Traveling to overseas destinations for masters during the pandemic situation. What to expect? | Gradway

Post COVID-19 era, traveling overseas is an alien concept to what it used to be. Now, it means more rules to adhere to, and hence, more confusion about doing it the right way. Since, it’s that time of the year when most of the students are warming up to join their masters, let’s make a checklist together of what, when, and where.

Preparations to match up the university expectations

Check with your university if it requires you to fill a mandatory form that needs you to state your vaccination status, quarantine plan after having checked in the country, and negative PCR/antigen test report conducted within 72 hours before boarding flight. This period could vary depending on the specific country’s surveillance plan.

If your university mandates vaccination joining for living inside the campus, it’s time to check the list of approved vaccines of the country and do the needful. Do not forget to carry the proof of vaccination along with it.

The whole world is divided into green, orange/amber, and red list of countries now. Quickly check your home country’s category and if it’s not on the green list, the long ahead is way longer than you thought. It’s time to enroll yourself in the target country’s quarantine package & simultaneously informing your university, too.

Many universities are also providing managed quarantine packages. If you choose it over the country’s package, it’s time to inform the campus.

Every country has approved quarantine centers for everyone entering the borders. But be ready to bear the quarantine package cost like accommodation, transportation, meal, health checkups, et al.

To help the international students traverse successfully through the strict rules, major universities are conducting pre-departure Q&A sessions as per their specific requirements. To be perfect to the T, it’s time to enroll yourself in one.

Preparations to match up the country’s expectations

Check the quarantine exemption checklist of the country and book your flight accordingly.

If the quarantine exemption list doesn’t have your name, it’s time to make a quarantine plan as per the destination country’s regulations and share it both with the country’s border services and the university to let them make arrangements beforehand.

Do not forget to take health insurance cover from the destination country’s specified insurers. This has been made a mandate in most of the countries, thus, it is advisable to formalize the process before leaving for your travel.

If you’re planning to travel along with studying, it’s time to get abreast with travel restrictions and arrange for the permissions.

If you happen to have recovered from COVID-19 but still test positive for it, expect to carry a molecular test report along with you, taken anywhere between 18 to 189 days before entering the country.

Do not forget to register yourself in advance for the airport COVID test to go seamlessly through the point of entry.

Masks are mandatory in almost every country due to the highly contagious recent variants. You might not want to be penalized for not wearing it or worse, wearing it improperly.

Summing up

Don’t expect test exemption on landing even if you are fully vaccinated. Many countries have opted for random testing as part of enhanced surveillance to contain the spread of recently emerged deadly COVID variants. You might have been confident of being more than prepared but still get stuck, courtesy, the dynamic and long list of regulations. Do not worry, it’s time to call on the toll-free number of the country to get help immediately. You saved that important number already, right?