Globalization has made the world like a global village, which has resulted in the entry of foreign affiliated educational institutions in Nepal. In short period of time there’s high growth in the education institutions in Nepal with Foreign University affiliated courses.
Foreign University affiliated educational institutions and degrees in Nepal are increasing in numbers. These institutions have to comply with some regulatory compliance to get authorization for operating those Foreign University affiliated colleges and courses. Previously it was regulated by Directives for Operating Higher Education Affiliated with Foreign Educational Institutions, 2059 B.S. (2002). Recently Government of Nepal introduced Foreign Educational Programs (Operation and Regulation) Regulations, 2026 repealing the previous directive making the regulatory compliance stricter to increase the academic standards and have regulatory oversight on the institutions.
With introduction of new regulation related to foreign affiliated education institutions, any institution that wants to run a foreign-affiliated degree program whether a bachelor’s, master’s, or board-level qualification must clear a multi-stage legal process before the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Missing a single procedural step can delay a launch by months or trigger the outright rejection of an application.
What Is Foreign Affiliated Institutions?
Foreign Affiliated educational institutions are those local institutions that offers educational courses and degrees of foreign universities or any educational institution with the equivalent to university. They offer the educational services locally here in Nepal, firstly these educational institutions need to get affiliation from foreign university.
Foreign university affiliation refers to an arrangement where a Nepal based registered teaching institution delivers a degree or educational program on behalf of a foreign university or board, under a formal affiliation agreement (Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding). The Nepali institution handles admissions, teaching, and campus operations, while the foreign university or board sets the curriculum, credit structure, and final certification.
Legal Framework Governing Foreign University Affiliation in Nepal
Foreign university affiliation in Nepal sits on two legal layers:
The Education Act, 2028 (1971): the parent legislation that gives authority to the Government of Nepal to regulate higher education, including foreign-affiliated programs.
The Foreign Educational Program (Operation and Regulation) Rules, 2083 (2026): The newly introduced regulation by Ministry of Education and Sports with the use of authority granted by Section 19 of Education Act, which is published in the Nepal Gazette, and sets out the detailed procedure, documentation, fees, and compliance obligations.
The 2083 Regulations replaced the earlier Directive Relating to Operation of Higher Education under Affiliation with Foreign Teaching Institutions, 2059 (2002), which had governed this sector for over two decades. Institutions currently operating under the old framework should note that several core requirements have changed by the new regulation which the institutions formed under old Directive of 2002 also need to comply with.
Process to establish Foreign Affiliated institution in Nepal
The Foreign Educational Program (Operation and Regulation) Rules, 2083 (2026) has set up a process that any institution wanting to set-up a foreign affiliated educational institution need to follow. There are few extra procedural requirements for those institution which were not mentioned in old directive.
Step 1: Obtain the Ministry’s Prior Consent
This is a new requirement introduced by the 2083 Regulation which stated that before an institution is even established or registered to run a foreign-affiliated program, it must first obtain the Ministry’s prior consent as per Rule 3 of that Regulation. Under the old 2059 Directive, no such pre-establishment consent was required institutions applied for the operating permit only after they were already set up.
If the Ministry is satisfied with the applicant’s proposal, it grants prior consent valid for three years, subject to conditions in a prescribed format (Rule 4). Only after this consent is secured can the applicant proceed to register a company under Nepal’s company law and move to the next stage.
The documents required to get prior consent from The Ministry are:
1. Document proving that the foreign university is legally established under the national law of its home country.
2. Evidence of the foreign university’s authority to operate teaching institutions in other countries.
3. The foreign university’s curriculum, and grounds establishing that it is suitable for delivery in Nepal.
4. Details of whether any other institution in Nepal is already teaching in the same subject area for which the permit is sought.
5. The proposed subjects, proposed student numbers, and whether a human-resource management plan exists for the proposed program.
6. Evidence of whether the foreign university ranks within the top 1,000 in global rankings, and institutional or program-level proof of its quality assurance and accreditation (QAA) status.
7. The grounds for proposing to establish the institution, and whether it will be a profit-distributing company or not.
8. The proposed location, land area, and land ownership details for running the program
9. Grounds showing the proposed institution’s name is consistent with Nepali values, norms, and culture.
10. Proof of any prior instances where the proposed foreign university has been permitted to run programs in Nepal.
11. Proof that a comparable Nepali university offering an equivalent program meets the same academic standard.
12. Any other information demanded by Ministry if necessary.
Step 2: Company registration and other legal Compliance
After getting prior approval from the Ministry of Education and Sports then only the company can be registered to establish a foreign affiliated educational institution. It must follow all the legal compliance for getting the further approval from the ministry.
Firstly, it must be registered under Office of Company registration as per Company Act 2063 with the objective of providing education of foreign university. Along with that other regulatory compliance like registration of PAN/VAT.
