How to start an education consultancy in Bangladesh: licences, setup and your first students

Opening a study-abroad consultancy in Bangladesh is mostly a matter of ordinary business registration, followed by the harder work of earning university partners and students' trust. This guide covers both, in the order you will meet them.

Is there a licence for study-abroad agencies?

Not a dedicated one. Bangladesh has no ministry licence or registration scheme specifically for education consultancies today. Most firms operate under a city corporation or municipality trade licence, sometimes with a registered company behind it. Journalists and parents have called for a regulator, so watch for change, but as of October 2026 the rules below are what apply.

The absence of a special licence cuts both ways. It is easy to open, and it is just as easy for a careless competitor to open next door. Your paperwork, contracts and record-keeping are how families tell you apart.

Step 1: Choose your business structure

Structure	Registered with	Good for	Keep in mind
Sole proprietorship	Trade licence only	One founder starting small	You are personally liable for the business
Partnership	Trade licence, optional registration with RJSC	Two or three founders	Write a partnership deed before you open
Private limited company	RJSC	Raising money, bank loans, larger university contracts	More filing and accounting each year

Many agencies start as a proprietorship and convert to a private limited company once university partners or banks ask for it. A local chartered accountant can tell you which suits your plans in an hour's conversation.

Step 2: The paperwork

1. Trade licence from your city corporation (in Dhaka, DNCC or DSCC) or pourashava. Expect to provide your NID, passport-size photos, the office rent agreement and the holding tax receipt for the premises. Choose a business category that covers consultancy services.
2. e-TIN from the National Board of Revenue, applied for online. It is quick and you will need it for the trade licence, your bank and most partner contracts.
3. Bank account in the business name, so student payments never mix with personal money.
4. VAT registration (BIN) if your accountant says your services and turnover require it.
5. Office lease in your business name. Universities and parents both notice whether you have a real office.

Fees and documents change, so confirm the current list with your city corporation before you go.

Step 3: Decide which destinations and students you serve

New agencies that try to cover twelve countries usually cover none of them well. Pick two or three destinations where you can learn the visa rules thoroughly, for example:

• UK for one-year master's courses and January or September starts
• Canada for college diplomas and post-graduation work routes
• Australia for February and July intakes

Then pick a student profile: recent HSC graduates, bachelor's graduates looking for a master's, or working professionals. Your marketing, your counselors' training and your university partners all follow from this choice.

Step 4: Get university partners

Universities pay agencies a commission when a student they referred enrols, and they only work with agencies they trust. There are two routes:

• Through an aggregator, a larger company that already holds contracts with many universities and shares the commission with you. Fastest way to start, with a smaller share.
• Direct contracts with universities. Slower, and usually needs a track record and a visit from the university's regional manager.

Training helps you get both. The British Council runs training for education agents who work with UK universities, and ICEF offers an agency accreditation that some universities look for. Neither is required by law, but both tell a university you take compliance seriously.

Step 5: Set up how you work before the first student arrives

The habits you set in the first month decide whether you can grow past five students. Decide now:

• Where leads go. One list, with the source of each enquiry, not five counselors' phones.
• What a student file contains. Results, test scores, passport details, budget, preferred country and intake.
• Which documents each destination needs, written down as a checklist rather than remembered.
• How deadlines are tracked. Every application has a date, and someone is reminded before it.
• How money is recorded. Every payment gets a receipt with a number, whether it came by cash, bank or bKash.

A spreadsheet can do this for the first ten students. After that, the gaps start costing you students, and a CRM built for agencies (such as Abroadesk) pays for itself.

Step 6: Find your first students

• Facebook and Instagram: short videos answering real questions ("Can I study in the UK with a 3-year gap?") bring better leads than posters.
• Referrals: a student who got their visa with your help will send friends. Ask them, and thank them properly.
• Coaching centres and colleges: IELTS centres and HSC colleges are full of students thinking about studying abroad.
• Free seminars: a monthly evening session on one destination, with a partner university representative if you can get one.

Answer every enquiry the same day. The agency that replies first and follows up second usually wins the student.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Promising visas. You can prepare a strong application; only the embassy decides.
• Taking cash without a receipt. It invites disputes and makes your accounts impossible to trust.
• Letting one counselor hold all the knowledge. When they leave, your students and partners leave with them.
• Skipping the written agreement with students. State your fees, what they cover and your refund policy.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need permission from the Ministry of Education? Not at present. There is no separate education-consultancy licence; a trade licence and tax registration are the basics.

How long does setup take? With documents ready, a trade licence and e-TIN can be done within a couple of weeks. University partnerships take longer, often months.

Can I start from home? Legally the trade licence needs premises. Practically, parents and universities expect an office they can visit.