Azerbaijan has several distinct scholarship routes, and their eligibility, nomination steps and dates are not interchangeable. Start with the current provider call and your citizenship and study level. Do not treat a portal summary as a completed application or a guarantee of an award.
Heydar Aliyev International Education Grant: what the current portal confirms
The Ministry-backed Study in Azerbaijan financial-support page describes the Heydar Aliyev International Education Grant for the 2026–2027 academic year. Its page says the programme is planned annually for five years beginning in 2026–27, with 100 grants annually. The listed eligible groups are member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement, Small Island Developing States, and countries with common cultural, ethnic or historical ties to Azerbaijan. Listed study levels include bachelor’s, general medicine, master’s, medical residency and doctoral programmes.
The portal lists tuition, international flights, a monthly allowance, medical insurance, visa and registration as coverage categories. It links to a detailed call for selection criteria, required documents and deadlines. I could not retrieve that PDF’s body during this review, so I do not state its stipend amount, exact application dates, nomination sequence or current call status. Open the linked call and confirm the rules with the responsible government authority before making plans.
A university-level example: ADA University
ADA University’s international undergraduate admissions page lists the Alimardan bay Topchubashov fellowship for international students and says there is no separate scholarship application; the applicant must submit the ADA admission application by the early deadline. The page’s 2026 undergraduate early deadline was 8 April 2026, a past-cycle date that must not be reused for a later intake. The page does not state the fellowship amount or renewal terms in the admissions summary. Ask ADA for the current call, coverage, eligibility and award conditions.
This is an institution-specific example, not a national entitlement. Admission, scholarship selection, visa and residence decisions are separate.
Other routes are controlled by their own calls
The official portal also names intergovernmental scholarships, bilateral agreements, local scholarships and grants, and international exchange programmes. The financial-support overview does not give one shared eligibility checklist or deadline for these routes. Ask your home-country education authority and the Azerbaijani host institution which programme is open to your nationality, level and intended university.
Build a funding plan that works before an award
Separate costs paid directly by a sponsor from reimbursements, allowances paid after arrival and expenses you must pay first. Budget for travel, document translation, a housing deposit and the period before the first stipend. Check whether the award allows other scholarships, how renewal works, and what happens if admission is conditional or delayed. Keep a no-award budget until you receive an official letter showing the amount, dates and conditions.
Is the 2026–27 Heydar Aliyev call open?
No; the published 2026–27 call’s nomination and SIACAS submission windows ended in April and June 2026. Check the official portal and your country’s nominating authority for a later official call, because eligibility, dates and participating programmes can change between cycles.
How much does the grant pay each month?
The 2026–27 call states an AZN 800 monthly allowance for ten months of each year, excluding July and August, plus separately described tuition, travel, medical and visa or residence support. Treat these as call terms, not cash available before selection; confirm the agreement and payment timing.
Does a listed coverage category mean every cost is paid upfront?
No. The call lists defined benefits and says unspecified expenses are not covered or reimbursed. Ask the scholarship office whether each item is paid to the provider, reimbursed later or left to the student, and check payment dates, eligibility period and exclusions in the signed award agreement.
Can an agent guarantee selection?
No. The call says final selection rests with its committee and nomination does not guarantee an award. Verify intermediaries through official government or university contact details, use the named application channel and never pay someone who promises a scholarship decision or guaranteed placement.
Read the 2026–27 government call as a dated contract outline
The current Heydar Aliyev International Education Grant call describes a 2026–27 programme for eligible foreign nationals, with nomination by a relevant government authority followed by registration in SIACAS. It says 100 international students are to benefit annually and allows three specialty choices across participating institutions. This is a nomination route, not an open direct application to the scholarship committee for every applicant. The call’s listed nomination period ended on 15 April 2026 and its SIACAS registration window ended on 10 June 2026, so those dates are historical for this cycle. Check whether a later call has been issued before preparing an application.
The call sets different age limits by study level and requires previous academic marks at or above its stated threshold, a medical certificate, passport, CV, motivation letter and evidence for the language of study. Its English-language route specifies minimum test results and also mentions the language of previous education. Universities may test language or academic readiness. Read the precise wording for your level and applicant category: a result that satisfies a general scholarship call may still not satisfy an individual programme’s admission rules.
The listed benefits include tuition and language preparation for the covered study period, a yearly economy flight to and from Azerbaijan, a monthly allowance of AZN 800 for ten months each year, medical support of AZN 200 per year, and a single-entry visa plus temporary residence permit for each academic year. These terms should be read alongside the call’s exclusions: it says expenses not specified are not covered or reimbursed. The allowance is not paid for July and August under the published schedule, and its USD equivalent is tied to the Central Bank rate on payment day. Confirm how the award is implemented and what happens during a preparatory or delayed-start period.
What the award does not settle for an applicant
The scholarship call provides a useful checklist but does not replace admission to the selected degree. A candidate may be nominated and still not receive the grant; the call makes the final selection decision the committee’s responsibility. Likewise, a selected candidate must complete the institution’s documentation and confirm participation by the stated deadline. Keep the nomination notice, SIACAS status, offer letter and scholarship agreement as separate records because each answers a different question.
The published call says expenses not identified in its benefits section are not covered or reimbursed. That makes it important to ask about costs such as local transport, personal devices, document courier fees, family travel, summer accommodation and costs incurred before the first allowance. Do not assume any of these are excluded or included without checking the agreement; the point is to find the governing clause before committing funds.
A realistic scholarship comparison therefore uses net available support, not the award’s headline value. Convert the allowance into a monthly plan, account for the two months without payment, check when tuition is paid to the institution and ask how medical support is administered. Confirm whether the grant covers your exact degree duration, any extension, repeat year or preparatory course. Save the award schedule and contact point for questions. If you are not selected, decide in advance whether self-funding, another grant or deferral is feasible; do not pay a deposit on the assumption that an application will succeed.
Primary sources
Editorial note
Requirements can change and may differ by institution, programme and applicant. Recheck current university and government guidance before paying or travelling.
For comparisons, we assess the stated student brief, current route availability, discovery breadth, application ownership, progress visibility, support, costs and duplicate-application risk. Univs publishes this page and may have commercial relationships with institutions; those relationships do not determine admission decisions. Read our editorial standards.
