NRIWallah team
Updated October 2026
A master’s or MBA abroad pays off for a narrower group than the brochures suggest: students on strong programmes in fields where employers recruit on campus, whose families can fund the whole cost and who can stay on to work. For everyone else the degree can end up buying a visa and a bill. The UK, US, Canada and Australia have each changed their rules in the past year, so advice from a friend who went in 2019 is out of date.
This guide is for families deciding whether to fund one. If your child already lives in the country as a citizen or settled resident, the visa sections matter less and the cost and jobs sections matter most. If they would go on an Indian passport from India or the Gulf, read all of it.
After the course, the routes to stay and work have narrowed
| Country | Route after a master’s | What has changed |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Graduate Route, any job, no salary test | Cut from 24 to 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027. Staying on usually needs a Skilled Worker job at degree level paying at least £41,700 or the going rate |
| US | OPT for 12 months, plus 24 more for STEM degrees, then the H-1B lottery | Selection has been weighted by wage level since February 2026, so entry-level offers have the lowest odds. A US$100,000 H-1B fee was struck down in June but is under appeal |
| Canada | Post-graduation work permit | Needs a language score of CLB 7 for degree graduates. Permits are capped at 408,000 for 2026, of which 155,000 are for new arrivals. Master’s students at public universities are exempt from the provincial letter |
| Australia | Temporary Graduate visa | Student visa fee rose to A$2,500 on 1 July 2026. Around 40% of Indian university applicants were refused in early 2026 |
Cost, money to show and part-time work
| Country | Typical master’s tuition | Funds to show for living | Part-time work while studying |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | About £17,000 a year for classroom courses; more for labs and MBAs | £1,171 to £1,529 a month for up to nine months, rising from 30 November 2026 | 20 hours a week in term |
| US | US$25,000 to US$60,000 a year, usually two years | Shown on the university’s financial form | On campus only, 20 hours a week; off campus through approved work linked to the course |
| Canada | C$10,000 to C$40,000 a year, higher for business and engineering | C$23,448 from 1 September 2026, plus tuition | 24 hours a week off campus |
| Australia | Varies widely; check each university’s schedule | A$29,710 a year, plus tuition | 48 hours a fortnight |
A one-year UK master’s therefore costs about £28,000 to £31,000 with living costs, or ₹35 lakh to ₹39 lakh. A two-year US master’s costs US$50,000 to US$120,000 in tuition alone, which is ₹48 lakh to ₹1.15 crore. These caps are why part-time work cannot fund the degree. For US and Canadian costs, use the remittance calculator to see what a transfer is worth today, and our degree cost planner for undergraduate costs.
Paying from India has a tax angle. Remittances above ₹10 lakh a year for education attract 2% tax collected at source, and nothing if a qualifying education loan funds it. See TCS on foreign remittance .
The case for a master’s is real but conditional
There are good reasons to go. In some fields a master’s is the normal entry ticket, and some programmes carry strong recruiter pipelines and alumni networks. Employers surveyed in 2026 expected a median US starting salary of US$120,000 for MBAs and US$82,500 for business master’s graduates, against US$72,000 for bachelor’s graduates.
The same survey shows the limits. Experienced hires without an MBA were expected to start at about US$107,500, so the premium over an experienced hire is about 12%, before the fees and the pay given up while studying. US employers are also less willing to sponsor visas.
