Requirements to Study in Australia from Nepal

For a diploma or a bachelor’s degree you need to have passed +2, and for a master’s you need a completed bachelor’s degree, along with the marks and English score your university asks for.

The first thing to know is that Australia does not have one fixed minimum for the whole country. Study Australia, the Australian government’s website for international students, says every university and college sets its own entry requirements. That is why the same course can ask for a GPA of 2.6 at one university and 2.8 at another. So if your marks fall a little short at one place, there is a good chance another university will still accept you.

Most Nepali students apply to a university, while some begin at a college that teaches diplomas. The requirements work the same way at both, so on this page we simply say “university”. And if you are still deciding whether Australia is the right country for you, our study in Australia from Nepal guide will take you through the cost, the work rules and student life.

Here is what you usually need at each level.

Keep in mind that passing +2 does not always take you straight into a bachelor’s degree. The RMIT University page for Nepal, for example, accepts +2 for its Foundation Studies with 60% or a CGPA of 2.8, but for a bachelor’s degree it asks for one year of study at a recognised university first.

The year you passed +2 matters as well. Universities read results from before 2018 as a percentage and results after 2018 as a GPA, so look for the rule that matches your own year on the university’s page.

Your +2 stream also plays a part. Study Australia says some bachelor’s courses need certain subjects, and some vocational courses ask for certain subjects or work experience. So if you studied Management and now want to study engineering or a health course, check the course page for maths or science requirements before you apply.

These are the requirements for international students to study in Australia at the admission stage, which always comes first. Once the university accepts you, it sends you an offer letter, and only after that do you move on to the visa. The visa fee, the money you must show and the Genuine Student questions are all explained on our Australia student visa requirements page.

When you are ready to choose where to apply, have a look at our lists of universities in Australia and colleges in Australia.

To study a bachelor’s degree, most Australian universities ask a +2 student for a GPA of about 2.4 to 2.8, usually counted on your best four academic subjects.

Students often ask us for the minimum GPA for Australia from Nepal, but there is no single number, because each university publishes its own. To give you a real idea, here is what three universities ask from +2 students.

Now put your own marksheet next to this table. Universities count four academic subjects, and the University of New England does not count Nepali at all. That means high marks in Nepali or in a practical subject will not pull your average up.

Let us take a +2 student with a GPA of 2.6. This student meets the minimum at Charles Darwin University but falls short at Federation University, which asks for 2.8. So the university you choose matters just as much as the GPA you have.

Many students also ask how much percentage is required for an Australia study visa. The truth is that the visa itself has no rule on marks, because it is the university that decides them. You can apply for the visa only after the university gives you a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), which is the document that confirms you have accepted your place. If your +2 result is from before 2018, you should expect to need about 65%.

Remember that some courses ask for more than the university’s general minimum, so always check the course page as well. And if you are not sure what your GPA is, you can work it out from your Grade 11 and 12 marks with our NEB GPA calculator.

Our GPA required to study in Australia guide shares the ranges our counselors usually see, which are about 2.5 to 3.0 for a bachelor’s degree and 3.0 or above for a master’s. These come from our own experience and not from an official rule, so always go by what the university’s own page says.

Australia has no maximum study gap, so your gap is accepted as long as you explain it honestly and show documents for what you did during that time.

A study gap is simply the time between your last course and your next one, and having one is quite normal. Your gap is looked at twice: by the university when you apply for admission, and later by the visa officer when you apply for the visa. The visa form asks about your circumstances, and the Home Affairs page on the Genuine Student requirement says that statements supported by evidence are given more weight.

Genuine Student, or GS for short, is the check on whether you are really going to Australia to study. The evidence listed on that page includes transcripts from your earlier study, your employer’s details, and job or business records for the 12 months before you apply.

So the best thing you can do is keep a document for every month between your last result and today. For example, if you passed +2 two years ago and have been working since then, an appointment letter, your salary slips and a bank statement showing your salary will explain the whole gap. Which documents you need depends on what you were doing:

• You worked or ran a business: an employer letter, salary slips, bank statements, or PAN and tax documents.
• You studied something else: the certificate for the course, training or English test you took.
• You had a health or family reason: medical reports, or a short signed letter that explains what happened.
• You were preparing for IELTS or PTE: your score reports and test booking records.

