Indian students allowed to return to China on ‘need-assessed basis’

In a huge relief to Indian students, China has allowed the return of the students to the country after they were forced to return home following the outbreak of COVID-19 in China in December 2019.

On Friday (April 29), the Indian embassy in Beijing said that China will facilitate the return of Indian students on a “need-assessed basis”.

In statement posted on the official Twitter handle, the embassy said, “Following the meeting of External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar with the State Councilor and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Wang Yi on 25 March 2022, the Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students to China on a need-assessed basis.”

On March 25, in a media briefing, Jaishankar had said, “I also took up strongly the predicament of Indian students studying in China who have not been allowed to return, citing Covid restrictions. We hope that China will take a non-discriminatory approach, since it involves the future of so many young people. Minister Wang Yi assured me that he would speak to the relevant authorities on his return on this matter. He also recognised the particular concerns that medical students have in this difficult situation.”

According to reports, there are more than 20,000 Indian students, most of them studying medicine, enrolled in Chinese universities.

The Indian students who wish to return to China will have to fill up a Google form before May 8, the Indian embassy said.

“In order to facilitate this, the Indian Embassy intends to prepare a list of such students which will be shared with the Chinese side for their consideration. Therefore, Indian students are requested to provide necessary information by filling up the Google Form latest by 08 May 2022,” it said.

The list will be shared by the embassy with the Chinese side and after verification, it would be decided whether the identified students can return to complete their course in the country.

“Once the collated information is shared with the Chinese side, they would consult relevant Chinese departments to verify the list and indicate whether the identified students can travel to China to complete the course. This coordination process would be carried out in a time-bound manner. The Chinese side has also conveyed that eligible students should unconditionally abide by the Covid-19 prevention measures, and agree to bear all expenses related to Covid-19 prevention measures by themselves,” the Indian embassy added.