International student debt, recovered mostly from the UK
Most international student debt is recovered directly by our UK team, saving you the cost and delay of an overseas agent.
Up to 60 days of direct contact, then a local agent if needed
Direct engagement
We work the debt ourselves for up to 60 days: inbound calls, email and the 24/7 student hub, where students can pay or set up continuous payment authority on a foreign bank account.
Calls in their time zone
Outbound calling starts after three days and is timed to the student's local hours.
Letter before agent
Before any data is shared with a third party, the student receives a letter telling them so.
Local agent, with your consent
If direct efforts are exhausted, we recommend referral to a local agent, who can write, call and text in-country and, where it's worthwhile, take legal steps.
How it works in the countries we see most
China
Worked directly for up to 60 days. Our local agent can make doorstep visits across most provinces (carried out by our local agent, never by STA) and issue a letter through a partner law firm, both cost-effective on higher-value debts. Tracing individuals in China is illegal, but visits help establish residency, and the agent can verify identity. The Chinese Identification Number is essential. Legal action depends on the jurisdiction of your contracts and is generally viable over £15k.
India
Worked directly for up to 60 days, calling between 8am and 2.30pm UK time. Doorstep visits are prohibited and public address data is limited, but our agent can verify identity through PAN or voter ID, run social media searches and issue legal notices through their in-house legal team.
Nigeria
Worked directly for up to 60 days, calling between 8am and 4pm UK time. There's no tracing provision, but our agent can instruct a private investigator.
Before it becomes a debt
We also call current international students in your name, typically those who paid a deposit but not a later instalment, so they hear directly about their obligations and the consequences of non-payment, while there is still time to fix it.
Talk to our education team
Tell us what's on your ledger, tuition, accommodation or commercial, and we'll tell you how we'd approach it.