Where you can go
Study in Europe from Pakistan
Germany charges no tuition at its public universities. Hungary hands out a full government scholarship with a stipend attached. Finland routinely waives half or all of the fee. Italy sets your fee against your family's income. This is the cheapest serious education available to a Pakistani student anywhere in the world.
It is not free money without conditions. Every one of these countries asks for something specific before it lets you in, and this page tells you exactly what.
Where you can go
A Hungarian government scholarship pays your tuition, your housing and a monthly stipend. It closes in January, and most students in Pakistan hear about it in March.
Budapest, Hungary
Side by side
Every country here is cheaper than Australia or the USA, so the interesting question is not which is cheapest, it is what each one gives you back. Sort by tuition and Germany wins. Sort by post-study stay and Finland does. The gold cell is the best value in that column, and it is calculated from the same figures on each country page.
Tap any column heading to sort.
Gold marks the best value in that column.
| Germany | PKR 0Best value in this column.Public university tuition | PKR 3.7MBlocked account (visa requirement) | Up to 18 months | Winter (October) | IELTS 6.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | PKR 940K to 2.5MBachelor's / Master's | PKR 1.6M to 2.2MBest value in this column.Living costs | Up to 9 months | September | IELTS 5.5 to 6.5Best value in this column. |
| Finland | PKR 2.5M to 5.6MBachelor's / Master's (before scholarship) | PKR 2.5MLiving costs (residence permit requirement) | Up to 2 yearsBest value in this column. | August/September | IELTS 6.0 to 6.5 |
| Italy | PKR 156K to 1.25MPublic university (income-assessed) | PKR 1.9M to 3.1MLiving costs | Up to 1 year | September/October | IELTS 6.0 to 6.5 |
| Spain | PKR 470K to 1.25MPublic university (bachelor's) | PKR 2.3M to 3.8MLiving costs | Up to 1 year | September | IELTS 6.0 to 6.5 |
| Switzerland | PKR 320K to 1.3MPublic university | PKR 6.7MLiving costs (visa requirement) | Up to 6 months | September | IELTS 6.5 to 7.0 |
Tuition is the standard degree route at a public institution, per year, before any scholarship. Finland is shown before its scholarship, which commonly covers 50 to 100 percent, and Hungary is shown before Stipendium Hungaricum, which covers tuition in full, so both are cheaper in practice than the table can promise. Germany charges no tuition but still requires a blocked account of roughly PKR 3.7M before the visa. Living costs are the figure each government makes you evidence, and they sit on top of tuition. PKR conversions are indicative and move with the rate. Immigration rules change, so confirm your own case before you commit money.
Read this before you fall in love with a number
Free tuition is not a free degree, and a full scholarship is not a formality. This is what each country wants from you before it lets you in.
You must deposit EUR 11,904 (about PKR 3.7M) into a blocked account before the visa is issued. It is your own money, released back to you monthly. Pakistani applicants also need an APS certificate, which takes weeks, so it has to be started early.
Stipendium Hungaricum is competitive and applications close in January. Miss that deadline and you wait a full year, whatever a university tells you about rolling admissions.
The scholarship is the whole point, so a weak application means paying the full sticker price. Bachelor's entry usually includes an entrance exam on top of the English requirement.
The ISEE income assessment and the DSU grant both have hard deadlines and both demand documents issued in Pakistan. Start late and you pay the top fee bracket instead of the bottom one.
The 30-hour work allowance is the most generous on this list, and it is worth much less than it looks without Spanish. Graduate jobs are harder to reach in English than the brochures suggest.
The weakest value on this page for most Pakistani students. You must evidence about CHF 21,000 a year (roughly PKR 6.7M), work is capped at 15 hours a week and usually cannot start for six months, post-study work runs out at six months, and Switzerland is not in the EU. Germany or Finland returns more on the same money.
Why One Call Solution
Nobody loses a European place because their grades were short. They lose it because a document from Pakistan arrived four weeks late.
Stipendium Hungaricum closes in January. German winter intake closes 15 July. Italy's DSU grant has its own calendar. Miss one of these and the money is gone for a year, whatever the university tells you about rolling admissions.
APS certification for Germany, Declaration of Value or CIMEA for Italy, HEC attestation, legalisation and translation. These are the steps that quietly delay Pakistani applicants by a whole intake.
Germany charges no fees, but you still deposit around PKR 3.7M in a blocked account before you get the visa. We plan the cash flow with your family up front rather than after your offer arrives.
Switzerland has superb universities and terrible economics for most Pakistani students. We put that on the page instead of hiding it, because a wasted year costs you more than honest advice.
30-second check
Questions
Tuition at public universities is genuinely free for Pakistani students, not discounted. You still pay a semester contribution of roughly EUR 150 to 350, which usually includes a transport pass, and you must fund your living costs. That is what the blocked account is for, currently EUR 11,904 for the year, around PKR 3.7M, which is your own money released back to you monthly after you arrive.
Yes. Pakistan is a partner country of the programme, so you are directly eligible. It covers tuition in full and adds a monthly stipend, a housing allowance and medical insurance. It is competitive and applications close in January, so the work has to start the autumn before.
Hungary, if you win Stipendium Hungaricum, because tuition drops to zero and you receive a stipend on top. Self-funded, Hungary is still the lowest on both tuition and living costs. Germany has no tuition but higher living costs and a blocked account requirement. Italy can be extremely cheap if your family income puts you in the lowest ISEE bracket and you win a DSU grant.
Not to get in. All six countries offer English-taught degrees, especially at master's level. You do need the local language to live well, get part-time work and land a graduate job. In Germany, B1 changes your daily life. In Spain, without Spanish the 30-hour work allowance is worth much less than it looks.
Yes. All six sit inside the European Higher Education Area, so degrees are recognised across Europe, and by employers in Pakistan and the Gulf. Hungarian medical degrees in particular have a long international track record.
Because the numbers say so. Public tuition is low and ETH Zurich and EPFL are world class, so if you can get in and fund it, the education is outstanding. But you must evidence around CHF 21,000 a year in living costs, roughly PKR 6.7M, work is capped at 15 hours a week and generally cannot start for six months, post-study work is limited to six months, and Switzerland is not in the EU. Germany or Finland gives most students a better return on the same money.
Send us your marks, your field and your family's budget. We will tell you whether Germany's blocked account is realistic for you, whether you are a credible Stipendium Hungaricum candidate, and which deadline you need to be working towards right now.
Sunday to Friday, 9am to 8pm. Offices in Parramatta and Lahore.