From the applications our counselors handle, a gap of one or two years after +2, or a few years after a bachelor’s degree, is usually accepted. A longer gap needs stronger documents and a clear link between what you did and the course you have chosen. Please take this as our experience and not as an official rule.

If you want to read more, our study gap accepted in Australia guide has the detail, and gap years and Australia study explains how gaps of different lengths affect your application.

Backlogs work in much the same way. A backlog is a subject you failed or had to repeat, and Australia has no fixed number for how many are allowed, so each university decides for itself. The best thing to do is clear your backlogs, send the final transcript that shows you passed them, and mention them honestly in your statement.

The usual score is IELTS 6.0 for a bachelor’s degree and 6.5 for a master’s, or the equal score in PTE Academic or TOEFL iBT.

Charles Darwin University, for example, asks for exactly these scores, with no band below 6.0. Every university sets its own score though, so do check the page of the course you want.

What many students do not realise is that your English score is checked twice. The university checks it before giving you an offer letter, and then Home Affairs, the Australian government department that decides visas, checks it again for your visa. On its Student visa (subclass 500) page, the minimum for tests taken from 7 August 2025 is IELTS 6.0, PTE Academic 47 or TOEFL iBT 67.

The simple way to handle this is to aim for the higher of the two scores. That is usually the university’s score, especially if you are going for a master’s or for a health course such as nursing in Australia.

There are also two visa rules that Nepali students often miss. Your test result must be less than two years old on the day you apply for the visa. Home Affairs also does not accept tests taken at home, such as IELTS Online or the TOEFL iBT Home Edition, so make sure you take your test at a test centre.

You can find the scores for each course level in our minimum IELTS and PTE for Australia guide. If you have not booked your test yet, our IELTS exam in Nepal and PTE exam in Nepal pages will show you the fees and test dates. And if you would like help preparing, we run IELTS and PTE classes at our Bagbazar and Kumaripati branches.

To study a master’s by coursework, you need a completed bachelor’s degree that the university accepts as equal to an Australian bachelor’s degree, along with the English score for the course, which is usually IELTS 6.5.

A master’s by coursework is the taught kind of master’s, with classes and assignments. Study Australia says this kind of course usually needs at least one completed bachelor’s degree, and that the university may also look at your research ability or work experience.

The important part is that each university decides for itself whether your Nepali degree is equal to an Australian one. The length of your degree, whether it is three years or four, is one of the things it looks at. Charles Darwin University, for example, asks for a degree that it judges equivalent to an Australian bachelor’s degree.

The university will also convert your percentage or GPA using its own table, and these tables are not the same everywhere. The Australian National University page for Nepal says its conversion is only general guidance. It adds that the result changes with your university’s grading scale and pass mark, and that meeting every requirement still does not guarantee admission.

So if you are a bachelor’s graduate planning a master’s, there are two things to do before you pay any application fee. Send the transcript that shows your division, percentage or GPA, the length of your degree and your credit hours. Then ask the admissions office to assess your degree and give you its answer in writing.

Work experience helps the most for an MBA and other professional courses, and an employer letter with your job title and dates is the usual way to prove it.

As a guide, our counselors suggest a bachelor’s result of about 3.0 GPA or higher for a competitive master’s course. This comes from our experience and is not an official minimum. You can compare courses on our master’s in Australia page, and if you are thinking even further ahead, our PhD in Australia page is the place to begin.

For admission you need your academic documents, your passport, your English test result and, for most courses, a statement of purpose, which most students simply call an SOP.

The visa documents come later, once you have your offer letter, so you do not need to worry about them yet. What you should watch out for are two small mistakes that delay many applications from Nepal. One is a name that is spelled differently on your marksheet and your passport, and the other is ordering your transcripts too late.

So check the spelling of your name today, and order your transcripts at least one month before you apply, because NEB and university offices can take weeks. Here is what to keep ready.

