Despite UGC Ban On Pakistani Degrees, At Least 837 Indian Students Went Between 2022 And 2024
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Data from the education ministry, however, also shows that there has been a consistent drop in the number of Indian students going to Pakistan.
As many as 837 Indian students moved to Pakistan for studies between 2022 and 2024, despite the University Grants Commission (UGC)'s notice against degrees obtained from the neighbouring country.
The data from the department of higher education of the ministry of education, however, also shows that there has been a consistent drop in the number of Indian students going to Pakistan.
In 2024, only 110 Indian students went to Pakistan, down from 331 in 2023 and 396 in 2022. The numbers in the pre-Covid years were as high as 670 in 2019, as shown in the graph.
It is also worth mentioning that the education ministry data, made public in March 2025, was sourced from the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), and these are the number of Indians who disclosed their purpose of visit as study or education while going abroad – Pakistan in this case.
In April 2022, the UGC had issued a notice that students should not travel to Pakistan to pursue higher education, and if they did, they would not be 'eligible for seeking employment or higher studies in India on the basis of such educational qualifications (in any subject) acquired in Pakistan".
However, it exempted migrants and their children who have acquired higher education degrees in Pakistan and have been awarded citizenship by India. The UGC said the migrants would be eligible to seek employment in India after obtaining security clearance from the ministry of home affairs (MHA).
Days later, the National Medical Commission (NMC) also issued a public notice, dated April 28, 2022, saying that any Indian national or overseas citizen of India 'who intends to take admission in MBBS/BDS or equivalent medical course in any medical college of Pakistan shall not be eligible for appearing in FMGE or seeking employment in India on the basis of educational qualifications (in any subject) acquired in Pakistan".
It is important to note that Indians who obtain their MBBS degree from a foreign country, excluding the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, have to pass the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) to be eligible to practice medicine in India. The screening test is administered by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).
The NMC order also said those who had joined Pakistan degree colleges/institutions before December 2018 or later after obtaining security clearance from the MHA were exempted.
As per the education ministry's All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22, there are 46,878 foreign students in India, and only 28 were from Pakistan – 15 men and 13 women.
The situation between India and Pakistan became tense after April 22, when a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam killed 26 tourists.
In response, the Government of India suspended visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect. All existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals were revoked with effect from April 27, 2025. Following this, Pakistan also cancelled visas for Indians.
The Indian government also warned its nationals to avoid travelling to Pakistan. Indian nationals currently in Pakistan are also advised to return to India at the earliest.
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