Students chase visa to fulfil study abroad dreams in Covid times – Times of India

Despite difficulties in obtaining the visa, some were lucky enough to step on foreign soil just when the deadly second wave of the pandemic took the worst turn in India. But there are others whose future is hanging in balance.

The uncertainty is nerve-wracking for students, as well as fresh graduates. Dr. Dipjyoti Das of Barpeta got an offer letter from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. The institute has applied for his J1 visa clearance, mainly issued for post-doctoral researchers, but he is still waiting for approval. “Once they receive the visa clearance, they will send me one DS2019 form. Then only I can book visa appointment at the US consulate in India,” said Dipjyoti.

Another student from IIT Guwahati said on condition of anonymity that he tried to apply for a US visa several times but the next available date for an interview is in February 2022. “My professor in the US has told me to join on July 1. I don’t know how this will be possible and I am very much worried. I have asked for his help but till now nothing has happened because of the pandemic,” he said.

Pankaj Das, an educationist from Kahilipara knocked on the door of Colombia University last year but he got a clear message in 2020 itself that his nephew’s dream to study in the leading university won’t become a reality soon. “They gave in writing in the website that MA/Ph.D. programmme in English for 2021-22 sessions will remain suspended. Now we are hoping that the visa rules will be relaxed soon, as we are going to apply again in October,” he said.

Even as the visa formalities are done via the travel agents, because of the pandemic, some students said they had to do the formalities on their own. While getting the visa for countries like South Korea, they had to go for even TB test at the designated hospital suggested by the Korean Embassy. “Good thing was that no prior appointment required for applying visa for South Korea. I received my visa, after 14 working days. Due to Covid, visa rules are being changed regularly without prior notice,” said an IIT Guwahati student who got the visa in March and left immediately.

He obtained most of the information from the Telegram groups – all the Indians, whoever is staying or planning to come or leaving Korea are following these support groups where they would keep posting the latest information about travel and other necessary stuff related to Korea.

Subrata Mandal, who arrived in the UK from IIT Guwahati in April did not have prior experience of going to the island nation. Subrata feels quite lucky that he didn’t face any difficulty in getting visa amid the pandemic situation. “I applied through VFS global website. They gave me an appointment within three days at Kolkata. In the VFS center, they just collected biometric. After the ninth working day after I gave my biometric, I got my visa, which I felt was fast considering the pandemic,” he said in a message from the UK.

More than 56,000 Indian students got visas to study in the UK between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, a 13 percent increase if compared to the previous year (49,700 from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020). British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata, Nick Low said, “I am delighted that so many students from India’s northeast choose to apply for higher education in the UK. Our Visa Application Centres in India are open and continue to process applications for many visa categories, including student and skilled worker visas.” The UK’s new Graduate Route for international students will open for applications on July 1.

For a long, the US and UK drew the most brilliant minds from the northeast. Though Germany and few other European nations like the Netherlands emerged as the preferred destination for higher studies of late, for many techies Australia is a new choice. But many science and technology students from the northeast may not be able to pursue their higher studies in Australia anytime soon due to the Covid restrictions that the Australian government has put in place since last year. But the road ahead is not easy either for many students who packed their luggage and reached home from Europe during the pandemic. Apart from studying MBA full-time at VU Amsterdam, Debashis Das of Guwahati was also working part-time in retail there. When Covid peaked in March 2020, he shifted from classrooms to online classes. “In September 2020, I was let go of my part-time job. But I stayed in Amsterdam till I submitted my Master’s thesis in January 2021. I still had another exam to write, but they were being held online, so I made the decision to give it from Guwahati itself. I successfully graduated on 31st March 2021,” he said.