Kazakhstan Government Scholarship for Pakistani Students 2027: 550 Places, the 30 March to 31 May Window, What Is Covered, Eligibility, Documents and How to Compete

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

The Kazakhstan government scholarship for Pakistani students is one of three real government-funded routes in the corridor, alongside Russia’s quota and Open Doors and Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev grant. It is larger than Azerbaijan’s, less known than Russia’s, and decided by an online application and interview in a two-month spring window. This guide sets out the numbers, the coverage, the documents, and what a Pakistani applicant needs to do to be one of the 550.

Figures are from official notices republished by scholarship portals and Pakistani consultants; confirm the current call on studyin.kz when it opens.

What the scholarship is

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan invites foreign citizens, including ethnic Kazakhs who are not citizens, to apply for full-time bachelor’s, master’s and PhD study at Kazakh universities, per the notice republished by South Africa’s DHET. It is administered through the Center for International Programs, per ScholarWaka. It is often described as linked to Bolashak, per StudyAbroad.pk, but Bolashak itself funds Kazakh citizens abroad; this program is the inbound one for foreigners.

Places and competition

• About 550 scholarships a year: 490 bachelor’s, 50 master’s, 10 PhD, per StudyAbroad.pk and Scholarships.af.
• The 2026–27 round drew 16,098 applications from 71 countries, with results published for 550 selected across 27 universities, per Scholarships.af.
• That is roughly a one-in-thirty overall rate, much tighter at master’s and PhD level.

What is covered and what is not

• Covered: full tuition and a monthly stipend, per Scholarships.af; reported stipends of about 52,372 KZT for bachelor’s and up to 262,500 KZT for PhD, per Scholarships.af. Some portals also list free dormitory accommodation and medical insurance, per ScholarDigger; confirm in the current call.
• Not covered: flights, visa fees, attestation and translation, insurance where not listed, and personal expenses; the official notice states applicants must provide for all expenses not covered, per DHET.

Consultants quote Kazakh living costs of roughly PKR 650,000–1,200,000 a year including tuition, per CC Consultings; a bachelor’s stipend covers a frugal student’s food and transport, not much more. See our cost of living guide.

Eligibility

• Foreign citizenship; Pakistanis qualify.
• Full-time study at a participating university.
• Bachelor’s: completed secondary education with good results, per O4AF; FSc or A-levels.
• Master’s: a bachelor’s degree and a language certificate.
• PhD: a master’s, a language certificate and a dissertation research justification in Kazakh, Russian or English, per GreatYop.
• Scholars are generally expected to return home on completion, per StudyAbroad.pk.

Documents

• Passport copy.
• Educational documents with transcripts, translated into Kazakh, Russian or English and notarised; Pakistani certificates should be IBCC or HEC attested and MOFA apostilled first; see our attestation guide.
• Medical certificate and health declaration, per ScholarWaka.
• Language certificate where required (below).
• Motivation letter; PhD research justification.
• An invitation letter from a Kazakh university if available, per GreatYop; optional but it strengthens the file.

Language requirements

For master’s and PhD applicants: English by IELTS at least 5.5 or TOEFL iBT at least 46 (PBT 453); German DSH or TestDaF at B2; French TFI, DELF, DALF at B2 or TCF at 50; Chinese HSK level 4; no certificate is required where previous education was in the program’s language, per O4AF. Most Pakistani applicants use IELTS 5.5 or a medium-of-instruction certificate from an English-medium degree. Bachelor’s applicants are not asked for a certificate in the published notices, but English or Russian ability shapes the interview.

The application window and process

1. The call opens around 30 March and closes 31 May, per StudyAbroad.pk; the 2026 deadline was 31 May 2026, per GreatYop.
2. Apply online only at studyin.kz/admission, per the notice republished by DHET.
3. Choose a field and participating university from the published list.
4. Upload documents; the form can be completed in Kazakh, Russian or English.
5. Shortlisted candidates are interviewed online by the ministry and universities, per ScholarDigger.
6. Results are published in summer; the 2026–27 list appeared in August, per Scholarships.af.

The interview

Expect questions on why Kazakhstan, why this university and field, your academic record, your plans after graduation, and your language ability. Prepare a two-minute answer to each in the language of instruction you chose. Having a university invitation letter and a clear return-home plan aligns with the program’s stated aims.

Participating universities

The 2026–27 list included 27 universities, among them Astana IT University and L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, per Scholarships.af; Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and Nazarbayev University are also cited as hosts, per ScholarDigger. The list changes yearly; read it on the call and check each university on HEC’s recognised foreign universities information via its procedure page. See our study in Kazakhstan guide.

Medical applicants and PMDC

If a medical university is on the list, a Pakistani applicant must still meet PM&DC’s rules: 60% FSc, 50% MDCAT, free registration at srf.pmdc.pk before departure, an ECFMG-listed institution, 6,200 hours over five years and the NRE on return, per the policy. A scholarship does not waive any of it. See our MBBS in Kazakhstan guide.

After selection: visa and arrival

Selected students receive an invitation through the university and apply for the paper student visa at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Islamabad; Pakistan is not on Kazakhstan’s e-visa list, per Baltas Tour. Processing is about 10–15 working days, per CC Consultings. See our visa guide. Budget for the flight and first weeks yourself.

How to compete

1. Start in January: attest and apostille certificates, get translations, sit IELTS if needed.
2. Shortlist two or three participating universities in your field and email them for an invitation letter.
3. Write a motivation letter that names the university, the program and a return-home plan.
4. Submit early in April; do not wait for 31 May.
5. Rehearse the interview in English or Russian.
6. Apply to Russia’s Open Doors (August–November) and Azerbaijan’s grant (February–April via HEC) in parallel; the windows do not clash.

Compared with Russia and Azerbaijan

• Kazakhstan: 550 places, tuition plus stipend, spring window, interview-based; see above.
• Russia: larger quota plus Open Doors, tuition plus stipend, no housing, autumn window, exam-based; see our Open Doors guide.
• Azerbaijan: fuller package including flights and allowance, but only two or three Pakistani places, HEC-nominated; see our Azerbaijan guide.

Bottom line

The Kazakhstan government scholarship for Pakistani students is a genuine, sizeable, tuition-plus-stipend program with a fixed spring window and a one-in-thirty overall success rate. Prepare attested documents and IELTS in winter, secure a university invitation, apply early at studyin.kz, rehearse the interview, and run the Russian and Azerbaijani applications alongside it.