IGNOU international Division was founded on 16th October, 1997 as a Cell. It was upgraded to the status of a full-fledged Division in 2002. The vision and mission to open an international division were to cater to the needs of overseas students as well as Foreign Students Residing in India (FRSIs) for study purposes.

The IGNOU international division offers selected courses to FRSIs (through Regional Centres in India) and to Overseas Students (through Overseas Study Centres of the University). The international division has expanded its academic courses and different regional centers in various parts of  South Asia, the Middle East, and African nations.

IGNOU offers around 60 academic programs to its overseas / FSRI students. Currently, IGNOU offers its study courses in  the U.A.E (Sharjah), Kuwait, Kingdom of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Sultanate of Oman. Sri Lanka and Nepal, are among the SAARC countries, along with Singapore, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast in Africa and Kenya.