How to Check If an Education Consultancy in Nepal Is Registered

To check a consultancy, ask to see its Ministry of Education licence and its renewal for this year, then confirm it with the Ministry directly. We could not find an official public list or search tool on moest.gov.np, so you have to ask. Never pay because of a promise you have only heard spoken.

Last checked: 12 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Quick check: take our free 10-question consultancy red-flag test before you pay anyone.

Why this matters now

In July 2025, Kantipur reported that 1,456 consultancies were registered with the Ministry of Education. It said only about half had renewed. In a sample of 100 that consumer-protection officials checked, about 70% were operating without registration.

Since then, Nepal has made new rules. The Educational Counselling, Language Teaching and Preparatory Classes (Operation and Management) Regulations, 2083 are listed on the Ministry’s website. The Ministry has said that the older Directive of 2073 is repealed. Consultancy associations have protested parts of the new rules. As of our last check, we found no report that any change had been agreed.

How to check a consultancy’s registration (steps)

1. Ask for the licence (अनुमति पत्र) and this year’s renewal. Write down the licence number, the registered name and the address. Media summaries of the 2083 Regulations say a licence lasts one year and must be renewed every year. An old certificate is not enough.
2. Match the name. The name on the licence should match the signboard, the receipts and the contract.
3. Ask the Ministry to confirm it. Email complaints@moest.gov.np or use the feedback form at moest.gov.np/feedback. Ask: “Is [name, licence no.] currently licensed to provide educational consultancy?” You can also call or visit the Ministry. If you live outside Kathmandu, ask your local education office how to verify a consultancy.
4. Check for a separate licence for language or test-prep classes. Under the new rules, these can be licensed by provinces or local governments. Study-abroad counselling is a federal Ministry matter.
5. Check the university yourself. Use the destination-country checks in the table below. Do this even if the consultancy is licensed.

What a registered consultancy must (and must not) do

We could not get the full text of the 2083 Regulations from the Ministry’s website. The points below come from news reports of the rules from July 2026 onward (Himalayan Times, EducateNepal). Treat them as “reported” until you can read the official text.

Must (as reported):
– Hold a Ministry licence and renew it every year
– Publish its service charges on its website and on a citizen charter at its office
– Take payments through banks or digital channels, not cash, and give a receipt for every payment
– Have tuition sent abroad through a bank after the student gets a No Objection Certificate (NOC)
– Get Ministry approval before holding education fairs
– Keep records of the students it sends abroad

Must not (as reported):
– Give misleading counselling or false promises, or exploit or defraud students
– Recommend universities that are not legally set up, accredited and authorised to take international students
– Send students to countries the government has restricted
– Accept undisclosed gifts or benefits from foreign institutions

Reports say a consultancy can be held liable for compensation if a student is stranded abroad because of its advice.

12 red flags before you pay

1. “Visa guaranteed.” No one can promise this. The US State Department says plainly, “There is no guarantee you will be issued a visa.” Canada’s EduCanada calls guaranteed entry a sign of fraud.
2. “PR guaranteed” with the course. Study Australia says agents “cannot guarantee permanent residency, or other migration outcomes.”
3. Offers to “arrange” your bank balance, such as a borrowed deposit, a fake statement or a sponsor you don’t know.
4. Keeping your passport or original certificates after the work is done, or using them to pressure you.
5. Asking you to lie in your Genuine Student statement or your visa interview, or writing your statement for you. Australia’s requirement is that you show studying is your own main reason. The US warns that fraud can lead to a permanent refusal.
6. Pushing one cheap or unrelated course, often a short vocational one, without explaining how it fits your past study or what the visa risks are.
7. A university you cannot find on the destination country’s official lists, or one with “classes” in a rented flat. This is the pattern in the UAE cases the Kathmandu Post reported (19 Nov 2025; 15 Jan 2026).
8. Cash only, or no receipt.
9. No written contract, or a contract with no refund terms.
10. Fees that aren’t displayed or that keep changing.
11. Promises of jobs abroad. In May 2026, police in the Kathmandu Valley raided consultancies that were accused of using student visas to send people abroad for work.
12. Pressure to “decide today.” The British Council’s guide says agents help you decide, “not to decide for you.”

Questions to ask before paying, and get the answers in writing

• What is your Ministry licence number, and when does it expire?
• Are you an official partner of this university? (Check the university’s website.)
• What is your fee, what does it cover, and what is the refund policy?
• Does the university pay you a commission?
• Who will give visa advice? (In Australia, Canada and the UK, only registered or authorised advisers may give immigration advice. See the table.)
• What is your complaints process?

Ask for a signed contract, receipts with the consultancy’s name on them, and copies of everything submitted in your name.

If you’ve been cheated: where to complain in Nepal

• Ministry of Education: complaints@moest.gov.np or moest.gov.np/feedback. In the UAE case, 32 students complained to the Ministry (Kathmandu Post, 15 Jan 2026).
• Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection: online consumer complaint form at monitoring.doc.gov.np/ConsumerComplaint. This department inspected and fined consultancies in July 2025.
• Nepal Police: your local police office or the Central Investigation Bureau (cib.nepalpolice.gov.np). For emergencies, dial 100. In the UAE case, the CIB arrested consultancy operators after students complained.
• Hello Sarkar: the government grievance portal at gunaso.opmcm.gov.np, or call 1111.

Keep your contract, receipts, chats and bank transfer records. In the UAE case, some students also went to the CIB when the Ministry was slow to act (Kathmandu Post, 15 Jan 2026).

Destination-country checks

FAQs

Is there an online list of licensed consultancies in Nepal?
We did not find one on moest.gov.np as of 12 October 2026. Ask the Ministry to confirm a consultancy’s licence.

Is ECAN or NECSA membership the same as a licence?
No. These are industry associations. The licence comes from the Ministry of Education.

Can a consultancy give me visa advice?
It can help with study applications. For Australia, Canada and the UK, immigration advice must come from registered or authorised advisers. Check them in the table above.

Should I pay in cash?
Reports say the new rules require payments to go through banks or digital channels, with receipts. Insist on that either way.

What if the consultancy closes after I pay?
Collect your documents and complain to the Ministry, the consumer-protection department and the police. Reports say the 2083 Regulations require consultancies to keep a security deposit, which can be forfeited for serious violations.

Sources

• MoEST, >Regulations 2083 listing (32 Asar 2083); >Feedback/complaints
• Nepal Law Commission, >Regulations 2083 listing
• Himalayan Times, >Govt tightens oversight of educational consultancies, 9 Jul 2026
• EducateNepal, >New regulations on educational consultancies
• Collegenp, >Ministry repeals consultancy directive 2073, 6 Aug 2026
• Ratopati, >Talks between government and consultancies, 15 Aug 2026
• Ekantipur, >Most educational consultancies operate without registration, 31 Jul 2025
• Onlinekhabar, >Over 4,100 consultancies operating without registration, 27 Jul 2025
• Kathmandu Post, >Cabal of frauds, 19 Nov 2025; >Police nab consultancy operators behind UAE study scam, 15 Jan 2026; >Arrests in crackdown on consultancies, 16 May 2026
• >DoCSCP consumer complaint form; >Hello Sarkar; >Nepal Police CIB
• Australian Home Affairs, >Genuine Student requirement
• Destination-country links as in the table above