Future of Study Abroad: Countries consider re-opening to international students amid COVID 19 crisis
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As we are all aware of the ongoing pandemic, coronavirus (COVID-19), that has dealt a severe blow to the study abroad industry that runs into billions every year, we are now in the process of providing country-specific information as and when they open their borders to Indian students.
The safety and security of students and staff are paramount. While all universities have closed campuses and resorted to the remote modeling of administration, the inevitable question that stares at us, Is this the new normal?
Also Read
- How is Coronavirus affecting Study Abroad Students?
- Affected by Coronavirus: what all international students and aspirants should know
- European nations to ease restrictions after Coronavirus Lockdown
While capturing the magic of ‘face-to-face classes’ online has been a daunting task, but one that is being executed well, there is still a looming uncertainty about the future of studying abroad. A study conducted by QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. in February 2020 shows how study abroad plans of 61% of students were not affected by the current global health crisis, while 27% of students felt otherwise.
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While a lot of countries are looking into unlocking their economies in phases, the study abroad dream is yet a distant one with countries looking at the latter half of 2020 to take baby steps into lifting study abroad restrictions.
For the benefit of our readers, we are updating the latest information on how the coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting Indians and other study abroad aspirants, as and when information is being made available to us.
Timeline of Events
We will be in the process of continuously updating our readers with the latest information as and when it is available to us.
United States
18th-Oct-2021: US has lifted pandemic restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals beginning Nov 8 White House has announced that fully vaccinated foreign visitors will be able to travel to the US by air and land from Nov 8, 2021. Unvaccinated travelers are still not allowed to enter the US. According to the US health authorities, all vaccines approved by the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration would be accepted for air travelers. These include the AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinopharm, and Sinovac vaccines.
Indians traveling to the US will need to show proof of vaccination before taking their flight and also need to show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.
July 26, 2020: Newly enrolled international students whose colleges and universities are operating completely online during fall 2020 won't be allowed to enter the US, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
The announcement came late on Friday; days after the US withdrew a July 14 rule that required international students, including thousands on Indian students to leave the US if their institutes held classes entirely online due to the COVID-19.
The ICE statement states ‘Non-immigrant students in new or initial status after March 9 will not be able to enter the US to enrol in a US school as a non-immigrant student for the fall term to pursue a full course of study that is 100 percent online.’
It also directed universities against issuing Form 1-20s that are required to apply for student visas, to newly enrolled students if their classes to be held online only.
ICE statement further read, ‘Nonimmigrant students in new or initial status after March 9 will not be able to enter the U.S. to enroll in a U.S. school as a nonimmigrant student for the fall term to pursue a full course of study that is 100 percent online.’
July 15, 2020: US revokes rule on restrictions for foreign students
The United States government rescinded its decision to revoke international students’ visas whose courses move online due to COVID-19. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said 'The government has agreed to rescind' the policy directive which otherwise could have affected a million international students.
Harvard and MIT with the support of various other educational institutions have taken legal action and moved the court to block the order announced by ICE on July 6 that states that international students must leave the country if their courses are only online, or students have to transfer to a school offering in-person classes.
July 07, 2020: ICE announced that foreign students must take in-person classes to remain in the US.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has said that international students must take in-person classes at their schools in order to remain in the US for the fall 2020 semester. US authorities have taken this action to restrict immigration. Students who remain in the US but their classes have moved online for the fall because of the COVID-19 may have to face consequences.
The new SEVP guidance bans international students from studying full online courses while remaining in the US.
The ICE announcement states ‘Nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States,’ US Immigration and Custom Enforcement said in a statement.
‘Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status,’ ICE said.
‘If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.’
ICE has further said the State Department ‘will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will US Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States.’
Australia
April 13, 2022: Along with Temporary 408 subclass visa, a temporary subclass 500 visa has also been introduced in Australia which is valid upto 5 years but comes with certain restrictions as well.
April 12, 2022: Temporary (subclass 408) visa was introduced by Australian Government to encourage employment in critical skill sectors which saw a decline amid COVID-19 restrictions. Check more details at: Temporary (subclass 408) visa introduced to bridge employment decline in Australia
Feb 15, 2022: Australia is set to open its borders for fully vaccinated visa holders without any travel exemptions from February 21, 2022. Those visa holders who are not fully vaccinated would require a travel exemption and might have to quarantine upon arrival as well.
