According to Novie Tajuddin, chief executive officer, Education Malaysia Global Services, an entity under the Ministry of Higher Education managing international student services and visa facilitation, the Southeast Asian country has seen a 26% rise in international student applications over the past two years.
“There was a time that in a month [when] our team processed about 14,000 to 15,000 applications, especially in July, August, and September, for the September intake,” stated Tajuddin, while speaking at The PIE Live Asia Pacific 2025’s How Malaysia is quietly becoming a major education destination panel.
“Upon receiving complete documents from universities, we can process applications within 14 working days, that is our charter, but we have even done it in eight to 10 days,” added Tajuddin. He said that around 40 immigration officers are taking care of the processing of visas for international students coming to Malaysia, and streamlining the procedure for universities, the immigration department, and agents.
As per a 2024 Acumen report, over 50,000 Malaysian students studied abroad in destinations like Australia, Japan, and China, the same Asia-Pacific countries Malaysia now sees as key in its bid to attract 250,000 international students.
But the traffic of students goes both ways. As per data from EMGS’s official website, in Q2 2025 (April-June), Malaysia received 12,469 student applications from East Asia, followed by South Asia (8,046), the Middle East and North Africa (4,990), Southeast Asia (4,682), Africa (2,560), Central Asia (1,013), and other regions (1,534).
While 10,947 of these applications came from China, the rest of the top five were Bangladesh (4,159), Indonesia (2,194), Pakistan (1,412), and India (1,388).
If I’m not mistaken, last year Malaysia approved about 20,000 students from China, and we expect similar numbers this year and next
Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, Universiti Utara Malaysia
Though Chinese student numbers are dipping in countries like the US and UK due to concerns over cost, and growing regional options, Malaysia has emerged as an attractive option.
“We have the Malaysia Qualifications Framework to ensure global standards, and the Malaysian Qualifications Agency empowers and enforces this quality – a very tedious but necessary process,” stated Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, deputy vice-chancellor, Universiti Utara Malaysia, who was also part of the panel.
“Because of this, you can see Malaysia rising in rankings like THE and QS. This traction is attracting students from everywhere, especially China. If I’m not mistaken, last year Malaysia approved about 20,000 students from China, and we expect similar numbers this year and next. We’re also seeing more students from Bangladesh and the Middle East,” added Azizuddin, noting that Japan’s weakening yen has also driven many students to study in the Southeast Asian nation.
Earlier this year, at the 10th annual EURIE conference, Tajuddin acknowledged that Central Asia and Africa hold the biggest potential for growth in international student applications to Malaysia, a point he reiterated at The PIE Live Asia Pacific 2025. However, another South Asian giant is also on Malaysia’s radar.
“The biggest potential is India because the market is huge. The total number of higher education students in India is about 45 million. You just need 1%, maybe 1.5% or 2%, to bring to your country, depending on your strategy,” stated Tajuddin.
However such a strategy also means using transnational education as a means to achieve its international student target of 250,000 as early as 2030, according to Tajuddin.
“We need different strategies for different people. If we make Malaysia an education hub, parents can send students to study in India, Indonesia, or elsewhere by going through Malaysia. That’s important,” he said.
“Branch campuses are part of the government’s strategy, integrated into the 10-year plan from 2025 to 2035, working closely with both private and public universities.”
While Asian countries such as India and Kazakhstan have recently made headlines as attractive destinations for IBCs, Malaysia has been a hotspot since the mid-1990s after opening its market to greater foreign direct investment and globalisation.
Institutions such as Monash University, University of Nottingham, University of Reading, Xiamen University, and Tsukuba University are just some that have opened in the past two to three decades, leading Malaysia to often being seen as a successful TNE model, especially for the UK.
Malaysia is also increasingly courting Australia to join its broader strategy, as public universities there remain eager to develop degrees, student exchanges, and more.
“By having joint degrees, joint programmes, and such collaborations, we can increase the number of Malaysian students going to Australian universities, and at the same time, the number of Australian students coming to ours,” said Md Amin Md Taff, vice-chancellor, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, who added that his university is currently working with institutions such as Sydney University, University of Western Australia, and Edith Cowan, which includes joint projects and faculty exchanges.
Similarly while Universiti Utara Malaysia anticipates increased collaboration with Australian universities, Europe remains an equally important market for the institution.
“We have quite a lot of students from Europe coming to Malaysia, particularly to my university. In Europe, there is a policy requiring students to attend internships and mobility abroad, so many choose us,” stated Azizuddin.
“Another important aspect is international staff. About 10% of our staff are foreign, from places like Singapore, Indonesia, and Europe. This is a government policy to attract international scholars to Malaysia because to become a hub of higher education, we need to employ international scholars.”
Moreover, Malaysia’s Graduate Pass, a post-study work visa option effective from December 2023, along with a fast-track International Student Arrival Centre (ISAC) and a centralised admissions system, are gaining strong attention from stakeholders.
“Malaysia has opened its post-graduate visa to 32 countries, including Australia, allowing graduates to work in Malaysia for one year after completing their degree, master’s, or PhD, a provision that wasn’t available before,” stated Tajuddin.
“Every Malaysian university has an industry relations officer working on placements, and internships have been shifted to the end of the semester. This allows, for example, Australian students in their final year to intern for six months, then work for another year, gaining 1.5 years of experience before returning home.”
Amin noted that although universities like his support international students with job opportunities, it is equally important to leverage the presence of multinational companies setting up operations in Malaysia.
“Just recently, Infineon announced it is coming to Kedah, establishing one of their industrial hubs with an investment of about AUD$10 billion. So it’s a big investment,” stated Amin.
“I’m sure there is a need for professionals, and this is an area where we can work with the government to support our students and graduates.”
While Malaysia’s path to possibly becoming Asia’s topmost study destination looks promising, the country, like other growing or advanced economies, is seeking ways to boost revenue without burdening its citizens.
Just in June 2025, Malaysia implemented a new expanded sales and service tax for private education services for international students, set at 6% if tuition fees exceed RM60,000 (£10,500) per student per year.
Though the British Council issued a statement on how the SST could affect UK TNE programs, especially those run with private local partner, Amin noted that there could be discussions on ways institutions might absorb the tax so it doesn’t impact students.
“I saw that there’s a lot of discussion about the increase in the SST, and it can be discussed with most of the universities,” stated Amin.
“If we bring more students, maybe the university can absorb the SST, so this is where we’re looking towards having a close discussion with our partners.”