Step 3: Meet Land and Infrastructure Requirements
Rule 5 of the 2083 Regulation sets minimum land ownership thresholds for any institution seeking permit for foreign-affiliated courses or degrees. The land requirement is divided as per the region i.e.
• Inside Kathmandu Valley: at least 3 ropani
• Hilly or mountain districts: at least 6 ropani
• Terai districts: at least 15 kattha
Along with the land requirement an institution must build on its own land within five years of receiving its permit. Institutions that already held a permit before the 2083 Regulation took effect are given a transitional period of five years to acquire the land and ten years to complete construction.
Step 4: Apply for the Operating Permit (Anumatipatra)
After getting the prior consent from ministry and land arrangements as required, the institution applies to the Ministry for the operating permit under Rule 7. The affiliation agreement or MoU with the foreign university, proof of the foreign university’s own accreditation status, and the prescribed application fee under Schedule 9 and other documents like prior consent from ministry should be present with each application.
Under Rule 9 of the regulation a single foreign university’s affiliation is limited to maximum of two academic programs per application cycle. Educational institutions that were operating as per the Directives of 2059 and running programs for more than one foreign university at the same time are required to consolidate to a single university’s programs within one year otherwise Ministry of Education and Sports can cancel any one of the operating permit.
Other Legal Requirements
Along with these there are other legal requirements which should be followed by the education institutions seeking approval of foreign university affiliation. They are:
1.Security Deposit (Dharauti)
Rule 25 has restructured the security deposit entirely different than the previous Directive. Previously the deposit were calculated on the basis of subject and its duration. New security deposit requirement are:
• For Board-level programs: NPR 1,500,000 (Fifteen lakh rupees)
• For Bachelor’s-level programs: NPR 2,500,000 per program (Twenty Five lakh rupees)
• For Master’s-level programs: NPR 1,500,000 per program (Fifteen lakh rupees)
The institutions must compulsorily deposit these amounts as security deposit to get approval for operation of those educational institutions.
2.Scholarship Obligations
Rule 24 of the Foreign Educational Programs (Operation and Regulation) Regulations, 2026 has made it mandatory for educational institution to provide scholarship to students. It has set the percentage wise scholarship seats:
· Institutions with Nepali investors must reserve 10% of seats per program for scholarships;
· Those with foreign investors must reserve 20% per educational program.
· Eligible categories include economically disadvantaged, women, indigenous (Janajati), Madhesi, Dalit, differently-abled, and students from remote regions.
· The affiliation agreement between University and educational institution itself must require the foreign university to arrange scholarships for 10% of total enrolled students.
A dedicated committed is formed with the presidency of secretary of Ministry of Education and Sports to check whether the institutions are following the legal rules and maintaining the legal compliance. This committee reviews applications, conducts site inspections, and recommends permit approval, renewal, or revocation of the approval of any educational institutions.
3.Renewal of Approval/Permit
A foreign affiliation permit under the 2083 Regulation is valid for five years. Any institution with the approval/permit of operating a foreign affiliated course or degree should renew the permit at least 6 months before of its expiry.
As per Rule 10, any institution must file the application for renewal with some prescribed documents which are:
· The original voucher showing the revenue deposited, based on the student count at the time of filing,
· A copy of the previous fiscal year’s audit report,
· A copy of the previous fiscal year’s tax clearance certificate,
· Program wise details of currently enrolled students,
· Details of the qualifications of serving teachers
· Program-wise details of fees charged to students
· An updated record of scholarship distribution
· Proof of depositing the amount prescribed under Schedule 9 into the revenue account
An institution that misses the renewal deadline can still apply in the following fiscal year, but only after paying a late fee of NPR 100,000 per month per program (Rule 18)
How the Ministry reviews a renewal application
As per the Rule 11, after filing the renewal application in Ministry of Education and Sports the Ministry examines the supporting documents submitted by the institution for renewal. If an onsite visit of the educational institution is needed it may form a monitoring team that includes subject experts, teachers drawn from Nepali universities. This team inspects the institution’s operations and reports back on whether renewal is appropriate, or any corrective steps should be taken by the institution for renewal.
Approval and renewal conditions
Based on that review and recommendation by the inspection team of Ministry, the Ministry may renew the permit for a further five years (Rule 12). But if the inspection team has instructed some changes in the institution, the institution has to give a written commitment to carry out any corrective measures identified in the inspection report for renewal.
When Can a Foreign Affiliation Permit Be Revoked?
