Why are Indian students choosing to study in Dubai in 2025?

Dubai is growing in terms of its infrastructure, healthcare, engineering, tourism, and now in education - the world knows about it! Dubai has campuses of the top universities from around the world, such as the University of Wollongong in Dubai, Middlesex University Dubai and Canadian University Dubai. Studying in Dubai at these universities is a less costly affair for students than studying in their main branch, but it gives the same credentials and recognition. Read this article to learn why Dubai is booming as a study abroad destination for Indian students in 2025.

Dubai is one of the most prosperous cities in the world, and is placed in 75th position in the QS Best Student Cities Rankings of 2026, with a 98.3 score in the “student view” criterion, placing it equal to London (student view score = 98.3) and less than Berlin (student view score = 100) in this regard. This gives the city a 3rd rank in Student View in 2026. While the world has long been witnessing the technological advances in this lavish emirate, Indian students have also shown their keen interest in studying in Dubai. 

With scores of 58.4, 49.2, 16.1, 69.7, 169.4 and 7.1 in Numbeo's cost of living index 2025 (mid-year), Pollution Index by City 2025 Mid-Year, Crime Index by City 2025 Mid-Year, Health Care Index by City 2025 Mid-Year, Traffic Index by City 2025 Mid-Year and Price-to-Income Ratio in the Property Prices Index by City 2025 Mid-Year, respectively, Dubai stands out as an emerging study destination for Indian and international students in many aspects, not just in terms of good international education. These mid-year index scores reveal a compelling picture of why Dubai is booming as a study abroad destination for Indian students in 2025. Read this article to learn about these indices and other strong reasons that are cementing Dubai’s place as the next prominent study destination abroad. 

Top Reasons to Study in Dubai in 2025-26

Here are some of the most compelling reasons why Dubai is becoming the most chosen study abroad destination by Indian students in recent times:

1. Proximity to India

Dubai's close proximity to India makes it an accessible and convenient option for Indian students and their families. Dubai's multicultural environment, with a large Indian expatriate community, provides a sense of familiarity to the newly arrived Indian students and helps them transition easily into a new country.

2. Affordability and Lower Cost of Living in Dubai than Most Major Destinations

The cost of living in Dubai is much affordable than in other major student cities. This can be understood by comparing Dubai’s cost of living index against other cities’ cost of living indices.

The cost of living index compares the cost of goods and services in a city to a base city, which is often New York City (NYC), with its cost of living index score being 100.00. Any score lower than this score emphasises the lower costs of goods and services in the concerned city. 

Dubai obtained a 2025 mid-year cost of living index of 58.4, which is much lower than other popular student cities such as Zurich (highest cost of living index, at 116), Singapore (86.7), London (UK, 85.1), Boston (84.1), Amsterdam (79.2), Paris (76.7), Luxembourg (76.1), Dublin (75.1), Cork (74.8), Cambridge (74.4), Hong Kong (74.0), Munich (73.8), Brussels (72.3), and several others. This difference in the cost of living indices shows that your day-to-day expenses in Dubai - from your groceries and coffee to a taxi ride - are roughly 42% cheaper than in New York City (NYC) and about 31% cheaper than in London (UK). This also means that if your shopping basket costs you ₹100 in NYC, then the same basket will cost you ₹116 in Zurich, ₹85.10 in London and ₹58.40 in Dubai.

*Cost of Living Indices Source: Numbeo

Affordability is one of the major criteria that affects students’ choices of studying abroad. Dubai is not just affordable, it also provides an opportunity to integrate with the latest tech-advancement, live in a beautiful, luxurious city and study at a world-recognised university. 

Here is the comparison of the cost of living in Dubai with other major destinations:

3. Presence of Top Universities and Affordable Cost of Tuition in Dubai

The number of universities in Dubai is increasing constantly, and the universities here in Dubai are also evolving in terms of their teaching practices and the quality of education with each passing year. Dubai campuses of many top global universities from Canada, the UK, Australia and more are located here, and they provide their quality courses at a relatively lower tuition fee than at their main campuses. 

