CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 31 Oct' 25
The CLAT NRI quota for various National Universities is prescribed in the admission brochures of each university on the consortium's official website - consortiumofnlus.ac.in. The CLAT 2026 reservation criteria is prescribed separately for each NLU. The most common categories of reservation are SC, ST, OBC and EWS. However, many National Law Universities also set aside a certain number of seats for Foreign Nationals (FN) and Non-Resident Indians (NRI), including OCI and PIO card holders and non-resident Indian-sponsored.
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There are 24 national law universities (NLUs) and one private university participating in CLAT 2026. The entrance exam paves the way to some of the top law colleges in India, making it highly competitive, as around 20 students compete for every seat offered by an NLU.
At present, the NLUs offer a total of around 3700+ CLAT seats under 5-year LLB. Around 247 seats are offered to NRI/NRI sponsored/OCI/FN candidates. The seats offered by NLUs under NRI/NRI-S and FN categories are as mentioned below.
| NLU | NRI/NRI Sponsored | FN |
|---|---|---|
- | 15 | |
- | - | |
NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB) | 18 | - |
NLIU Bhopal (BSc LLB) | 9 | - |
WBNUJS Kolkata ( BA LLB) | 20 | 2 |
WBNUJS Kolkata (BSc.LLB Hons) | 10 | 2 |
16 | - | |
8 | 2 | |
16 | 5 | |
- | - | |
16 | 4 | |
5 | - | |
CNLU Patna (BA LLB) | 5 | - |
CNLU Patna (BBA LLB) | ||
6 | 2 | |
NLU Odisha (BA LLB) | 10 | 4 |
NLU Odisha (BBA LLB) | 5 | 2 |
- | - | |
- | - | |
12 | ||
TNNLU Tiruchirappalli (BA LLB) | 3 | - |
TNNLU Tiruchirappalli (BCom LLB) | 3 | - |
20 | ||
MNLU Nagpur (BA LLB) | - | - |
MNLU Nagpur (BBA LLB) | - | - |
MNLU Aurangabad- (BA LLB) | - | - |
MNLU Aurangabad (BBA LLB) | - | - |
HPNLU Shimla - BA LLB | 18 | |
| HPNLU Shimla - BBA LLB (Hons) | 9 | |
The CLAT NRI admission at NLUs offering NLU quota is done based on scores obtained by NRI candidates in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Candidates have to separately apply to the universities for getting admission under the CLAT NRI quota. The NRI admissions are not done through the centralised CLAT 2026 counselling process. Each university will release a separate NRI admission merit list on its website. The selected candidates are then required to complete document verification and fee payment. NRI seats that are left vacant are converted into general category seats and filled accordingly.
NRI and NRI-sponsored reservation in NLUs has been much contested. The tuition fee charged from NRIs, NRI-sponsored, OCI cardholders, and foreign nationals generally tends to be higher than other students. But the cut-offs under these categories go low due to reservation, making a chance for some section students who in most cases belong to the class to which the social, and economic reservation may not be justified.
The legality of the NRI quota was challenged in P A Inamdar v State of Maharashtra (2005).
In the judgement, the Supreme Court admitted that the term 'NRI' in relation to admissions is a “misnomer” and by and large, neither the students who get admissions under this category nor their parents are NRIs. In reality, less meritorious students who can afford to bring more money get admission.
However, the Court upheld the NRI quota on two main grounds;
It enables these institutions to strengthen their level of education and enlarge their educational activities.
That, it allows the people of Indian origin to bring back their children to their own country for higher education and facilitates their reunion with Indian cultural ethos.
In conclusion, the Court recommended a reservation not exceeding 15% for NRIs and subjected it to two conditions.
First, the seat should be utilized by the NRIs only for their children or wards.
Second, the amount collected from such students should be utilized to benefit students from weaker sections.
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In a case that came up in 2020, the Odisha High Court observed “NRIS reservation is like the reservation for the elite class and this dubious category of quota is unconstitutional. The eligibility and selection under this category are unregulated, illegal and arbitrary.” The court further suggested the Consortium of NLUs, the Bar Council of India and all the stakeholders involved in the process revisit the so-called NRIS quota and prepare a proper regulation and system while implementing this quota.
The CLAT 2026 NRI cut off will be available through the CLAT 2026 NRI merit list published by each university. The CLAT NRI cut off 2026 will be updated in this section upon official notification.
