Chennai: In view of visa-related issues in the US and difficulty finding jobs in the UK, city students are increasingly looking to East Asian countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia for higher education and internships. These countries are attracting students with post-study work visas, affordable fees and advanced research.“Due to the semiconductor industry, students from electronics and communication engineering (ECE) branches are now interested in semester-abroad programmes and internships at universities in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. This will help them enrol in PG courses in these countries,” said R Baskaran, director of the Centre for International Affairs, Anna University.Core engineering students are also interested in pursuing higher education in South Korea. “Many students prefer Taiwanese universities to study high-performance computing courses. Many South Korean institutes are offering fee waivers, which are attracting more students,” said P Deiva Sundari, principal of SRM Easwari Engineering College.Among European countries, Ireland has emerged as another key destination, she added.Foreign universities have opened applications for the 2027 intake, and education consultancies have been receiving queries from students.“Western countries are facing issues such as wars and visa restrictions. So students are looking towards countries in the East. Countries such as Malaysia allow post-study work visas for a year, which has generated more interest among students,” said Srinivas Venkateswaran, director of Global Degrees, Chennai.“There is also more interest in Scandinavian countries, including Denmark, Norway and Sweden, among students for next year,” he added.“We have received the highest number of queries for universities in Germany. There are more queries for Malaysia and South Korea, which could emerge as newer destinations next year,” said R Sureshkumar, MD of Truematics, an overseas education consultancy.“Due to the fall in the rupee value and visa-related issues, the number of students going abroad fell by 30% in 2026 compared to the previous year,” he added.