Most jobs do not ask for one. In the US, occupations that typically require a master’s make up about 2.3% of employment, against 25% for those asking for a bachelor’s. In the US, recent graduates of all kinds face unemployment of about 5.6%, higher in computer science and engineering, and many “entry-level” postings ask for experience. The UK Home Office has said too many graduates are not reaching graduate-level jobs, which is part of why it shortened the Graduate Route.
| A master’s tends to pay when | It tends not to when |
|---|---|
| It is the normal entry route to the job, such as specialist engineering, data or health roles | A bachelor’s plus experience gets the same role |
| The programme has campus recruiting and graduates who can name their employers | The brochure quotes salaries without an employment report behind them |
| The family can pay the whole cost from savings in its own currency | The plan depends on part-time pay or a sponsored job to cover costs |
| It follows two to five years of relevant work, as top MBAs expect | It is taken straight from a degree to delay the job search |
| The student is already settled in the country | The degree is mainly a way to obtain a visa |
Why only some institutions and students collect the gains
Pay and placement concentrate in a few programmes. Elite business schools lead on salary, though some lower-ranked schools place a larger share of graduates within three months. International graduates face the narrowest path, because US employers are less willing to sponsor them.
Universities also have their own reasons to recruit. In the UK, estimates suggest an international student pays about £5,100 a year more than teaching costs, and the surplus helps fund research and home students. Taught master’s programmes became a main source of that income. Indian student numbers in the UK fell 12% in 2024-25, a drop the official statistics body linked to dependant visa limits and uncertainty over post-study routes, though India is still the largest source.
That is not a criticism of any one programme. It means a place offered is not evidence that the degree will pay, and the students who gain tend to arrive with a strong quantitative record, internships and funding.
Agents are paid by the universities they recommend
Education agents earn commission from the university for each student they enrol. Published figures put it at around 10% to 15% of first-year tuition, with higher rates at some colleges. Australian public universities paid over A$530 million in commissions in 2024, and 88% of international students in a 2024 Australian survey used an agent. Many students do not know who pays the adviser.
Most agents are not dishonest, but the incentive favours the highest-paying partner rather than the best fit. Forgery is a separate risk. Indian police have prosecuted consultancies for fake offer letters, including a case involving about 700 forged Canadian offers, and in 2023 several Australian universities restricted agents recruiting from some Indian states over suspected non-genuine applications.
Oversight is uneven. Australia now requires universities to report agent payments, the UK had no agent-specific regulation at last report, and as far as we can find India has no law covering study-abroad consultants, since students fall outside the Emigration Act. Protect yourself:
- Pay the university directly, never the agent, and confirm the offer on the university’s own portal or the visa sponsorship document.
- Ask which universities pay the agent, and compare their advice with a second source.
- Distrust guarantees of a visa, a job or a refund.
New campuses in India offer a cheaper way in, with different benefits
Foreign universities can now open campuses in India under UGC rules, or in GIFT City under a separate regulator.
| Campus | Location | Status (as of October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Southampton | Gurugram | Open since August 2025 |
| Deakin and Wollongong | GIFT City | Open since 2024 |
| Liverpool, UNSW, Aberdeen, Illinois Tech, Western Australia | Bengaluru and Mumbai | Approved; openings staggered through 2026 and 2027, so confirm each |
| Bristol, York, Western Sydney and others | Mumbai, Greater Noida | Approvals or letters of intent granted |
Southampton says its India fees are about ₹12 lakh to ₹19 lakh a year, roughly half the UK price, for the same degree certificate. The campus’s own site says OCI cardholders pay Indian fees. The trade-off is the visa. The Graduate Route requires study in the UK, so an India-campus student very likely cannot use it. Ask the university for written confirmation of any work-visa benefit before paying.
Other routes are worth a look. NRI and Gulf-based students can apply to NITs and IIITs through DASA, which includes some postgraduate courses and supernumerary seats. Germany, Ireland and New Zealand are appearing on shortlists for cost and post-study options.
Five questions to settle before paying
- Does the target job actually need a master’s? Check ten current postings for the role.
- Can the family fund the whole cost without part-time pay or a sponsored job?
- What do this programme’s graduates do? Ask for the employment report, not the brochure.
- What is the plan if the work visa fails, and does the degree help in India? If the family may return, see moving back to India .
- Who is paid if we say yes?
NRIWallah does not provide immigration, education or financial advice. Visa rules, fees and university status change often; confirm the current position on the official government and university pages before committing money.
