Scottish Govt Urged to Help International Students After Hotel Quarantine Price Hike

The National Union of Students Scotland has urged the Scottish Government to assist international students as the hotel quarantine costs have increased by 30 percent, following the updated UK travel list.

The UK government announced that the costs of quarantine hotels will increase from £1,750 to £2,285 as of August 12 this year, Erudera.com reports.

Furthermore, the hotel quarantine charges for a second adult will increase from £650 to £1,430. In contrast, for children aged 5-12, the price will remain the same, whereas those aged under five will be exempted from paying.

NUS Scotland President Matt Crilly described the decision as a “shameful attack on international students,” adding that students are feeling betrayed after paying high fees, including accommodation fees, visa costs as well as healthcare obligations.

“I am deeply concerned that this move will force many students to drop out of their studies. No student should be priced out of education as a result of quarantine charges,” Crilly said.

Crilly called on the Scottish government to intervene as soon as possible in order to protect international students in Scotland and scrap the quarantine charges for those entering the country for essential educational purposes.

Scotland requires travelers coming from red-list countries to enter the “managed isolation” set by the Scottish government. Travelers are obliged to quarantine for 10 days at a designated hotel in Edinburgh, Glasgow, or Aberdeen.

Earlier this year, the National Union of Students Scotland (NUS) voiced concerns about thousands of potentially non-vaccinated students or partly-vaccinated students attending universities in Scotland in September 2021, urging acceleration of student vaccination so they can feel protected when returning to campuses.

International students from Mexico and Georgia could be affected after the UK decided to put the two countries on its red list. Next month, thousands of Scottish students are expected to return from a red list country, including Turkey, South Africa as well as Brazil.  

UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the UK’s residents should prepare for a “trickier” foreign travel this year, adding that fully-vaccinated people have been allowed to travel more freely and that things will improve when more countries manage to vaccinate more people.

There are more than ten higher education institutions in Scotland, where many international students pursue higher education every year, including the University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow, or the University of Dundee.