A U.S. district judge has confirmed the legality of the 2016 OPT Program Rule by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The judge ruled against the Washington Association of Technology Workers union in a lawsuit seeking to declare the Optional Practical Training STEM (OPT STEM) program unlawful. The OPT STEM program allows international students graduating in US institutions to work in the US for up to 36 months in a STEM specialty. Advocates for the OPT STEM program fear the continued legal challenges and uncertainties of the OPT’s future will discourage international students from studying in the US.

While Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has continued to accept and process study permit applications amid the pandemic, many international students face challenges in fulfilling pre-departure requirements. Roadblocks include visa backlogs, lack of vaccinations, quarantine measures, and few available flights. According to the updated information on the IRCC website, complete study permit applications for the fall 2021 semester that are sent by May would be processed by August 6. Although the process may take longer if requirements are incomplete.

International students headed to study in Scotland may now enjoy a more affordable quarantine accommodation as the Scottish government has given the green light to a plan that allows universities to use on-campus accommodation. Currently, inbound travelers in the United Kingdom are required to quarantine in hotels that cost £1,750. This is especially relevant to global learners coming from red-list countries. To fully implement the on-campus accommodation, a pilot program must first be successful and safety measures are at par with government-mandated quarantine hotels.

While the European Union has excluded Covishield as among its COVID Green Pass, the CEO and owner of Serum Institute India has recently tweeted that he has taken up the concerns to regulators and at a diplomatic level. This is in the hopes of helping EU-bound international students from India who have taken the Covishield jab. A majority of the more than 2,000 students and working professionals have been affected by the EU exclusion of Covishield and are hoping for European Medicines Agency approval of the said vaccine.

Operators of purpose-built student accommodations (PBSA) are seeking for a temporary lifting of their mandate to repurpose the empty buildings. They are hoping to recover some of the $1 billion revenue lost by the closure of Australian borders, preventing the entry of tens of thousands of international students. Prior to the pandemic, PBSAs had up to 97% occupancy rate, spurring the building of additional structures. Many of these new PBSAs remain unopened. One proposal is to convert some of these PBSAs into quarantine quarters.

International students with a valid student visa or successful visa application prior to August 8, 2018 should have been eligible for three-year post-study work visas in New Zealand. However, some were only given one year. Complaints to this gave rise to an investigation into officials issuing the visas. The Ombudsman determined that the officials breached Immigration NZ policies. However, affected students believe Immigration NZ owes them an apology for causing them unnecessary stress.

Expedited visa processing, eased travel restrictions, and promises of in-person instruction have sparked hope in many international students in the US that the situation will be better this Fall semester. However, uncertainty and confusion over the vaccine policies of higher education institutions (HEIs) continue. Many HEIs require vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), which are not available in many countries. Students that have already received their vaccines may have to be revaccinated.

The Windsor area has been selected for a pilot project that intends to fill gaps in local labor markets. About 5,000 immigration slots nationally are available in this regional project under the Municipal Nominee Program. Building on the success of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, the Municipal Nominee Program is aimed at helping international students who would like to stay in Canada post-graduation. According to Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino, keeping the International Students’ Program open amid the pandemic was vital in driving the economy of Windsor forward.

Over 960 students and professionals headed abroad have been vaccinated at a special camp run by Bengaluru City. At the camp, students got their second dose of Covishield 28 days after the first dose was administered. Earlier this month, over 1,500 people were vaccinated during a similar drive, and more than 150 beneficiaries who got the second dose had already received vaccine certificates.

Controversy has arisen over the University of Seoul's plan to nearly double the tuition fees paid by foreign students starting next year. Some say that the sudden hike is unfair and takes advantage of a minority group. The university held a tuition review committee meeting on June 11 and decided to raise the fees for international undergraduate and graduate students entering next year by 100 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Some groups support the tuition hike as they believe the school's tuition fees are kept artificially low through subsidies from taxpayers and it is improper to provide such a benefit to foreign students who do not pay taxes.

The latest federal data indicate many Chinese students are still willing to study remotely while Australia’s borders remain closed. Chinese students continue to study online while they wait and see what happens next while some Indian students have abandoned hopes of Australian education. Based on the latest data available, higher education enrolments from China to Victoria have declined by 5.74 percent in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, enrolment from India fell 33 percent between March 2020 and March 2021.

Taiwan announced that it will be extending its relief benefits to permanent foreign residents who have been directly impacted by the pandemic through its Stimulus 4.0 package. The incentive package will include low-interest loans, debt deferrals, compensation to families of people who die from COVID-19, and subsidies for workers who lost their jobs. It also stated that 27,000 foreigners who have permanent residency status in Taiwan and have been affected by the economic slowdown will be eligible for the same benefits as the Taiwanese.

Located in Dudley, Massachusetts, Nichols College is a private institution that is well-known for providing business and leadership-oriented education rooted in a liberal arts foundation. With a focus on experiential learning, the college offers plenty of opportunities for students to access a wide range of competitive internships as well as high-impact, hands-on learning experiences embedded in coursework. Nichols offers master’s degrees in business, leadership, and accounting, as well as a range of certificate programs, to promote career advancement for today’s professionals. 

The institution helps international students get the most from their education through several programs and services that improve their personal and professional growth and support their unique academic needs. Nichols is committed to honing the next leaders of the global economy by developing students’ communication and critical thinking skills and expanding their ethical and cultural perspectives.