Candidates can check the previous year CLAT NRI cut-offs. It will give the candidates an idea of the cut off trends and the expected CLAT cut off for NRI category.
| NLU Name | NRI / NRI Sponsored cut off rank |
|---|---|
WBNUJS Kolkata | 1251 |
NLIU Bhopal | 5758 |
NLU Jodhpur | 1474 |
HNLU Raipur | 33519 |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 2831 |
RMLNLU Lucknow | 9604 |
NLUO Odisha | 24707 |
DSNLU Visakhapatnam | 39922 |
MNLU Mumbai | 33519 |
CLAT NRI Cut-Offs 2023
| University | CLAT NRI Cut Off |
|---|---|
NLU Visakhapatnam | 873 |
GNLU Silvassa | 1427 |
NLU Jodhpur | 1441 |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 2816 |
NLIU Bhopal | 3299 |
MNLU Mumbai | 4689 |
NLU Odisha, Cuttack | 6197 |
HNLU Raipur | 40012 |
NLU Lucknow* | 37492 (invited in Round 1) |
Talking about the fees in NLUs, the NRI candidates in most cases have to pay almost double the general category fee. The tuition fee for NRI students is around USD 5,000 per semester (around Rs. 4 Lakh per annum, 1$ = Rs. 80) as tuition fees in MNLU Mumbai. In GNLU Gandhinagar, the tuition fee for NRI candidates is around USD 12,500 per annum (roughly Rs. 10 Lakh per annum). Hostel fees, admission fees, examination fees etc are charged in addition to tuition fees. Candidates can check the tuition fees for NRIs in NLUs below in a table.
University | Tuition Fees |
NLU Visakhapatnam | Rs. 4,30,000/annum |
GNLU Silvassa | USD 12,500/year |
NLU Jodhpur | Rs. 4,17,000/year |
GNLU Gandhinagar | USD 12,500/year |
NLIU Bhopal | USD 10000/year |
MNLU Mumbai | USD 5000/Semester |
NLU Odisha, Cuttack | USD 6000/year |
HNLU Raipur | USD 6000 + 1 Lakh |
NLU Lucknow* | USD 10,000/year |
Reference – Official website/brochures
While NRIs are required to appear for the CLAT exam, foreign nationals are eligible for direct admission in most of the NLUs. Such candidates need to apply separately to these NLUs at the time of counselling. A separate application form is released under the NRI/NRI-S and FN categories. Admissions to foreign nationals are offered on the basis of their academic performance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, NLUs offer NRI quota.
There are around 247 NRI/FN seats
Yes, NRI candidates must have a valid CLAT score to gain NLU admission.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
No, you are not elligible to appear for the CLAT exam while in Class 11, as the elligiblity criteria require you to be in or have completed Class 12 . However, you can start preparing for the exam now.
You can get the CLAT Exam practice tests by following this link:
Hello,
Yes, if a student is from Telangana, they can apply for a reserved seat in CLAT only if they belong to a reserved category such as SC, ST, OBC, EWS, or PwD, as per the rules of CLAT and the participating National Law Universities (NLUs).
However, please note:
CLAT does not have a separate “Telangana state quota.”
Reservation is given based on category , not on the state, except in some NLUs that offer domicile (state) reservation for their own state students.
So, if you are from Telangana, you can:
Apply under your category reservation (like SC/ST/OBC/EWS) .
And you may get Telangana domicile reservation only in those NLUs that are located in Telangana (for example, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad ).
Hope it helps !
Hello,
For CLAT PG 2026 application :
Photograph: JPEG/JPG, 200x230 pixels, 20–50 KB, white/light background, recent passport-size photo.
Signature: JPEG/JPG, 140x60 pixels, 10–20 KB, sign on white paper with black ink, must match exam documents.
Hope it helps !
Hi dear candidate,
On our official website, you can find various study material EBooks and Sample Papers that can help you prepare better that you can download for free.
Kindly refer to the link attached below:
CLAT E-books and Sample Papers
CLAT Study Material 2026 PDF - Books, Mock Test, Question Papers
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Hello,
While NLUs are costly, you can still pursue government-funded law education through state-funded universities and their affiliated colleges that accept CLAT scores, such as institutes like Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University.
I hope it will clear your query!!
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Understand previous year cut-off trends as well as expected cut-offs for current year. Get the Ebook
