Study Abroad from Africa โ Guides by Your Home Country
We publish a separate guide for each of the nine African countries we serve, because the visa route, the funds you must show, the document chain and your scholarship eligibility all change with your passport. Nigeria has 146,286 students abroad, Morocco 75,186. Seven of the nine cannot get an apostille, and some awards close on nationality alone.
Choose your country guide
Each guide is written for people applying from that country: the certificate you hold, the mission that decides your file, and the awards your nationality can win.
- Study abroad from Nigeria โ 146,286 students abroad, the largest group we serve. No apostille exists: the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs authenticates, then the destination embassy legalises.
- Study abroad from Ghana โ 23,842 students abroad. WASSCE English often replaces IELTS, and medium-of-instruction letters are common. Poland’s Banach NAWA is closed to Ghana.
- Study abroad from Kenya โ 23,211 students abroad. Kenya is not a Hague Apostille party, so certificates pass through a notary, the Attorney-General, the ministry and the embassy. Commonwealth Scholarships are restricted for Kenya.
- Study abroad from Egypt โ 50,815 students abroad. English is not an official language, so budget for a test. Commonwealth is closed; Spain’s MAEC-AECID is open, the only one of the nine.
- Study abroad from South Africa โ 13,270 students abroad, and a genuine apostille through DIRCO or a High Court. Banach NAWA is closed to South Africa.
- Study abroad from Uganda โ 6,044 students abroad and 13 years of schooling, which suits European entry rules. UNEB issues a verification letter before the ministry authenticates. Stipendium Hungaricum is restricted for Uganda.
- Study abroad from Zambia โ 5,318 students abroad. Chevening and Commonwealth are open, Stipendium Hungaricum is not, so treat any Hungarian “nomination service” as fraud.
- Study abroad from Zimbabwe โ 24,392 students abroad, more than Ghana or Kenya. Chevening is open; Commonwealth and Stipendium Hungaricum are closed.
- Study abroad from Morocco โ 75,186 students abroad, our second-largest origin. Diplomas are apostilled by the Wali or Governor, or requested online at apostille.ma. Campus France has one official fee and no accredited agents.
Why does your home country change your options?
The first thing that changes is where you file. Some destinations decide in your capital; others route the file through a visa centre or a mission in a neighbouring country, which adds travel, cost and waiting.
The second is the money you must show. The amount is set by the destination, but which bank it sits in, which statements count and how many months they cover are judged against your country’s banking system. Our proof of funds guide sets out what is accepted where.
The third is legalisation. South Africa and Morocco are Hague Apostille parties. The other seven are not, so each document runs a chain: the issuing body certifies it, the foreign ministry authenticates it, the destination embassy legalises it. Uganda’s ministry charges per document copy against a bank receipt; Ghana and Kenya publish no fee schedule, so you budget for a cost nobody will confirm in writing.
The fourth is scholarship eligibility. Chevening, DAAD, Erasmus Mundus, Tรผrkiye Burslarฤฑ and the Italian Government scheme accept all nine nationalities. Stipendium Hungaricum is closed to Zambia and Zimbabwe and restricted for Uganda; Commonwealth is closed to Egypt, Zimbabwe and Morocco; Banach NAWA takes only Nigeria and Kenya. An award your neighbour can win may be closed to you, and no agent can change that.
What each country guide covers
Every guide follows the same structure, so you can compare like with like:
- The destinations that are realistic from your country, and the reason each one is.
- The visa route: where you file, what you show, and how your country’s files are treated.
- Costs in the currency the institution bills โ tuition, living, visa and proof of funds.
- Scholarships checked against your nationality, with the closed ones named.
- Your certificate, your grading scale, the English evidence accepted and the legalisation chain.
- The fraud patterns reported in your country, with more detail on how to spot a fake agent.
Still choosing a destination?
If the country is settled but the destination is not, start at the study in Europe hub, weigh the money on cheapest countries in Europe to study, and check scholarships before you shortlist. A funded place in Hungary and a self-funded place in the UK are not the same decision.
Get advice for your situation
Your country guide answers the questions most applicants ask. Your file is specific: your grades, your funds, your certificate and the mission reading it. Take the free eligibility check or message an advisor, and we will tell you which routes fit and which do not. We make no guaranteed-visa promises, because nobody can keep one.
What to have ready before you ask
Your nationality decides more of this than your grades do, so the quickest route to a useful answer is to bring the four things set by your passport rather than by you.
Your school qualification and how it is graded. European admissions offices read each national scale differently, and the same certificate can mean direct entry in one destination and a foundation year in another.
Where you would file the visa, and whether that is in your own country. Several destinations we cover have no student-visa mission in every origin country, which means travelling to a third country, a longer timeline and a second set of costs. It changes which intake is realistic more often than it changes which course is.
How your documents are authenticated. Some of the nine countries are Hague Apostille parties and some are not, and the difference is weeks of queuing between a notary, a ministry and an embassy. It is the step students leave until last and lose an intake to.
Which funded schemes accept your nationality. Eligibility is set by the awarding body, not by us and not by any agent, and an application from an ineligible passport fails the formal check before anyone reads it.
Bring those four and a budget, and the shortlist falls out of them. What you should not bring is a fee to anyone claiming they can change any of the four.
Guides by your home country
Where to next
Frequently asked questions
Nine: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Morocco. Each guide covers the realistic destinations, the visa route from that country, costs in the currency the university bills, the scholarships open to that nationality and the document chain. Nigeria alone has 146,286 students abroad. If your country is not listed, message an advisor.
Because four practical things are set by your passport, not your grades: where you file the visa, whose bank statements are accepted as proof of funds, whether your documents are apostilled or legalised step by step, and which scholarships accept your nationality. Stipendium Hungaricum is closed to Zambia and Zimbabwe, for example.
No, and this is the most common mistake. Only South Africa and Morocco are Hague Apostille parties. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe use consular legalisation instead: the issuing body certifies the document, the foreign ministry authenticates it, and the destination embassy legalises it. Anyone offering you a Nigerian or Kenyan apostille is selling something that does not exist.
Often, if English is an official language where you studied. Medium-of-instruction letters are commonly issued in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and many universities accept them. Egypt and Morocco have no such route, so plan for a test. Acceptance always depends on the university and the programme.
Stipendium Hungaricum excludes Zambia and Zimbabwe and is restricted for Uganda. Commonwealth excludes Egypt, Zimbabwe and Morocco and is restricted for Kenya. Poland's Banach NAWA takes only Nigeria and Kenya. Spain's MAEC-AECID is open to Egypt and restricted or closed elsewhere. Chevening, DAAD, Erasmus Mundus, Tรผrkiye Burslarฤฑ and the Italian Government scheme accept all nine.
Most students go without a scholarship, so the question becomes cost. Low-fee public systems and countries with lower living costs matter more than any award you are unlikely to win. If your certificate is one year short of European entry, a foundation year or Studienkolleg is the route in. The eligibility check tells you which of these apply to you.
No. Shortlisting destinations, checking which scholarships your nationality can win and planning the application are free, funded by university commission. Premium Placement, where we run the whole file, is the paid option. We never charge to guarantee a visa or a scholarship, because no honest service can promise either, whatever an agent tells you.
Refuse three things: a guaranteed visa or admission, a fee to apply for a scholarship or a university place, and a document you cannot verify yourself. Embassies work with no agents. Fake admission letters, advance-fee scholarship offers and bogus nominations are documented in all nine countries, and a falsified document can end your plans for years.