Guidance

Travel guidance for education or work placements for pupils, learners and students

Published 31 March 2022

Applies to England

This guidance is for participants. Guidance for providers is also available.

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. This includes:

• foreign travel advice
• a guide on support for British nationals abroad

Your education provider should:

• ensure mobilities are safe for the students involved and keep usual safeguarding arrangements in place
• be flexible in their approach
• 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 no commercial travel options available, contact the:

• nearest British embassy, consulate or high commission 
• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London on 0207 008 1500 (available 24 hours a day)

Turing Scheme guidance for pupils, learners and students

It is likely that COVID-19 travel restrictions will continue to affect some 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.

FCDO advice

Turing Scheme placements cannot take place in countries where FCDO advises against travel, for whatever reason.

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 country against FCDO advice at the time of departure.

Where FCDO travel advice is not to travel to a country where Turing Scheme participants are already present, we expect providers to contact their participants and support them in returning to the UK or another safe place, bringing their placement to an end early if necessary.

There may be participants who have to return early due to a force majeure situation in their host country, but have incurred direct costs which are in excess of the cost of living they will receive for the actual period spent abroad. In these instances, participants can be funded for their actual receipted costs incurred up to the limit of their originally planned cost of living budget for the mobility on demonstration of appropriate evidence including that the costs could not be recovered elsewhere.

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.

Extra support for disadvantaged participants

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 of 31 March 2025 the UK will no longer be participating in the Erasmus+ Programme.

You can find information and publications about the UK’s participation in the 2014 to 2020 Erasmus+ programme on the National archives.

Other exchange schemes

Regardless of how it is 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.