According to Rule 17 an operational permit of an institution can be revoked by the Ministry by the recommendation of Committee formed as per Rule 13. The reasons for the revocation of permit includes:
• Failure to meet the infrastructure conditions under Schedule 3, or the conditions under Schedule 8
• The affiliating board or foreign university cancelling, terminating, or ending the affiliation agreement
• Failure to fulfil the written commitment given at the time of renewal, or failure to provide records requested by the Committee, or non-compliance with the Committee’s directions
• Failure to complete the credit requirements set by the affiliating board or university
• Failure to submit the renewal application with the prescribed documents
• Changing the company’s name or the university’s name or the program name or the program duration or the degree title or the institution’s name or the affiliation or the operating location without the Ministry’s approval
• Running any program other than the one for which the permit was granted
• Failing to keep the security deposit updated as per Rule 25
• Failing to pay the annual student fee based charges each year
• Failing to renew the permit as per Rules 12.
2059 Directive vs. 2083 Regulations: What Changed?
The Directives for Operating Higher Education Affiliated with Foreign Educational Institutions, 2059 B.S. (2002) has been replaced by the Foreign Educational Programs (Operation and Regulation) Regulations, 2026 which was issued recently by Ministry of Education and Science. The new regulation has made some significant changes in various aspects, from the establishment of an institution till the revocation of approval. It has structured the way of getting approvals for operating foreign affiliated education institution in Nepal and the regulatory compliance they need to follow in their operational process.
| Requirement | 2059 Directive | 2083 Regulation |
| Prior Approval | No prior approval from the Ministry before establishment. | Prior approval from the Ministry is mandatory before establishing the institution. |
| Minimum Land Requirement | Kathmandu Valley: 1 Ropani; Hill: 3 Ropani;Terai: 3 Kattha. | Kathmandu Valley: 3 Ropani; Hill/Mountain: 6 Ropani;Terai: 15 Kattha. |
| Building Requirement | Institution had 15 years to construct its own building after obtaining the permit. | Institution must construct its own building and commence operation within 5 years of obtaining the permit. Existing institutions must comply within 10 years. |
| Foreign University Affiliation | No restriction on affiliation with multiple foreign universities. | A teaching institution may operate programs of only one foreign university. Existing institutions must comply within one year. |
| Security Deposit | Deposit ranged from NPR 100,000 to NPR 2,000,000, depending on the course type and duration. | Board Programs: NPR 1,500,000 Bachelor’s Programs: NPR 2,500,000 per program;Master’s Programs: NPR 1,500,000 million per program. |
| Late Renewal Fee | NPR 10,000 per month per program. | NPR 100,000 per month per program. |
| Institution Name Change | No limitation on the number of name changes (subject to approval). | Institution name can generally be changed only once with Ministry approval. |
| New Compliance Requirements | No legal requirement for biometric attendance, student information system, QAA accreditation, or credit transfer limits. | Introduces mandatory biometric attendance, Student Information System, QAA process, credit transfer limits, IP protection, and tuition fee regulation. |
Conclusion
The Foreign Educational Program (Operation and Regulation) Rules, 2083 have introduced a more structured legal framework for operating foreign affiliated educational programs in Nepal. To Establish and operate a foreign affiliated educational institution in Nepal, there are various legal and regulatory requirements to be fulfilled by those institutions. Institutions have to follow procedures like obtaining prior approval and preparing affiliation agreements to meeting infrastructure standards and fulfilling ongoing regulatory compliance as prescribed under the Foreign Educational Program (Operation and Regulation) Rules, 2083
The new Foreign Educational Program (Operation and Regulation) Rules, 2083 has introduced stricter legal and regulatory requirements for foreign affiliated educational institutions in Nepal. This means institutions must make sure that all legal procedures and compliance requirements are correctly followed before and during the running of their programs.
At Prime Law Associates, we provide comprehensive legal assistance to educational institutions, investors, and organizations seeking to establish or operate foreign-affiliated educational programs in Nepal. Our team assists clients with legal due diligence, regulatory compliance, drafting and reviewing agreements, obtaining approvals from the Ministry of Education and Science and addressing other legal matters related to foreign educational programs.
FAQs
1. Is prior consent from the Ministry mandatory before registering a company?
Yes. Under Rule 3 of the 2083 Regulation, prior consent must be obtained before a company or institution is even registered to run a foreign affiliated program this is a new requirement.
2. How long does a foreign affiliation permit remain valid?
It remains valid for Five years, renewable. The renewal application must be filed at least six months before the permit’s expiry date.
3. Can one institution hold affiliations with more than one foreign university?
One institution cannot have affiliation from more university. Institutions running programs from more than one foreign university before the enforcement of 2083 Regulation took effect must consolidate to a single university within one year.
4. What happens if an institution does not renew its permit on time?
It can still apply in the next fiscal year by paying a late fee of NPR 100,000 per month per program. If it still fails to apply, the permit is automatically cancelled.
5. Do the new Rules apply to institutions that received their permit under the old Directive?
Yes. Existing institutions must comply with the new land, infrastructure, and deposit requirements within the transitional timelines set out in the 2083 Regulations, even though their original permit was granted under the 2059 Directive.