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    NRI Quota in NLUs: All You Need to Know About NRI Reservation, Seats, Cut-Offs & Fees
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    • NRI Quota in NLUs: All You Need to Know About NRI Reservation, Seats, Cut-Offs & Fees

    NRI Quota in NLUs: All You Need to Know About NRI Reservation, Seats, Cut-Offs & Fees

    Shubham BhakuniUpdated on 16 Feb 2026, 12:04 PM IST

    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 are specified 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.

    This Story also Contains

    1. CLAT 2026 NRI Seat Intake
    2. CLAT 2026 NRI Admission
    3. Legality of NRI Quota in NLUs
    4. CLAT NRI Cut Off 2026
    5. NRI Fees in NLUs
    6. Admission of Foreign Nationals
    NRI Quota in NLUs: All You Need to Know About NRI Reservation, Seats, Cut-Offs & Fees
    CLAT 2026: NLRI Reservation in NLUs

    There are 26 National Law Universities (NLUs) and IIULER Goa are 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.

    CLAT 2026 NRI Seat Intake

    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.

    CLAT 2026 NRI/NRI Sponsered & FN seats

    NLUNRI/NRI SponsoredFN

    NLSIU Bengaluru

    -

    15

    NALSAR Hyderabad

    -

    -

    NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB)

    18

    -

    NLIU Bhopal (BSc LLB)

    9

    -

    WBNUJS Kolkata ( BA LLB)

    20

    2

    WBNUJS Kolkata (BSc.LLB Hons)

    10

    2

    NLU Jodhpur

    16

    -

    HNLU Raipur

    8

    2

    GNLU Gandhinagar

    16

    5

    GNLU Silvassa Campus

    -

    -

    RMLNLU Lucknow

    16

    4

    RGNUL Patiala

    5

    -

    CNLU Patna (BA LLB)

    5

    -

    CNLU Patna (BBA LLB)

    NUALS Kochi

    6

    2

    NLU Odisha (BA LLB)

    10

    4

    NLU Odisha (BBA LLB)

    5

    2

    NUSRL Ranchi

    -

    -

    NLUJA Assam

    -

    -

    DSNLU Visakhapatnam

    12

    TNNLU Tiruchirappalli (BA LLB)

    3

    -

    TNNLU Tiruchirappalli (BCom LLB)

    3

    -

    MNLU Mumbai

    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

    CLAT 2026 NRI Admission

    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 to get 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.

    Legality of NRI Quota in NLUs

    NRI and NRI-sponsored reservations in NLUs have been much contested. The tuition fee charged from NRIs, NRI-sponsored, OCI cardholders, and foreign nationals generally tends to be higher than that of other students. But the cut-offs under these categories go low due to reservation, making a chance for some section students who, in most case,s 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 judgment, 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 the 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 utilised by the NRIs only for their children or wards.

    • Second, the amount collected from such students should be utilised to benefit students from weaker sections.

    Jindal Global Law School Admissions 2026

    Ranked #1 Law School in India & South Asia by QS- World University Rankings | Merit cum means scholarships | Applications Closing Soon

    Amity University-Noida Law Admissions 2026

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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 that 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.

    CLAT NRI Cut Off 2026

    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.

    CLAT NRI Previous Year Cut Off

    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 the NRI category.

    CLAT 2025 NRI Cut Off

    NLU NRI / NRI Sponsored cut-off rank
    WBNUJS - BA LLBNRI/NRIS - 1299
    NLIU Bhopal - BA LLB15021
    NLU Jodhpur1570
    HNLU Raipur34022
    GNLU Gandhinagar2326
    RMLNLU Lucknow33218
    NLUO Odisha
    OCI - 9170
    NRIS - 9040
    DSNLU VisakhapatnamNRI - 33023
    NRIS - 11446
    CLAT 2026 College Predictor
    Know your admission chances in National Law Universities based on your home state & exam result for All India Category & State Category seats.
    Try Now

    CLAT 2024 NRI Cut Off

    NLU NameNRI / 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

    UniversityCLAT 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)

    NRI Fees in NLUs

    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. 4.5 Lakh per annum, 1$ = Rs. 90) as tuition fees in MNLU Mumbai. In GNLU Gandhinagar, the tuition fee for NRI candidates is around USD 12,500 per annum (roughly Rs. 11 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.

    NRI/NRI-S fees in NLUs

    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 + Rs. 1 Lakh

    NLU Lucknow*

    USD 10,000/year

    Reference – Official website/brochures

    Admission of Foreign Nationals

    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)

    Q: Do NLUs offer NRI quota?
    A:

    Yes, NLUs offer NRI quota.

    Q: Do NRI candidates have to appear for CLAT?
    A:

    Yes, NRI candidates must have a valid CLAT score to gain NLU admission.

    Q: How many NRI/FN seats are there?
    A:

    There are around 247 NRI/FN seats

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    Questions related to CLAT

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to CLAT ?

    Hello Santosh,

    Domicile cut-offs are unpredictable. You can apply and get a seat only if the domicile category is selected. You can apply, but the chances of getting either of them are rare.

    CLAT is an entrance examination conducted for admissions into law colleges. The qualifying marks vary with the colleges. You should check the details on the website to get a clear idea regarding cut offs for the colleges. You will also get the exam pattern through the article shared.

    The exact number for students appeared for CLAT has not been revealed yet. About 88,657 students appeared Nationwide for CLAT examination.

    Hello, it is highly unlikely to get admission to the GGSIPU Main Campus or VIPS. However, you can target other colleges affiliated with GGSIPU through the counselling process.

    Hi,

    You can get the CLAT section-wise mock test, previous year question papers and comprehensive study material here .