International Students in Argentina May Soon Face Tuition Fees

International students considering higher education institutions in Argentina may soon have to pay tuition fees to study there.

Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, who took office last month, has presented a bill to Congress that would give universities permission to charge international students for their enrollment in courses, Erudera.com reports.

The bill has yet to pass the legislature, given Milei’s party’s lack of majority. However, experts stressed there are signs the policy is part of the president's agenda.

Milei ran for Argentina’s president as part of the Libertarian Party (La Libertad Avanza) and took over the presidency on December 10, 2023.

According to media reports, the potential implementation of this policy is seen as a move that hinders access to free education in Argentina, which has long been recognized as a country offering learning opportunities without any cost at public universities.

Differently, the tuition fees at private universities range from $3,000 to $20,000 per year for both undergraduate and graduate students, while doctoral studies cost about $2,300 to $27,000 per year.

Commenting on the policy, Marcelo Rabossi, a professor in the School of Government at Torcuato Di Tella University, said such a decision could lead to tension between higher education institutions and the government.

“The government could threaten to reduce universities’ funds if they do not begin to charge tuition fees to non-resident foreign students. Here we could be entering into a power game to see who is more powerful; universities or the state itself,” Rabossi told Times Higher Education, highlighting the need to first have a strategic plan on introducing tuition fees.

Argentina is considered one of the most popular countries in Latin America for international students to study. Nonetheless, the share of students from abroad who choose to pursue education in the country continues to be low.

The proportion of international students in Argentina is 2 percent, with most of the latter coming from neighboring countries.

According to research by Study Buenos Aires and the National University of San Martín, the capital Buenos Aires welcomed 52,707 international students in 2022, marking a near return to the pre-pandemic levels.

Of this figure, 20,945 attended universities, while the remaining moved to Argentina to enroll in short-term programs.

In 2021, Argentina was home to 117,820 international students, of whom 99,693 undergraduates, most from the Americas (95.93 percent), only 2.9 percent from Europe, and 1.17 percent of students that year were from other continents.

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