The government has decided to restrict the entry of international students departing from countries with widespread Covid-19 variants until the nation vaccinates 70 percent or more of the population.
It will also require all international students to undergo at least three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for Covid-19.
Based on the experience of protecting and managing infections among international students since February 2020, starting with Chinese students until the first semester this year, the government and universities have jointly prepared plans to prevent the imported cases in the second semester and secure the safety of universities and communities.
International students must first submit a negative confirmation of the Covid-19 PCR test upon arrival. They will then take another PCR test at a public health center near their residence within one day after entering the country and receive the third test after 14 days of self-isolation to see if the test result still shows negative to be free from quarantine.
The ministry plans to induce international students from 26 countries, including India, Vietnam, Russia, and Lebanon, where the Covid-19 variants are prevalent, to enter the nation after more than 70 percent of Koreans have completed their first inoculation.
International students entering Korea before the country achieves targeted vaccination rate due to inevitable circumstances, such as their scheduled curriculum, will be isolated for two weeks in facilities outside the school or dormitory where health officials stay around.
The education ministry will support international students to take online classes in their home countries if they wish and allow them to enter Korea within the valid date of their visa even when they do not enter the nation for taking remote learning sessions.
The ministry said it would reflect the efforts of each university in the evaluation index of the education internationalization competency certification system for protecting and managing international students.
The number of international students who arrived in Korea in the first semester of 2021 was 34,000, down 82 percent from 185,000 in the same period of 2019 when the nation was free from Covid-19.
Among them, 255 were confirmed of infection, and 33 were tested positive in the airport screening center.
“We would like to express the deepest gratitude to the universities and local governments for protecting and taking care of foreign students for over a year and a half, starting with Chinese students in February last year,” Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said.
The current state of domestic Covid-19 infection is serious due to variant strains, so the government asks the universities and local governments to provide education smoothly during the second semester of the year, Yoo added.