Students prepare to fly as Oz opens borders

Students prepare to fly as Oz opens borders

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:10,12,2021

Akash Mistry decided to pursue a master’s degree programme from Australia after completing his degree engineering in civil and infrastructure from Adani Institute of Infrastructure Engineering. He got admission to the University of Adelaide in July 2020 but could not be on campus as the country closed its borders due to Covid pandemic. After waiting for over 17 months during which he began online studies by opting for two subjects per semester, Mistry is now ready to fly and start on-campus education.

“Earlier, the Australian government said that the borders will reopen from December 1, but due to omicron variant, the plan has been revisited. As per the latest government guidelines, the border will now reopen from December 15,” said Mistry.

Thousands of students in the city, hoping to study in Australia, are working on their travel plans.

From December 15, fully vaccinated international students can travel to participating states and territories in Australia, quarantinefree without needing to apply for a travel exemption, according to the official website of Department of Home Affairs, Australian government.

Bhavin Thakker, a visa consultant, said that there are about 22,000 students from India who are expected to travel to Australia this year. Ritesh Desai, also a visa consultant from the city, said students from India have started looking to other overseas options like the US, Canada and the UK after Australia closed its borders for such a long time.

The ticket prices from Ahmedabad to Australia have soared from about Rs 50,00 per ticket to Rs 1.25 lakh following the announcement to reopen borders from December 15, he further said.

Harsh Prajapati, who took admission at Southern Cross University, in June 2020 has attended three semesters online. He is now ready to fly on December 19, and fulfill his dreams to study on campus in Australia.