China Remains the Only Country That Isn’t Permitting International Students to Return

China continues to keep its borders closed to international students, remaining the only country that is banning the latter from entry, according to Global Admissions, a website supporting students through study decision-making process that also provides information to students about travel restrictions in different study destinations around the world.

However, there are some groups of students that China allows to enter, including students at New York University Shanghai, Tianjin Juilliard, some Schwarzman Scholarship students, and 30 Nicaraguan scholarship holders.

“Students are not allowed to enter China. There are some exceptions for students from South Korea, and those studying at New York University Shanghai, Tianjin Juilliard, some Schwarzman Scholarship students,30 Nicaraguan scholarship holders,” the website says.

According to the website, students from some other countries, including Russia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore, may be able to enter soon; nevertheless, there isn’t any concrete date for their return, and it is unknown where will students complete quarantine and who will cover the costs of it.

During a media conference on Friday, Premier Li Keqiang said that China would make changes to allow the orderly movement of people and goods.

Recently, China International Student Union (CISU), an independent body representing international students in China, conducted a student survey, “How the China Travel Ban has Affected the Lives of International Students,” which revealed that many students enrolled at Chinese universities have been facing mental, financial and physical stress due to border closure.

The questionnaire, which has involved 1,473 responses from students in several countries, including those from India, Morocco, and Pakistan, has shown that 53 percent of students have experienced serious mental health issues due to the China travel ban. Moreover, 47 percent said that they had been unable to complete their university credits, 37 percent were unable to support themselves, whereas 23 percent said that they had lost the opportunity to do an exchange semester.

95 percent of international students, according to the survey, are vaccinated, and a large amount is ready to quarantine if needed.

International students enrolled at Chinese universities and institutions have been banned from entering China for more than 700 days now. United under the hashtag #TakeUsBackToChina, they have constantly been asking authorities to open borders so they can continue their studies normally.

Half a million of China’s international students remain stranded abroad due to the travel ban. Differently, Japan is planning to return 100,000 international students by the end of May, 10,000 students every week.