Studying overseas is a real option – and the area with the most confident-sounding wrong information online. This page explains how the process works and what to check.
Entry rules, costs and visas differ by country, so those numbers live on each country’s own guide below, linked to its official source. Everything else here is general guidance unless tagged checked against the official source.
Two ways to do it
Route 1 – Apply straight to a foreign university
You apply as an international applicant, straight from matric, and do your whole degree overseas. This gives you the most choice and costs the most.
Not from an official source
It usually involves: an application through that country’s system (some countries have one central service, others have you apply to each university); having your NSC assessed against that country’s qualifications; sometimes an English test; a student visa that normally needs proof you can pay; and deadlines that can be a year earlier than you expect.
Not from an official source
Where to check this yourself
The university’s own page for international applicants
Route 2 – Start in South Africa, go abroad part-way
You register for a degree here, then spend a semester or a year at a partner university overseas through an exchange or study-abroad agreement. Your home university still gives you the degree.
Not from an official source
People often prefer this because it is usually far cheaper (you keep paying South African fees), you apply using your university results, and the degree stays a South African one. Which partners exist, and who qualifies, differs by university and faculty.
Costs, funding, visas and deadlines, country by country. A few foreign universities publish exactly what NSC/matric grades they want, and each country has its own visa fees and money rules that change most years. Each guide below is checked against official sources, with every figure linked to where it came from.
More countries are added once we can verify their universities and visa rules against official sources – Germany, Hungary and New Zealand are researched but held back for now, for the same reason.
Getting ready
This is a rough order, not a rule – every country and university has its own calendar.
Not from an official source
When
What to sort out
Grade 11
Shortlist countries and universities. Find each one’s page for international applicants and write down its deadline.
Grade 11
Work out the real total cost: tuition, living costs, visa, flights, medical cover – and the rand exchange rate over three or four years.
Early Grade 12
Book any admission or language tests; some sittings fill up. Apply – many northern-hemisphere deadlines fall while you’re still in Grade 12.
Grade 12
Apply to South African universities too. An overseas plan with no backup is not a plan.
After results
Qualification assessment, visa application, proof of funds, accommodation.
Questions to ask
Will the degree be recognised back home?
If you plan to work in South Africa in a regulated profession – medicine, engineering, law, teaching, accounting – check with that profession’s registration body before you enrol, not after you graduate.
Not from an official source
What does it really cost?
Compare the full multi-year total against the same degree here, including the rand weakening. International student fees are usually much higher than local ones.
Not from an official source
Can you work while studying?
Student-visa work rules vary by country. Plans that depend on part-time income can fall apart if the visa doesn’t allow it.
Not from an official source
Who is advising you?
Some agents are paid commission by the universities they recommend. That doesn’t make them dishonest, but verify everything on the university’s own site.
Not from an official source
Will your NSC need independent evaluation?
Some countries want your NSC checked by a credential-evaluation service before a university or visa office will accept it, separately from the university’s own admissions decision – UK ENIC (formerly UK NARIC) does this for the UK, and World Education Services (WES) is commonly required for the USA and Canada.
Even where your NSC was taught in English, some universities still ask for an English test like IELTS or TOEFL – whether you’re exempt depends on the specific university, not a general rule, so check the course page itself.
Not from an official source
Where to check this yourself
The registration body for your profession
The destination university’s official fees page
The destination country’s official student-visa page
A note on scams
Nobody legitimate guarantees admission, and nobody legitimate asks for a large payment to “secure your place” before the university has made you an offer in writing. If a claim can’t be found on the university’s own website, treat it as false.