Covid-19 and studying abroad updates
Your overseas Consultant
UK
On 11th October, the UK government announced that Indians travelling to the UK, fully vaccinated with Covishield or another UK-approved vaccine face no quarantine. As of March 2021, the UK government said that the new graduate route is open to international students from 1st July 2021. This covers international students who want to work after the successful completion of a course (UK bachelor’s degree level or above).
USA
According to Reuters, USA will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting 8th November 2021. So far, the USA government has opened July-August student visa appointments in all consular offices in India from 14th June 2021.
Canada
Canada has resumed direct flights to and from India after 5 months. Air Canada has restarted Delhi-Toronto nonstops with a new protocol where WHO-approved vaccinated passengers must undergo an RT-PCR or a rapid PCR test within 18 hours of boarding its flights from the Covid-19 Testing Centre and Lounge at Delhi Airport’s Terminal 3.
New Zealand
New Zealand plans to allow quarantine-free entry to vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries from early 2022. Immigration New Zealand is not currently processing offshore visa applications until February 2022 at the earliest, it is unlikely that new international students will be able to enter New Zealand in time for on-campus studies in semester 1.
Australia
Australia has introduced an International Covid-19 Vaccine Certificate in October. For now, this is for outbound travel for Australians, it will be later expanded to authenticate vaccination certificates issued by other countries. As of October 2021, the borders still remain closed.