Indian students see record entries to UK universities as travel rules ease up

A record number of 3200 students from India have been accepted onto UK university and higher education courses through the countryrsquos centralised application system in 2021 marking an increase of 19 per cent over the previous yearThe Universities and Colleges Admissions Service UCAS acceptance figures released on Tuesday come days after India was moved off the Red List Covid19 travel ban on to AmberThis would have a big impact on Indian students planning to travel to Britain to take up their courses as they no longer need to quarantine in a governmentmanaged facility for 10 days at considerable additional costInstead they can quarantine for the required 10 days at a chosen destination which for many will be their university accommodation or a friend or family home addressldquoWe know India being moved from the Red to Amber list will be a significant and welcome move for those Indian students due to travel to the UK soon Those students should stay in touch with their university and be aware of the latest procedure for amber list arrivals to ensure a smooth arrivalrdquo said Vivienne Stern Director of Universities UK International which represents over 140 universitiesldquoUK universities are preparing to give a warm welcome to Indian students this autumn Students have shown a great amount of patience and resilience in sticking with their plans to study overseas and we look forward to welcoming them and welcoming them back to our campuses and university communitiesrdquo she saidIndia was moved off the Red List at 4 am local time on Sunday and under the Amber List rules all vaccinated travellers must fill in the compulsory passenger locator form to provide an address where they would be undergoing the 10day selfisolationAll Amber List arrivals will need to have a negative Covid19 test before travelling as well as take a Covid19 test on Day 2 and Day 8 of their quarantine In England there is the option of paying for a test on Day 5 which if negative will allow students to end their quarantine earlyldquoWe welcome the news that for one of our largest international markets India has been moved from the UKrsquos Red to Amber Listrdquo said Kerry Law Chief Marketing amp Engagement Officer at the University of Leicester ndash which has a large Indian student populationldquoThe move to the Amber List is great news for our large number of Indian students and means that alongside no longer needing to quarantine they also wonrsquot have any delays to arrival and can engage and adapt to life on campus she saidTo ensure we welcome students and give them a great experience as we have extended our welcome by an additional week and have developed online transition support for all new startersrdquo she addedThe National Indian Students and Alumni Union NISAU UK had been raising the plight of Indian students facing additional compulsory hotel quarantine costs of 1750 pounds under the Red ListIt led to Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla setting aside Rs 10 crores to assist Indian students who may face additional costs as Covishield ndash the Indiamade OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine ndash does not fall within the UKapproved vaccines ambit for quarantinefree travel to the UK under the Amber ListldquoWe are absolutely thrilled to see the numbers of Indian students accepted onto courses via UCAS go up by nearly a fifth as part of the overall significant increase in the numbers choosing to come to the UK to studyrdquo said NISAU UK Chairperson Sanam AroraldquoThe UK now offers a wonderful proposition for Indian students ndash worldclass education a great poststudy work offer and through NISAU a home away from home for Indian students which I can proudly say is a distinct offering for Indians going abroad to studyrdquo she saidThe UKs new poststudy or Graduate route visa which came in force in July offers students the chance to stay on for two years after completing their degree course to be able to gather work experienceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever