How to Pay MBBS Fees in Russia from India: Routes, LRS Limit, TCS and Receipts
Paying a Russian university from India is not as simple as paying a college in the UK. Visa and Mastercard stopped working in Russia in 2022 and the biggest Russian banks have been cut from SWIFT. A route that works today is a rupee payment sent in roubles through a licensed dealer. This guide covers that route, the other options, the RBI and tax rules that apply, and the papers to keep.
In short: Indian cards do not work in Russia and the largest Russian banks are off SWIFT, so most families pay the university in rupees through an RBI-licensed dealer, which sends roubles to the university's account. Sberbank India runs one such service through eight named partners. A normal bank wire may also work but some banks hold or return such payments, so ask in writing first. Remittances for education come under the LRS limit of US$250,000 a year. From 1 April 2026 TCS is 2% on the part above ₹10 lakh a year, and nil on money paid out of a bank education loan.
Why paying Russia is different
Before 2022 a family paid a Russian university with an ordinary bank wire in dollars. Three changes made that unreliable.
- Russian banks left SWIFT. The EU removed seven Russian banks from SWIFT in March 2022, among them VTB, and later cut off Sberbank and Rosselkhozbank under its sixth sanctions package in June 2022. Further banks were added in the sixteenth package in February 2025. A report in 2024 said that around 200 Russian banks still had access, so it matters which bank the university uses. We could not verify the current SWIFT status of any particular bank, so ask the university for its bank's name and BIC code and ask your own bank whether it can send to it.
- Visa and Mastercard stopped. Both suspended operations in Russia in March 2022. Cards from Russian banks work only inside Russia, and Indian-issued cards cannot be relied on there.
- Indian banks became careful. We found no Indian bank that publishes a rule on Russian university payments and no official list of banks that process them. One Russian-language guide of 2026 reports that large private banks stall or return such transfers and that SBI has stopped transactions with sanctioned Russian entities. That guide is a single unofficial source, and we could not confirm it. The practical point stands: a bank may accept a payment to one Russian university and refuse another, depending on the university's bank.
For this reason, do not assume the payment method your senior or neighbour used last year will work for you. Test it with the first instalment, well before the deadline.
Route 1: rupees in, roubles out through a licensed dealer
This is the route with the clearest published rules. Sberbank's Indian branch runs a tuition remittance service in which you pay in rupees and the university receives roubles. The transaction is handled by Sberbank India and by RBI-licensed Authorised Dealer Category-II partners. Its website lists eight partners: Orient Exchange & Financial Services, Transcorp International, Zenith Leisure Holidays, Ebix Cash World Money, WSFX Global Pay, Quick Forex, Indel Money and Multimoney Forex. Listing is not our recommendation; compare them.
| Point | What Sberbank India publishes |
|---|---|
| Who pays, who receives | The payer sends rupees from an Indian bank account; the university or the student's Russian account receives roubles |
| Sberbank account needed? | No. Payments can go to any university whose account is with an authorised financial institution in Russia, subject to compliance checks |
| Steps | Contact a partner; give KYC documents; the partner prepares Form A2 and confirms the rate; pay by UPI, net banking, IMPS, NEFT or RTGS |
| Documents for tuition | Admission letter and the university's bank details in English; student's passport and PAN; remitter's PAN and address proof; education loan proof if applicable; a source-of-funds declaration from the parent or guardian |
| Annual limit | US$250,000 per person under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme |
| Rate | Set by the partner for the day, and can differ from the indicative rate shown on the site |
| Charges | The partner's service charges, GST and TCS |
| Time | Funds typically reach the university within two working days after the documents are cleared. This is an indicative time |
| Cancel or refund | A processed remittance generally cannot be reversed. A refund is started by the university and is treated as a new transaction, which may carry exchange charges |
The page also says it cannot help with visas, accommodation or scholarships. It does not list universities. Ask your university's finance office whether it receives payments this way; only the university can say.
Route 2: a wire from your own bank
Some families send money from their own bank account directly to the university's account. This is a normal outward remittance under the RBI's rules, with the university's invoice as proof. It is still possible only if your bank is willing and the university's bank can be reached. Before you pay anything, ask your bank in writing:
- whether it accepts a remittance to the university's bank and in which currency;
- what the bank's rate, charges and TCS will be;
- how long the transfer takes and what happens if the money is held or returned;
- which papers it needs, usually the invoice, the admission letter and Form A2.
If the bank holds a payment, ask for the reason in writing. One reported problem is a transfer that stalls for weeks without a clear explanation. A held payment can make you miss the university's deadline, so ask the university in advance whether it allows a short extension.
If the family has a bank education loan, the bank usually pays the university itself against the fee demand; see the education loan guide and the Vidya Lakshmi page, Vidya Lakshmi portal and MBBS in Russia. Ask the loan bank before sanction whether it can remit to a Russian bank at all.
What about the "rupee vostro" accounts?
You may read that India and Russia trade in rupees through special rupee vostro accounts. That arrangement exists: since 11 July 2022 an RBI circular lets Indian authorised dealer banks open special rupee vostro accounts for the correspondent banks of a partner country, so that exports and imports can be invoiced and settled in rupees. It is a mechanism for trade between businesses. We found no source showing that it is a route for individual tuition payments. For a student's fee, use one of the two routes above and let your dealer or bank say which channel it uses.
LRS limit and TCS: the rules in October 2026
An Indian resident can send money abroad for education under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), up to US$250,000 per person in a financial year (April to March). Tuition, hostel and living costs sent for the student come under it. TCS, tax collected at source, is added by the bank or dealer on top of the amount when the remittance is above a threshold.
| Purpose of remittance | Up to ₹10 lakh in the year | Above ₹10 lakh |
|---|---|---|
| Education, paid from the family's own funds | Nil | 2% on the excess |
| Education, paid out of a loan from a financial institution | Nil | Nil |
| Medical treatment | Nil | 2% on the excess |
| Other LRS purposes (gifts, investment, maintenance) | Nil | 20% on the excess |
What changed, in order. Until the 2024-25 year, TCS on education remittances above ₹7 lakh was 5%, or 0.5% when funded by a bank loan. The Budget of February 2025 raised the threshold to ₹10 lakh and removed TCS on loan-funded education remittances. From 1 April 2026 the rate for self-funded education and medical remittances above ₹10 lakh fell from 5% to 2%. Reports describe the threshold as applying per PAN in the financial year, and the TCS can be set against income tax and refunded through the return if no tax is due. The collection rule now sits in section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaced the 1961 Act on 1 April 2026; the 2% rate comes from the Finance Act 2026.
Worked example. A family pays six lakh roubles for first-year tuition, about ₹6,79,200 at the official rate of 15 October 2026, and sends another ₹3 lakh for the hostel and the student's first months in the same financial year. The total is ₹9,79,200, below ₹10 lakh, so there is no TCS. If the family sends ₹12 lakh in the year, all from savings, TCS is 2% of the ₹2 lakh above the threshold: ₹4,000. If a bank loan pays the university, TCS on that payment is nil. Ask the bank how it counts remittances by two parents on separate PANs; the threshold is applied to each remitter's PAN.
Not sure how to send the first instalment?
Tell us the university and the fee; we explain the payment route it accepts and the papers you need.
Cards, Mir and UnionPay: money for daily life
- Indian Visa, Mastercard and RuPay cards. Visa and Mastercard suspended Russian operations in March 2022. Plan as if your Indian card will not work for shopping or ATM withdrawals in Russia. Do not travel with only a card.
- Mir. Mir is Russia's own card system and the one students use after they open a Russian bank account. Acceptance of Mir in India, and of RuPay in Russia, has been discussed for years but was not in place in a 2025 report.
- UnionPay. We could not source its acceptance in Russia or whether an Indian bank issues a card that works there, so do not count on it.
- Money for monthly costs. Sberbank India lists a personal expenses remittance to the student's own Russian bank account, with the account details in English and proof of continued study. It states a limit of US$10,000 per transaction and a minimum of ₹1,000. Ask the dealer whether your route offers the same.
When the student arrives, the university's international office usually helps with a bank account and a Mir card. Ask which Russian bank it uses and whether the account must be opened in person. Send a small first amount to test the route before a large one.
Cash: how much you can carry
Do not plan to pay tuition in cash. A university takes fees into its own account, and cash invites loss, fraud and customs trouble. For pocket money for the first days, note these rules, which are reported in several guides but which we have not checked against the RBI or the Russian customs service. Confirm them before you travel.
- India: a resident traveller can usually carry up to US$3,000 in foreign currency notes per trip; the rest of the money should go by card or a bank instrument. Indian currency notes up to ₹25,000 can be carried out.
- Russia: cash above US$10,000 (in any currency) must be declared on entry. Rules on taking foreign cash out of Russia are reported differently in different sources.
Papers to keep, and mistakes to avoid
You need a record for the university, for the loan bank, for the tax return and, years later, for any query about your remittances. Keep:
- the university's fee invoice or contract page showing the amount and the year;
- the dealer's or bank's remittance advice with the rate, the charges and the date;
- Form A2 and the KYC papers submitted;
- the university's own receipt or confirmation that the money was credited;
- the TCS entry in Form 26AS or AIS, if any was collected.
Mistakes we would avoid:
- Paying an agent's personal account. Pay only the university's account named in the invoice. A bank education loan will not pay an agent either.
- Paying through an unlicensed channel. Money sent through an unlicensed channel is outside the RBI rules; the dealer must be an authorised one.
- Waiting for the deadline. Allow at least a week between your documents and the university's payment date, not the two working days that a smooth transfer may take.
- Sending the whole course in one go. Pay as the university's invoice asks, year by year. Check the rouble rate on the day you pay and keep a reserve.
- Wrong beneficiary details. Sberbank India says incorrect details may lead to funds being returned or held. Copy the bank details from the invoice exactly.
The total cost of the course, with the hostel and insurance, is on the fees page.
Check the payment route before the deadline
We tell you how your university receives payments from India and what to ask your bank.
Paying MBBS Fees in Russia from India: Frequently Asked Questions
How do Indian students pay tuition fees to Russian universities?
Most pay in rupees through an RBI-licensed dealer that sends roubles to the university's bank account; Sberbank India runs such a service with eight listed partners. Some families wire money from their own bank, which works only if the bank accepts the university's bank. Always ask the university for its invoice and bank details first.
Can I pay a Russian university with an Indian credit or debit card?
Do not plan on it. Visa and Mastercard suspended operations in Russia in March 2022, and we found no verified route for Indian-issued cards. Universities take fees by bank transfer to their account, not by card.
What is the LRS limit for paying university fees in Russia?
Education remittances come under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, with a limit of US$250,000 per person per financial year. This covers tuition and living money sent abroad together with other LRS payments.
Is there TCS on fees paid to a Russian university?
From 1 April 2026, TCS is 2% on the part of education remittances above ₹10 lakh in a financial year, when paid from savings. It is nil when the money comes from an education loan from a financial institution. Check the current rule with your bank before the payment.
Which Indian bank sends money to Russian universities?
We found no official list. Ask your bank in writing whether it can remit to your university's bank, and compare with licensed dealers. If a bank refuses or holds the payment, ask for the reason in writing and use another route.
Can I pay the university fee in cash or through an agent?
No. Pay the university's own account named on the invoice, and keep the receipt. Paying cash or an agent's account leaves you without proof and may break the remittance rules.
Sources: Sberbank India, "Paying for education in Russia" page (sber.bank.in); Reuters and other reports on EU SWIFT exclusions of Russian banks (March and June 2022, February 2025); RBI circular A.P. (DIR Series) No. 10 of 11 July 2022 on international trade settlement in rupees; Standard Chartered India, "LRS amendment in TCS"; Business Standard, 1 February 2025, on TCS on foreign remittances; Flywire and CalcGuru summaries of TCS from 1 April 2026; ClearTax summary of section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (the Acts themselves not read); News reports on Visa and Mastercard suspension (March 2022) and on Mir-RuPay (2025); Russian-language remittance guide (dtf.ru, 2026) for the reported bank delays; Russia and India cash rules as reported by travel guides. Checked October 2026. The worked example is our own calculation.