QS, August 2021. Moving forwards: How vaccine passports, vaccine rollouts, and COVID-19 variants are shaping the study plans of international students.

This report published by QS investigates the factors that are either facilitating or hampering the efforts of international students as they return to study overseas.   

 The coronavirus pandemic is seen as a prevalent factor hampering international students' ability to study overseas. Differing rates of vaccine rollouts, inconsistent policies regarding vaccine passports, and the potential for Covid-19 variants contribute to a constantly changing situation for prospective international students.  

 Many countries where the COVID-19 continues to spread and where governments struggle to respond effectively to the pandemic are not able to attract as many international students compared to pre-COVID- 19 levels. Whereas, those that have been able to manage the coronavirus in their own countries are more likely to attract students who initially would have not chosen to study there, thus creating new trends in the higher education landscape. 

 70% of international students surveyed believed that vaccinations were a necessary requirement before students could travel to the country of their chosen institution. Therefore, indicating the awareness among prospective international students of the importance of vaccines to prevent a  further spread of the coronavirus. Therefore, some countries like the UK and Denmark have introduced their own versions of vaccine passports for both domestic and international students.  

 You can request the full report here.