Dec 28, 2021: Various Australian Cities and their Governments are releasing travel exemptions for fully vaccinated international students beginning from December 15, 2021. The Northern Territority had started accepting international students from December 20, 2021. Western Australia is set to welcome its fully vaccinated international students from February 5, 2022. Queensland and South Australia will open travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international students not before 2022. On the other hand, places like Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and Australian National Territory are following precautionary measures by imposing a mandatory COVID-19 or RT-PCR test upon arrival and isolation as well for its international students.
Dec 28, 2021: All international students travelling to Australia must submit Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) form 72 hours prior to their departure. The form consists of the applicant's details of - travel histroy, vaccination details, flight details, contact details, and also sign their declaration regarding information access of the applicant along with him or her accepting to follow the quarantine norms set by the government,
Dec13, 2021: Australian Government has proposed measures for international students holding Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) Visa that they can one - apply for a replacement visa, two - the stay duration has increased for both current and former visa holders by 3 years, and three - applicants can reapply for the same duration again as they were able to apply originally. VET sector graduates can also expect an increase in stay duration in Australia by 2 years. Check: All About Post Study Work Permit in Australia for more details.
Dec 13, 2021: Australian Government announces FEE-HELP loan for over 30,000 undergraduate students studying across Australian higher education institutions. Also a fee relief of AUD 27.8 million for the academic year 2022 including ASQA, TEQSA, CRICOS and TPS for international students has been proposed. This announcement comes in order to attract more an more international students and perks associated with it.
Oct 24, 2021: The Australian government has announced that it will open its borders for international students from Dec 1, 2021. Fully vaccinated eligible visa holders (including international students) can come without applying for a travel exemption. Students holding valid visas need to provide proof of their vaccination status (should be vaccinated with an approved vaccine) and a negative Covid-19 PCR test report was taken within three days of departure. Australia has approved both the vaccines Covishield and made in India Covaxin. Also, travelers need to comply with the quarantine requirements in the state or territory of their arrival.
Oct 21, 2021: Victorian Government has proposed a two-stage international students' arrival plan wherein the first stage, about 120 places would be available to those students who have to return back on priority basis in order to complete their respective practical work. These may include health, medical and postgraduate students.
These 120 places will be allocated by the government in non-citizen or permanent citizen's areas to students specially the ones returning through Melbourne. Selected students would be permitted to return to Victoria as and when their University allows. The universities would follow the plan in accordance with the Victorian Government's guidelines.
The second stage would permit those international students who are enrolled in TAFE's, English language colleges, secondary institutions including private institutions. More details related to accommodation and process are awaited.
Oct 18, 2021: Victorian Government is likely to ease its restrictions for students, travel (domestic and international), gatherings and opening of educational institutions for fully vaccinated people. It is likely that travel restrictions would be lifted on or before November 5, 2021 because by then the state of Victoria would have fully vaccinated its 80% of the population.
At present, the state of Victoria has achieved 63% of full vaccinations among its residents and it is expected that restrictions would be lifted in phases and not completely in all areas of ban. More details are awaited officially.
Oct 15, 2021: Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales has announced to allow fully vaccinated overseas travellers and students to fly in by November 1, 2021 onwards. Since full vaccination of the population of NSW is expected to touch 80% by the coming week, international arrivals restriction will be lifted.
NSW is way ahead in terms of complete vaccination than other parts of Australia for now, it can be implied that overseas travellers would return back to Sydney from the first week of November this year. Only permanent residens and citizens were allowed to fly back since restrictions were imposed due to COVID-19 in March 2020.
For now Canberra, the national capital of Australia is under lockdown for recent surge in COVID-19 cases, and so is Melbourne which has completed 262 days of lockdown. Flying back to any other parts of Australia cannot be speculated about at this point of time.
June 12, 2020: Australia is following a three-step exit plan, where international students may be allowed to enter the country in the third stage of the exit plan. The international education market is worth AU$40 billion per year to the economy and there are calls to revive the industry.
