Overseas Students: Coronavirus

(asked on 23rd February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Migrants’ Rights Network report of the 10 August 2020, entitled The Effects of Covid-19 on Tier 4 International Students, what support tier 4 international students are eligible for.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 3rd March 2021

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has put in place many measures to support individuals impacted by financial hardship, including international students. These measures include protection for renters from eviction, safety net support from local authorities regardless of immigration status, as well as a series of bespoke visa concessions for international students to mitigate against the impact of COVID-19. The government keeps these concessions under review and will not hesitate to act where further support is needed. £3.2 billion has been allocated to local authorities during the COVID-19 outbreak to support vulnerable groups, irrespective of their immigration status.

The department has also made available an additional £70 million of hardship funding for higher education students in England for this financial year. Providers have flexibility in how they distribute the funding to students, in a way that best prioritises those in greatest need. This is available for providers to distribute to a wide range of students, including international. This money is in addition to the £256 million of Student Premium funding higher education (HE) providers are able to draw on this academic year towards student hardship funds and mental health support.

I have been clear that student welfare remains one of my top priorities and the department has worked closely with the HE sector throughout the COVID-19 outbreak to increase communications and messaging around hardship for students; I recently discussed this with a number of sector representatives at a taskforce meeting.

I would encourage all students, wherever they are learning, who need assistance to reach out to their HE provider’s student support and welfare teams as soon as possible, as these services are likely to be an important source of support. Many HE providers have bolstered their existing student welfare and mental health services and have adapted delivery mechanisms including reaching out to students who may be more vulnerable. For example, over £9 million has been provided by the government to leading mental health charities to help them to expand, and international students can also utilise Student Space – a mental health and wellbeing platform that aims to bridge any gaps in support for students arising during the COVID-19 outbreak – which has been funded by up to £3 million by the Office for Students.

The department does not hold data on the number of international students in rent arrears. We believe that some international students in need of support may not be contacting their universities to ask for assistance if they find themselves experiencing hardship. I have written to international students directly, providing information regarding the support available for mental health, wellbeing, and hardship at this time, and have asked the sector to further raise awareness and encourage international students to seek assistance as necessary.

The UK was one of the first countries to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak by introducing comprehensive immigration flexibility for international students, and the government has implemented several concessions to support visa holders. If an international student needs to request access to hardship funds through their provider due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, they can be confident that they can express these concerns to their provider without any impact on their immigration status.

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