International student mobility across OECD countries is shaped by a combination of financial, regulatory and living conditions, creating markedly different environments for access, affordability and retention. The report shows that cross‑country differences in tuition fees, living costs, migration‑related policies and access to public support jointly influence both students’ decision making and countries’ capacity to attract and retain international talent. These conditions do not operate in isolation: students experience them as interlinked packages that shape expected costs, risks and post‑study opportunities.
Tuition‑fee regimes for international students vary widely and have become an increasingly influential policy lever, with clear effects on enrolments and student composition. While some OECD countries maintain low or no tuition fees for international students, others charge high and differentiated fees, particularly for students from outside the EU/EEA. Evidence reviewed in the report shows that the introduction or sharp increase of tuition fees, notably in parts of Northern Europe, led to substantial short‑term declines in new international enrolments. The magnitude of these effects varies by field of study, institution and students’ country of origin, with higher resilience observed among students from high‑income countries. Targeted scholarship schemes have proven important in mitigating enrolment declines, but coverage remains limited relative to overall student numbers.
Across OECD countries, living costs, especially housing costs in large urban centres, now account for a substantial share of total study‑related expenses. The report highlights significant cross‑country differences in the availability and affordability of student accommodation, with publicly subsidised housing more widespread in parts of continental Europe and East Asia than in major English‑speaking destinations. In systems with limited subsidised provision, students rely heavily on private markets where high rents and shortages affect the affordability of study for prospective applicants.
Upfront visa‑related costs and proof‑of‑funds requirements constitute substantial financial costs for international students, with large variation in required amounts, documentation rules and administrative complexity across countries. All OECD countries require international students to demonstrate sufficient financial means, but minimum thresholds range from relatively modest levels to amounts exceeding USD 25 000 per year. Countries also differ in how financial capacity is defined and verified.
Public financial support through government‑sponsored scholarships, subsidised housing and, in limited cases, public student loans vary considerably across countries. Scholarship programmes serve multiple goals, from talent attraction to development co-operation and diplomacy, and their design differs in scale, eligibility criteria, funding duration and return conditions. Although relatively large in absolute terms in a few destinations, scholarship holders remain a small share of total international students in OECD countries. Cross‑country comparison shows that scholarship availability can affect who enrols, particularly among students from low‑income backgrounds and developing countries, while return requirements embedded in development‑oriented schemes shape patterns of post‑study migration. Public loan access remains largely restricted to domestic and EU/EEA students; OECD countries extend loan eligibility to third country international students only in a small number of exceptional cases, limiting the equalisation of financial access across borders.
Policy conditions governing study, work and post‑study pathways also differ markedly across countries. The expansion of English‑taught degree programmes has broadened access to non‑English‑speaking destinations, although it has also raised concerns about system capacity, quality and language policy, leading some countries to introduce caps or tighter regulation. Most OECD countries allow international students to work during their studies, and recent reforms have generally expanded working‑hour limits in response to rising living costs and labour shortages. Post‑study work opportunities vary even more widely and have emerged as a central determinant of international student enrolment and retention: emerging empirical evidence suggests that countries offering longer, more flexible post‑study pathways tend to retain a higher share of graduates.
Family admission and partner work rights are becoming more selective and increasingly shape the attractiveness of study destinations for advanced‑level students. While most OECD countries allow international students to be joined by dependants, eligibility and labour‑market access for partners differ markedly by country and level of study. Several major destination countries have tightened access since 2020, particularly in response to concerns over housing pressures and overall migration levels. These changes disproportionately affect master’s and doctoral students, who are more likely to move with dependants, and can influence both destination choice and longer‑term retention.
Overall, international student outcomes are shaped by interacting policy regimes rather than single instruments. Tuition fees, living costs, financial supports, work rights, post‑study pathways and family policies together determine not only whether students choose a destination, but also whether they are able to complete their studies successfully and remain after graduation. Countries seeking to strengthen their international education strategies increasingly face a dual challenge: maintaining accessibility and quality for international students while aligning financial, education and migration policies with broader labour‑market, housing and sustainability objectives. Integrated, coherent policy design across these domains is therefore critical for sustaining international student mobility in the years ahead.