This guidance is for participants. If you are a provider, please go to the guidance for providers.
General COVID-19 travel guidance for education or work placements for pupils, learners and students
Anyone participating in international mobility in education should follow the relevant Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice and be aware that the situation can change rapidly.
At present, FCDO travel advice includes:
Your education provider should ensure mobilities are safe for the students involved, and keep usual safeguarding arrangements in place. Statutory safeguarding guidance to support the protection of children is available for:
Your education provider should be flexible in their approach and be conscious of the potentially rapidly changing situation on a country-by-country basis.
You should familiarise yourself with local COVID-19 regulations and be ready to comply with local isolation, testing or quarantine requirements. You will need to rely on the local health system.
If you’re studying or working abroad and need emergency help because the country you’re in will not allow you to travel back to the UK, or there are there are no commercial travel options available, contact the:
Turing Scheme guidance for pupils, learners and students
It is likely that COVID-19 travel restrictions will continue to affect international mobility, and therefore will affect planned Turing Scheme projects and participants during the 2021 to 2022 academic year. We want as many placements planned for the 2021 to 2022 academic year to go ahead, but also need to ensure they are safe for the students involved. Usual safeguarding arrangements will remain in place, and placements must be in line with UK and relevant international travel guidance.
To reduce any financial burden on you as a participant, your provider should consider, where appropriate, delaying the start of placements until later in the 2021 to 2022 academic year, and the Turing Scheme will offer flexibility to support this.
Red list countries
At present, Turing Scheme placements cannot take place in red list countries, in line with the UK government guidance: “The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advise against all but essential travel to red listed countries based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks.” We do not consider travel under the Turing Scheme to be essential travel and any placements are therefore not exempt from this restriction. The Turing Scheme will not release funding for participants who are travelling to a red listed country at the time of departure.
An overview of red list countries is available for:
If you travel to a country that is on the ‘rest of the world’ list at the time of travel, but it is subsequently added to the red list during your placement, you must follow the current FCDO guidance for the country you are in. If you are able to remain in your destination country in this situation, you will still be eligible for financial support under the scheme for the original time you had planned to be abroad, provided FCDO advice permits you to stay.
Hotel quarantine
We recommend you delay or rearrange placements in countries requiring hotel quarantine because:
- it would place a financial burden on you
- it will not be possible to effectively safeguard participants within the restrictions of a quarantine hotel environment
You should contact your education provider to find out the latest information on their plans for your placement.
In addition, your destination country may set additional restrictions before or during your stay. You should comply with all relevant advice and restrictions in your destination country.
We may be able to provide financial support for projects taking place during the 2021 to 2022 academic year. This extra support will provide for disadvantaged participants who incur additional costs because of COVID-19.
This extra support for disadvantaged participants on placements during the 2021 to 2022 academic year may cover:
- hotel quarantine costs on placements lasting 90 days or more when travelling to a destination country for their placement
- hotel quarantine costs on return to the UK when their destination country has been red listed during their placement and they were not able to return ahead of the red listing taking effect
- costs incurred due to COVID-19 testing requirements, both when travelling to their destination country and on return to the UK, where necessary
- the retention of some remaining cost of living grant amounts for participants who have to return home early due to COVID-19 and have incurred necessary and unrecoverable costs
If you are a disadvantaged participant in a Turing Scheme placement and need support in any of these areas, contact your education provider to discuss what extra support is available to you.
You will need to provide your project organiser (such as your university, school or college) with receipts for any of these costs. Make sure you discuss the extra funding with them beforehand and meet any requirements they set for you before you incur the costs.
Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps guidance for pupils, learners and students
As part of the Withdrawal Agreement, legacy activity agreed ahead of the end of the transition period involving UK-based students on Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) will continue. Therefore, Turing Scheme and Erasmus+ mobilities will both be in operation during the 2021 to 2022 academic year.
If you are participating in an Erasmus+ or European Solidarity Corps placement, please follow the guidelines set out by the Erasmus+ National Agency and the European Commission.
Other exchange schemes
Regardless of how it’s being funded, pupils, learners and students participating in any international mobility in education should follow the relevant FCDO travel advice for the destination country and be aware that the situation can change. You should be ready to comply with local isolation, testing or quarantine requirements, and will need to rely on the local health system.