IIFT Waitlist Movement 2026 Expected Soon: Category-Wise Chances, Fees, Process & Previous Trends

Expected IIFT Waitlist Movement 2026

Based on the previous year's trends of the IIFT Delhi waitlist movement, we can predict the upcoming IIFT waitlist movement for all the categories, including Kashmiri migrant candidates as well.

How IIFT 2026 waitlist process work?

The IIFT have four campuses at different locations of Delhi, Kolkata, Kakinada, and GIFT City, of which students generally want either IIFT Delhi or IIFT Kolkata. But the IIFT waitlist movement does not work on the whims and fancies of candidates. Initially, candidates need to pay Rs. 20,000 as the IIFT counselling fee to participate in counselling; if they are not eligible, the amount will be refunded.

But if they convert, then they will need to pay additional Rs. 3.2 lakhs to get into the internal waitlist movement. Clear, but here's a catch: candidates move from IIFT Gift City to Kakinada to Kolkata to eventually IIFT Delhi, if seats are freed up. That means, if the seats are not freed up and the candidate converted, they will remain in Gift City and will not be eligible for a refund of Rs. 20,000, and if you do not pay Rs. 3.2 lakhs in fees, then you will not be able to take part in the internal waitlist movement. Either you lose the seat or lose the money, one is certain.

Factors Influencing IIFT Waitlist Movement 2026

There are numerous factors which affect the IIFT waitlist movement. Given below are all the major IIFT waitlist affecting factors.

• Number of buffer calls issued

• CAT percentile distribution

• Overlap with IIM admissions

• Candidates preferred between the Delhi and Kolkata campuses

• Withdrawal behaviour after the IIM result.

Read More- IIFT Delhi Reviews on Placements, Courses, Faculty & More

IIFT MBA Selection Process

Many students had a confusion about which students get added to the waitlist and which students get the final admission offer by IIFT. Candidates who qualify for the final selection process get added to the final merit list. Given below is the weightage given by IIFT to the parameters evaluated during the IIFT MBA final selection process.

• CAT Score- 55%

• Personal Interview (PI)- 20%

• Group Discussion (GD)- 10%

• Academic Consistency (10th, 12th and Graduation marks)- 5%

• Work Experience- 5%

• Gender Diversity- 5%

Based on the following selection criteria, candidates who don’t qualify for the final merit list get added to the IIFT MBA waitlist.

How To Check IIFT Final Waitlist Movement 2026

Candidates can check their IIFT Final Waitlist Movement 2026 by visiting the official IIFT website iift.ac.in. For the step-by-step process, students can check the procedure given below for better understanding.

• Access your web browser and visit the official IIFT website iift.ac.in.

• After visiting the website, check out for the waitlist information tab MBA (IB/BA) and click on it.

• Enter the login credentials (email ID and password) to open the IIFT portal.

• The waitlist status will appear on the screen, where candidates can check their waitlist details and plan their further courses of action.

What after IIFT Waitlist Movement 2026?

After the IIFT waitlist movement release, students can check whether they’ve been added to the waitlist movement or not. If the students get the admission letter from IIFT, then they won’t be added to the IIFT waiting list 2026. Students who get added to the waiting list need to pay an amount of Rs. 20,000 as a waiting fee to IIFT. After making the payment, the candidates need to send the acceptance letter to IIFT through return mail. The IIFT waitlist movements are handled in 2 phases- External waitlists and Internal waitlists movements. External waitlists move when the candidates reject the IIFT admission offer entirely. Internal movement occurs when candidates are upgraded from their lower-preference campus (eg, Kolkata) to a higher preference (e.g., Delhi) as the seats open up.

IIFT Waitlist Movement Fee Refund Process

For IIFT MBA admissions, initial waitlist retention fees of Rs. 20,000 are non-refundable if you convert a preferred seat but choose not to join afterwards, though the rules may vary by campus and year. In case a candidate doesn’t convert a seat, the waitlist retention amount can be claimed as a refund. Candidates can follow the steps given below to know about the IIFT waitlist movement fee refund process.

• Draft a written application addressed to the director of IIFT by adding necessary details such as application ID, roll number and waitlist/admission status.

• Attach a copy of the waitlist movement fee payment receipt and a bank statement showing your bank details for direct transfer.

• Email the scanned copy of the signed application and documents to the official IIFT admissions office.

• Make sure to keep all the copies of all the documents with you for future use, as the refunds typically take several weeks to process.