As mentioned earlier, international students may be allowed to enter the country in the third phase of the exit plan as long as strict quarantine rules are observed. The third stage of the exit plan comes into effect in the month of July.
However, plans are in a very nascent stage. Authorities would have to closely work with study institutions and work out costs regarding maintaining the quarantine set-up among many other factors that are to be explored. The Australian government might be keen on kick-starting its economy but the situation is very different in India.
Hence, the onset of the third step of the exit plan which would open gates to international students in the months of July/August may see no new faces from India. However, colleges that have a third intake in the month of October/November might see a few faces from India if things improve in India as observed by study experts.
New Zealand
Feb 15, 2022: New Zealand to open its borders to 5000 international students from April 13, 2022. This is also applicable for those holding a temporary visa. Read the entire news piece here.
June 11, 2020: Chris Hipkins - Education Minister, New Zealand has suggested that international students could be exempted from the travel restriction if strict quarantine measures are followed by all students entering the country. However, this is in a very nascent stage as a lot of logistics are being simultaneously worked out with the concerned departments.
Discussions are ongoing for introducing quarantine facilities for a period of two weeks before students are allowed to mix with the general public COVID free. The plans include using empty hotels for housing students, pre-flight and daily health checks, and requiring a negative test before joining classes for all international students. However, the government along with education providers needs to work in close tandem to reach a conclusion before anything can be implemented.
We see how strategies are being drawn and safety measures being innovated to kick start the education industry along with keeping the safety of students uncompromised. Even though there is no official date as to when such principles would come into play given the current ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic but one thing that we all are certain of is that we all are going to emerge from this a stronger being.
France
June 15, 2020: Starting July, 1, France has announced that international students would be allowed into the country, irrespective of their country of origin and their visa and residence permit requests would be given priority.
The European Commission has suggested member states to agree on a common list of non-EU countries for whom travel restrictions should be lifted and where travel restrictions continue to apply, students should be permitted to travel. The list would be made keeping the health situation of different countries in mind.
United Kingdom (UK)
June 29, 2020: Re-opening of select UK Visa Application Centres in India
UK Visas and Immigration will resume their services from 6th-July-2020 and will open the following Visa Application Centres in India:
- New Delhi
- Pune
- Kolkata
- Mumbai (South)
- Hyderabad
- Cochin
- Ahmedabad
- Jalandhar
- Chandigarh
- Bengaluru (Global Tech Park)
Remaining Visa Application Centres and Enrolment locations across India will remain shut for some time now.
June 24, 2020: The UK Home Office has confirmed that international students will remain eligible for post-study work rights upon graduation if they start or continue their studies online in the academic year 2020-2021. Read in detail here
June 16, 2020: Following the latest health guidelines issued by the UK government, universities across the United Kingdom are well advanced in their planning to welcome students this autumn. Universities are continuing to develop detailed plans which include travelers to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival, come the new academic year, Universities are planning to offer blended and in-person learning and are now arranging on how to accommodate international students.
International students will remain eligible for a post-study work permit upon graduation if they begin or continue their studies online in the 2020-21 academic year given the current ongoing crisis, confirmed the UK government. However, international students would be required to be in the UK by April 6, 2020, and complete the final semester of their studies in the country to be eligible to access the graduate immigration program.
Ireland
June 25, 2020: The Irish Embassy is pleased to announce the reopening of several of the Visa Application Centres (VACs) in India starting July 6, 2020. Candidates are requested to visit the VFS website for further updates on the VACs which will be re-opening.
This is the first stage of a plan to reopen all VACs across India in the coming months on a phased basis - subject to Irish Government Covid-19 measures and any local restrictions that may be in place.
Initially, the VACs will only allow long-stay applications to be made (‘D’ categories). No tourism or short-stay visas (‘C’ categories) will be processed at this time due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in Ireland.
Students are advised to get in touch with their universities or contact our Shiksha Study Abroad Counselors for the latest developments.
Related Reads
Q: Is Torrens University good for international students?
