73% of education agents surveyed as part of the annual ICEF Agent Voice report said they have started placing students into new and alternative destinations over the past two years – with Germany, Spain, France, Malta, the U.K. and New Zealand as the top six.
As evidence of the growing appeal of studying in dozens of countries globally, agents no longer rank ease of getting a visa as the most influential factor in where students choose to attend school. They say international students are increasingly weighing affordability and return on investment in their choices, as they seek countries with favorable work-study opportunities and longer term paths to employment and living.
“The rise of these countries in terms of interest by students is very closely linked to job outcomes, ROI and in some cases immigration” said Ian Cann, who is ICEF’s CRO, said on a recent webinar in which he analyzed the survey results with other education industry leaders. ICEF surveyed more than 1,200 education agents across 113 countries in the industry’s largest global survey. Its survey covers a broad range of programs – including language schools, K-12 and higher education.
While those six countries top alternative placements – several countries are experiencing growth, thanks to multi-pronged policies and programs that are in step with international student needs. Agents say student interest has grown steadily in the study destinations below because of perceived ROI, favorable work and immigration policies, visa pathways and, especially in the case of Malaysia, affordability.
- Japan
- United Arab Emirates
- Spain
- Malaysia
Predictably, agents said they are seeing interest soften in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. That said, Australia may have bottomed out. The delta between 2024 and 2025 is much smaller than in the U.S. or Canada, and the region is showing a recovery in interest.
What do agents need to know to best recruit international students?
As student interest continues to broaden across the globe, the survey uncovered two things that are critical for agents to keep in mind.
- Agents need to ensure that students can make enrolment deposits and pay tuition fees online in a highly secure and intuitive way – using their preferred currency and payment method.
- Agents need to automate processes that could delay visa approvals and enrolment. Countries globally have shifting and new requirements for ensuring, for instance, students have enough funds to study and live in the country, or the right documentation to secure visas.
Having the right education payment partner in this regard is crucial. For agents surveyed, Flywire was overwhelmingly the most utilised platform by the agent community. As agents recruit and send students to a wide-range of countries, they need to quickly meet the requirements of that destination – which range from supporting payment needs in the local currency and preferred payment method, to ensuring it is easy to meet requirements needed for study permits and visas, and having in-market expertise when the agents have questions or the students need support.
“One of the benefits that institutions get from working with Flywire is we are in all of those markets already,” said Tom Wilmot, Flywire’s Director of Global Expansion. “We can see the data showing where the growth is, and build and integrate new technology within the agent platform to manage new requirements – such as blocked accounts in Germany.”
“We’ve been really able to help our students, agents and institutions through these changes,” Wilmot said.
What do institutions need to know to better work with agents for strong international recruitment?
As schools globally look to diversify their international student recruitment pipelines, agents surveyed revealed helpful insights.
- Agents want more training. As they send students to an increasing number of destinations, agents are looking to the schools for more information and training. 77% said they would like their staff to access more information and training from partner institutions – with hybrid learning the preferred delivery model for 67%.
- Agents are providing long-term career guidance. Employability is very important to students. Agents rate it as 7.6 on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being crucial. Agents themselves are long-term partners on this employability journey. They say students are asking them for career guidance before (61%) and during and after (49%)
- Commission rates average between 11-20%. Commission rates are slightly higher at language and K-12 schools, and there has been a gradual increase in commission rates in higher education, graduate and MBA.
There is much more to learn for education agents and their partner institutions in the full report.
While the report highlights what is changing, our recent collaborative webinar with ICEF explores the why. Join industry leaders as they discuss the rise of alternative destinations, the evolution of student ROI, and how technology is solving new regional requirements.