The cost of higher education in Dubai is cheaper than in most major study destinations. Here is a brief comparison:

Let us check the difference in tuition fees between the Dubai and the main campuses of global institutions located in Dubai:

4. Low Crime Rate

When it comes to studying abroad, the safety of students comes off as a crucial factor for Indian parents and students, for whom safety is a primary concern when studying abroad. Dubai, with its relatively low crime index score, i.e. 16.1, is considered to be a safer haven for Indian students than other major destinations. With this crime index score, Dubai is categorised as having a "Very Low" level of crime. 

It is interesting to note that in the safest cities in the world rankings 2025 (determined by the ‘mid-year Safety Index by City 2025’ by Numbeo), out of the top 6 contenders, 5 are major emirates from the UAE, including Dubai, with it being in the 5th position. Here are the top 5 safest cities in the world based on their Safety Indices in 2025:

Safety Indices Source: Numbeo 

5. Presence of Top Universities

Dubai is home to 41 private higher education institutions, out of which 37 are international branch campuses. This allows students to earn degrees from globally recognised universities like the University of Manchester (ranked 35th globally) and the University of Birmingham (ranked 76th globally) while being closer to India. Alongside this, for the year 2025-26, Dubai is welcoming three highly-regarded international universities, i.e., the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad from India (ranked 27th globally for Business and Management course), the American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon (ranked 237th in the QS World University Rankings) and Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences, Saudi Arabia.

6. Rapid Growth in Enrolment at Major Dubai Universities

With the visa rejection crisis, job crisis and other issues currently prevailing at major other study abroad destinations in the world, Dubai has been found to be attracting more and more international students. The universities are also aiming to accept a larger number of international applications. 

According to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai (KHDA), 42% of the total international enrolments in 2024-25 were from Indian students. Adding to that, nearly 29% of the faculty members at licensed higher education institutions in Dubai are Indians. Hence, it creates a familiar and supportive academic environment for Indian students and a great trust factor for Indian parents. 

7. Favourable Visa and Post-Study Work Policies

Among the current scenarios of countries tightening their student visa and job-search visa policies, Dubai has proposed flexible visa options for students who wish to work and settle here. For example, the Golden Visa of Dubai is a 10-year renewable visa and is a total game-changer for high-achieving students. Graduates from UAE universities with a GPA of 3.5 or higher, graduates from the world's top 100 universities and exceptional high school students with a score of at least 95% are eligible to apply for this visa. 

The Green Visa in Dubai is a self-sponsored 5-year visa that allows graduates to reside in the UAE without needing an employer to sponsor them. This visa gives them ample time to find a job or start a business in the country.

8. Booming Job Market 

As many as 63% of the business leaders in the UAE proposed their plans for increasing the headcounts of employees in their company in 2025. For this reason, the job market in Dubai is also expanding rapidly, and the top high-demand roles are currently in the following sectors:

• Technology and IT: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, and Data Science are the strongest hiring areas.
• Business and Finance: Business management, finance, and FinTech remain top fields.

These highly in-demand sectors directly align with the top courses chosen by Indian students. Among international students, 54% enrol in business programs, followed by 11% each in IT and engineering in the UAE. 

Advantages of Studying in Dubai 

To conclude, Dubai is a strong place to study and grow in terms of career for Indian students. The country has a good healthcare system, which is reflected by its high Health Care Index score of 69.7 (this index assesses the overall quality of the healthcare system, including professionals, equipment, and costs). Alongside this, with a Pollution Index score of 49.2, Dubai is indicated as having satisfactory air quality with minimal risk from air pollution for the general population. 

These reasons make studying in Dubai highly favourable for Indian students. If you seek higher education in Dubai, register yourself to get Shiksha’s Counselling Services for free.