Indian Families Could Face $91 Billion in Foreign Education Costs by 2030: Report

Indian families may spend $91 billion on foreign education by 2030, up from $44 billion in 2024. Hidden fees and exchange rate markups, mostly from traditional banks, could cost families nearly half a billion dollars annually. While RBI aims to reduce remittance costs through digital innovations like UPI, overseas education remittances have declined. Despite financial challenges and stricter visa norms, Indian students abroad could surpass 2.5 million by 2030, with emerging destinations like Germany and Ireland offering simplified processes and better post-study opportunities.

A recent estimate says that Indian families may spend up to $91 billion on education abroad by 2030. This is a big jump from the $44 billion that was expected for 2024. The report does, however, raise a major issue: Indian families potentially lose almost half a billion dollars in hidden fees and exchange rate markups when they send money through traditional banking systems.

The report, which was written by Wise and Redseer Strategy Consultants, says that Indian households sent about $11 billion straight from India to pay for education abroad in 2024. More than 95% of these transactions went through regular banks, which charge 3–3.5% more for foreign money transfers.

The Unseen Costs of Sending Money

These hidden fees add up to a lot for families that send a lot of money. The report says that a household that moves ₹30 lakh a year could lose between ₹60,000 and ₹75,000 to these markups. That's money that could pay for living expenses for several months or pay for more school. In 2024, there were about 760,000 Indian students studying abroad. These losses amounted up to $200 million (₹1,700 crore) in that year alone.

Trying to Lower the Cost of International Transfers

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been working to make foreign remittances cheaper. As of July–September 2024, the World Bank said that the average cost of sending money around the world was 6.62%. When you make international payments, you typically have to deal with more than one middleman. This not only costs more, but it also takes longer.

As a result, the RBI and other central banks are looking into options like digital currencies and systems that let you pay right away. For example, Singapore's PayNow system and India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have been linked. This week, the National Payments Corporation of India added 13 additional Indian banks to this network, bringing the total to 19. This made it easier for people to do business across borders.

Less Money Spent on Education Abroad

Recent RBI data suggests that remittances for studying abroad under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) have gone down, which is interesting. In April 2025, these kinds of remittances fell 21% from the previous year to $164 million. The total was $874 million for the first four months of 2025, which was the ninth month in a row that it went down. Under LRS, Indian people can send up to $250,000 a year for things like education, tourism, and investments.

More students, even when there are problems

Even though money is tight, more than 2.5 million Indian students are expected to choose to study abroad by 2030. In 2024, Indians made up about a third of all international students in major countries like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. This is a big increase from 11% ten years previously.

But strict immigration rules and tougher admission standards in these traditional hubs are making students look for other places to study. Canada has recently made it harder to get a student visa by boosting the minimum IELTS levels and the amount of proof of living expenses needed.

Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand are becoming more and more appealing options. Indian students are choosing these countries more and more because they have easier immigration processes, better job chances after graduation, and less strict residency regulations.

The Road Ahead

As Indian families keep sending money to pay for school overseas, it's still important to deal with the hidden costs of remittances. If banks and other financial organisations work together to make payment systems easier to use, it might make a big difference for families who are having trouble with money. Also, the changing tastes of students and immigration rules will have an impact on the future of overseas education for Indian students.

This growing trend shows how important it is for families to be financially literate and find low-cost ways to pay for their children's global education.