Indian students, who are currently pursuing their education from Chinese Universities, have been instructed to submit their google forms by May 8 on Sunday.
Students were asked about their graduation date and year, year of enrollment, passport number, name of the University, contact number, email id, type of Covid vaccine they were inoculated etc. through the Google forms.
“I think it’s only a matter of time before the issuance of visas starts. I believe many students in the senior batches would be given more preference as they are nearing the end of their course,” said Satvik Somya, from Harbin Medical University.
Students are expecting more guidelines on their return in the coming days and hope that their request is considered without any hassles.
Around 20,000 Indian students have been awaiting their return to China after two years. The Zero Covid policy initiated by the East Asian country since the start of the pandemic had led to suspension on travel of international students to the country as a measure to curb Covid cases.
Students, many of them Indian, conducted social media campaigns and protests to bring more limelight to their concerns. As students from countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, etc, were given the green light to return, many Indian students wondered whether they would ever be able to go back.
The Embassy of India in China, in a press release on April 29, stated that China is considering facilitating the return of Indian students to the country on a “need-assessed basis”.
Indian students will be considered by the Chinese authorities as soon as their information is verified by relevant Chinese departments. Students have to abide by all the Covid-19 measures and bear the costs related to the same once they are cleared to enter the country, according to the release.
The release comes after the meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on March 25, 2022, during which the situation of Indian students studying in Chinese universities was discussed.