1. Academic documents: your certificates and transcripts for SEE, +2 and, if you have one, your bachelor’s degree. Our guide to getting transcripts in Nepal shows you where to apply for them.
2. Passport: the name on it must match your academic documents. Our Nepal passport guide explains how to renew it.
3. English test result: IELTS, PTE Academic or TOEFL iBT, taken within the last two years.
4. Statement of purpose (SOP): follow our SOP guide for Australia, and make sure every date is the same as in your documents.
5. CV and work letters: you need these if you are applying for a master’s or have a study gap. Our CV format guide has a format you can use.
6. Recommendation letters: only if the course asks for them. Our recommendation letter guide has a sample.

Once your offer letter arrives, the next steps all the way to the visa are explained on our application process for Nepali students page. There is also one document you need from Nepal’s side, the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Education, and our NOC guide explains how to get it.

If your GPA or percentage is below the minimum, do not give up, because you can still reach the same degree through a foundation course, a diploma that leads into a bachelor’s degree, or a university with a lower minimum.

A foundation course is made for students whose +2 GPA is a little below the minimum for a bachelor’s degree. Study Australia describes it as a bridging course, usually one year long, that brings you up to the Year 12 level an Australian bachelor’s degree needs.

Routes like these are called pathways. Each pathway has its own minimum marks, and these can be very different from one university to the next. RMIT’s table for Nepal, for instance, lists Foundation Studies at 60% or CGPA 2.8 and its Fast Track pathway at 70% or CGPA 3.2.

Not every pathway is open to Nepali students either. Federation University’s country table says its diploma pathway is not available for Nepal, so always ask the university to confirm its pathway rule in writing.

There are two more options worth asking about. If you completed a three-year CTEVT diploma or proficiency certificate, the University of New England accepts it with an average of 60% or First Division. Some universities and colleges also give you credit for what you have already studied, which is called recognition of prior learning.

If you cannot decide between the routes, our diploma vs bachelor’s after +2 guide compares them, and the diploma courses in Australia page shows the diplomas open to international students. If your GPA is your main worry, read study in Australia after +2 with low GPA. And if your marks are good, it is worth checking scholarships in Australia for Nepali students too.

One word of caution before you move on. Be careful with any agent or college that promises an offer letter on very low marks, or says a pathway will get you a visa or PR. The offer is decided by the university or college, and the visa is decided only by Home Affairs.

Once you have your offer letter, you need to show enough money, buy student health insurance and answer the Genuine Student questions to get your visa.

If you came here looking for the student visa for Australia from Nepal, the full study in Australia visa requirements are on our visa requirements page. The short version is that you must show AUD 29,710 for one year of living costs, which is about Rs 27 lakh, on top of your first-year tuition fee. You can check today’s rate with our AUD to Rs forex converter, and you will find tuition fees by level on our cost to study in Australia page.

Most Nepali families show this money through savings, a sponsor’s income or an education loan, and our Australia student visa financial documents guide lists the documents you will need.

If you are married, there is one rule you should know about. From 2 October 2026, most applicants can no longer include a partner or children in their application, as the Home Affairs changes page explains. Our spouse and dependants guide tells you who is exempt.

You will also hear agents talk about the assessment level of Nepal for Australia. What they mean is that Home Affairs gives each country and each education provider an Evidence Level of 1, 2 or 3, and this level guides how much money and English evidence you attach when you apply. Home Affairs does not publish the levels, and Study Australia explains that the level does not affect eligibility.

Agents report that Nepal is at Level 3, although this is not official. What it means for you is simple: keep your documents complete and consistent, because Home Affairs can ask for documents even when none are required at the start.

Our Australia assessment level 3 for Nepal guide and the Level 1 universities in Australia page explain what the levels mean for your application. Many refusals happen because of weak documents, or documents that do not match each other, and our Australia student visa rejection reasons guide lists the common ones. When it is time to write your answers, the Genuine Student requirement guide will help you.

It also helps to plan early. Australia has intakes in February, July and November, and getting an offer letter takes about six months of preparation, so our Australia intakes page can help you pick the right one.

And you do not have to do all of this alone. Wherever you live in Nepal, a Goreto counselor can check your marks against a university’s requirements before you apply. We have branches in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Itahari and Pokhara, and you can find the nearest one on our contact page.