Delays in student Visa approvals cause revenue drop for higher education institutions

• EMGS' failure to comply with 14-day processing period could potentially decrease international student growth thereby affecting revenue of HEIs

Continuous delay in foreign student visa approvals is likely to hamper earnings of higher education institutions (HEIs), predicts RHB Research. With the tightened entry requirements of foreign students, EMGS (Education Malaysia Global Services) hopes this could stop the misuse of foreign visas and attract quality students.

Yet despite early submissions from foreign students, EMGS still faced delays in having applications approved. The processing duration should have been within 14 days of submission.

This delay if left unresolved, could turn prospective students away and potentially affect the revenue of education institutions, according to a research note.

RHB Research highlighted that the earnings of SEG International (SEGi) and HELP International Corp may decrease by 10 per cent and 17 per cent respectively, if their international student base were to be cut by half.