursue post-graduate studies. While many students remain open to all possibilities.

Students favour the US for STEM courses while choosing the UK and Australia for non-STEM courses.

According to experts, the competitiveness of well-known institutions of higher learning has been compromised by ongoing visa delays. Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, and the UAE have recently emerged as the top destinations for students looking to study abroad, replacing older favourites including the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.

A significant challenge for students who want to pursue higher education overseas has been the Covid-19 epidemic. Students must wait between one and two years for visas in the US and some European nations. This merely means that a student from India who enrols at a US university will be able to obtain a US visa after one or two years.

Experts in the field estimate that about 10 lakh Indian students will be studying abroad in early 2022, nearly twice as many as there were before the pandemic in nations like the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.

Similar to this, there is currently a delay in the approval of visas due to a significant increase in the number of visa applications.

According to S. Ghosh, a student from Kolkata, it takes about 440 days to obtain a visa.

(With inputs from IANS)