England Universities Re-open May 17th At Earliest, Overseas Students Can Enter.

The Department for Education confirmed yesterday that in-person university teaching will be on Step 3 of the government’s roadmap, which will start “no earlier than May 17th”. Students who are not already on campus will be able to return from that date, if confirmed.

The decision comes despite the fact that secondary schools, further education colleges and English language schools have been able to teach face-to-face since March 8th.

Progression to Step 3 of the roadmap will be dependent on a review of the latest data and the impact of Step 2 on key tests, the government said.

In guidance for higher education institutions, the Department for Education confirms that ‘new and returning students from overseas’ with a student visa who have been in ‘red list’ countries in the previous 10 days will be considered as having residence rights in the UK and will be allowed to enter.

They will be required to quarantine at a government-approved hotel for 10 days at their own cost (currently UK£1,750).

Under current rules, students arriving from countries that are not on the red list will need to isolate in their accommodation for 10 days and will need to purchase a testing kit. Non-red list students will have the option of utilising the Test to Release scheme at additional cost, which allows release after five days with a negative test.