Study abroad

Quick answer

Before paying a study-abroad agency, check four things: the institution exists, your qualification will be recognised by CHED, the programme is registered in that country, and you know who pays the agency. The directory shows what has been verified and what has not.

Studying abroad combines a large payment, a long commitment and a decision that is hard to undo. This page is about the checks that settle most of it.

The four checks that matter

Each of these takes minutes, and none of them requires the agency’s permission.

  1. Does the foreign institution exist? Look it up on its own website, using an address you found yourself rather than one supplied to you.
  2. Is your specific qualification recognised back home? For a degree credit this is a matter for CHED, and it is not automatic. Recognising an institution is not the same as recognising a specific programme, and neither is the same as professional registration if you intend to practise in the Philippines.
  3. Is the programme registered in that country? Ask for the registration or approval number the institution holds. It should be verifiable with that country’s own regulator.
  4. Who is paying the agency? Paid by the institution means they are paid for that institution’s enrolment, and may steer you. Paid by you means you are buying a service. Ask, and ask again if the answer is vague.

The CHED checks are the ones most likely to be skipped and the most expensive to skip, because an unrecognised qualification is usually discovered at the point someone tries to use it – which is after the money is gone.

The bodies that decide

  • CHED – study-abroad permits and visa recommendations for Filipino students, and whether a foreign qualification is recognised. Confirm the current requirements directly; they change.
  • Your own country’s embassy or consulate for that country – what you may do on a student visa, and whether a proposed programme is one a visa can actually be issued for.
  • The foreign regulator – the body that registers higher education in that country. Ask for the registration number and check it there, not on the agency’s website.
  • The institution itself – for fees, dates, and what the programme actually contains.

The agency directory

The directory lists agencies with a verification status next to each one. Precisely what that means, because a directory that implies endorsement is worse than no directory:

  • Verified means one specific thing – someone checked a claim that can be checked, and recorded what it was and when. It does not mean we recommend the agency, that we read its contract terms, or that it pays us nothing.
  • Unverified means we have not checked. It is the default and most listings will stay in it for a long time.
  • Reported means someone told us something and we have not resolved it. A report is an allegation, not a finding.

There is no “real agencies” list and no “scam agencies” list. Neither can be made honestly, and publishing either would be worse than publishing nothing.

The directory is a small sample. The checks above work on an agency this site has never heard of, and that is the point of them.

Warning signs

  • A guarantee of admission, a visa, or a scholarship outcome.
  • A price quoted only on request, or only after several meetings.
  • A deposit demanded before any institution has been approached.
  • An institution you cannot find, or a registration number that does not verify.
  • Refusing to say who is paying the fee.
  • Guaranteed work placements after graduation, sold as a service being provided to you.
  • An offer of “work experience” on a student visa as a condition of admission.

Compare on total cost, not headline tuition

Living costs for the city rather than the country, the number of terms, what is included and what is extra, the cost of getting home if plans change, and what happens to the fees if a visa is refused. Then compare the qualification itself against what you intend to do with it, which is choosing a programme applied abroad.

If something goes wrong

Keep every document: the agency agreement, receipts, correspondence, and anything the institution gave you. If you are abroad, your own country’s embassy or consulate is the first call. If you are at home and an agency has taken money and done nothing, that is a consumer matter as well as a study-abroad one, and a written record is what makes either claim possible.

General information, not legal or immigration advice. Permit and recognition requirements change; confirm your own position with CHED and the relevant consulate before you commit money.

Tools for keeping the paperwork

The advice above is only useful if the documents behind it still exist in two years. These help with making, splitting and checking them.

  • Word to PDF Converter — for turning your own supporting documents into one file.
  • Merge PDF — to combine an agreement, receipts and correspondence into a single record.
  • Split PDF — to pull one document out of a combined file.
  • Image to Text Converter — for the letters an agency sends as photographs.

    • All pages in this section

    Common questions

    What four checks should I make before paying an agency?

    Confirm the foreign institution exists, check whether your specific qualification is recognised by CHED, ask for the programme registration or approval number, and establish who pays the agency.

    What does "verified" mean in the agency directory?

    It means a specific, checkable registration claim was checked against the record, and the entry says who checked it and when. It is not a recommendation, an inspection of the contract terms, or a guarantee.

    Is CHED recognition automatic?

    No. Recognising an institution is not the same as recognising a specific programme, and neither is the same as professional registration if you intend to practise in the Philippines.