Indian Students Unable to Study Abroad Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions imposed by several countries of the world, Indian students are facing difficulties in pursuing their studies abroad.

Currently, Australia has some of the harshest travel restrictions in place, as it allows only its citizens to enter the country. Over the past financial year, the country has lost more than 100,000 international students due to the border closure.

Most recently, India’s high commissioner to Australia, Manpreet Vohra, said that Australia risks harming its education reputation if it doesn’t provide information to Indian students about their possible return to the country, claiming that many students have been left in uncertainty due to Australia extending travel restrictions.

Earlier, the United Kingdom included India on its red list, but as of August 8, it placed the country on the amber list, meaning that Indian students are permitted to travel to the UK; nevertheless, there are some criteria that must be met before being able to do so.

In order to be allowed to enter the UK, students must book a COVID-19 RT-PCR test when they arrive in the country for which they have to pay themselves. The latter should also undergo a 10-day mandatory home quarantine in the UK.

Students who have a valid M-1 or F-1 visa will be allowed to travel to the United States but can only enter the country 30 days before their studies begin. Currently, there are only a few flights from India to the United States, with Air India planning to operate more often in August.

On the other hand, Canada has exempted fully vaccinated Indian students from the mandatory quarantine once they arrive in the country. Nonetheless, Canada has also announced it will not allow flights from India until August 21.

The Czech Republic has also put India on its list of “extreme-risk countries” amid the pandemic. As a result, around 200 Indian students and other professionals are not allowed to enter the country.

“Due to the unfavorable development of the COVID-19 pandemic situation and spread of a new variant of COVID-19, India (from April 27, 2021) and Nepal (from May 22, 2021) are included in the list of countries with an extreme risk of COVID-19 infection,” a press release issued by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in New Delhi reads.

Whereas, in Germany, the vaccination certificate of Indian students must include a passport number or date of birth, while travelers from India are required to register on einreiseanmeldung.de before entering Germany.