Torrens University Australia is one of the fastest growing universities in Australia. It offers a culturally vibrant and comfortable environment for international students. Each year thousands of international students from all over the world come to study at various courses of the university. currently, there are 3932 total students at Torrens University out of which 986 are international students.
Q: Is BSBI degree valid in Germany?
BSBI does not hold degree-awarding powers in Germany and its programmes are validated by private Italian distance learning institution UniNettuno International Telematic University. BSBI has also partnered with Concordia University Chicago to deliver programmes at its Berlin campus.
Q: What GPA is required for the University of South Dakota?
The University of South Dakota expects a GPA score of 2.5 from undergraduates and 3 from postgraduates on the 4-pointer scale. Along with the GPA scores, undergraduates must meet the basic eligibility and submit an ACT score of 21 or higher and an SAT score of 1070 or higher. In addition, they must submit the required documents, such as academic history, transcripts, letters of recommendation, English language scores, and more.
Q: What is the cost of a student visa in Germany?
International students going to pursue higher education in Germany are required to apply for a German study visa. The cost of study visa for Germany is EUR 75 per applicant. Below we have provided a check list for German student visa:
- Valid passport
- Application form
- Declaration for additional contact and legal representation information
- Copy of passport
- Proof of admittance to the study course
- Curriculum Vitae
- Proof of Financial Means
Q: How can I get admission in the University of Manchester?
The application process at the University of Manchester may vary depending on the course and level of study. However, here is the application process for UG and PG courses:
The Undergraduate Application Process:
Step 1: You can apply through the UCAS common application portal.
Step 2: Go to the website and select the course you are interested in.
Step 3: Ensure you meet the Entry requirements (Academic qualifications, English proficiency, etc.
Step 4: Once you decide on the course, submit documents such as SOP, Transcripts and personal statements.
Check out: tips to improve your SOP.
Step 5: You can track the application's progress through your given credentials by UCAS.
Step 6: Once the applicant submits the application to UCAS, it forwards to the University, and the admission teams carefully analyse the application document.
Step 7: The university will send you an offer letter once selected. Hence keep checking your UCAS portal for your application status.
The Postgraduate application process:
Step 1: Select the postgraduate course you are interested in from the University of Manchester.\
Step 2: Ensure you meet the entry requirements for the chosen program, as they vary depending on the course.
Step 3: Complete the online application by providing your personal information.
Step 4: Upload the required documents, such as Academic transcripts and proof of English language proficiency ( TOEFL/ IELTS). experience in your fields and references (depending on the course). You also may require Two LORs depending on the course.
To make your admission better, check out the following: How Admission Officers Evaluate your application.
Step 5: If your application is successful, you will receive an offer from the University of Manchester.
Q: Is it hard to get into Newcastle University Australia?
The University of Newcastle is amog the universities that does not publish official data on the acceptance rate. However, as per some unofficial sources, the University of Newcastle Australia acceptance rate is 80%. This makes Newcastle University Australia moderately selective in admissions. Please note that the data on acceptance rate given above is taken from an unofficial source, therefore, it is subject to vary.
Q: Does the University of Essex require IELTS?
International students whose native language is not English must meet the University of Essex English language requirements to get admission. The university accepts IELTS scores as proof of English language proficiency. Mentioned below are the IELTS scores required for UG and PG admission at the university:
English Language Test | Score |
|---|---|
IELTS | Overall score of 5.5 to 8.0 with minimum of 5.5 to 7.5 in each section |
The university also accepts the score of other English language tests such as TOEFL and PTE for admission to undergraduate and graduate programs:
English Language Test | Score |
TOEFL iBT | Overall score of 72 to 114 |
PTE | Overall score of 59 to 84 with minimum of 59 to 80 in each section |
Also read: Required IELTS Score for UK Universities
Q: What GPA is needed to go to Ohio State?
There is no minimum GPA score for UG admission at Ohio State. However, International students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale or equivalent) for graduate admission. Applicants may submit a standardized test score (GRE or GMAT) if their cumulative GPA is below 3.0 for the last degree.
- Universities in UK175 Universities
- Universities in USA1036 Universities
- Universities in Canada173 Universities
- Universities in Australia121 Universities
- Universities in Germany213 Universities
- Universities in Ireland33 Universities
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