Travel advisory for Malaysian students travelling to the UK

If you are 16 or over and want to study at a higher education level, you’ll need to apply for a student visa through the Student Route. From 5 October 2020, the Student Route has replaced the Tier 4 Route. The Student Route falls under the UK's new points-based immigration system. Visas that have been issued through the Tier 4 Route are still valid, and those eligible will be able to apply for the Graduate Route when it opens in summer 2021. You will need to wait until you have an offer from a university or college before applying for a visa. Your university or college will then be able to give you a document called a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS). To do this, your chosen institution needs to be approved by the UK government as a licenced sponsor. More information about the visa process.

It is recommended that students be advised to plan for their visa processing ahead of time keeping in mind that given reduced capacity at VFS offices, there will be a rush of applications as we head into peak visa application time. We also recommend and request UK institutions to allow for flexibility in dates of travel and joining, as there may be delays in visa processing/issuance time. It will help offer holders to receive all their supporting documents from the universities earlier to be able to apply for visas effectively. The current lockdown (MCO) in Malaysia has been extended to an indefinite date as the daily cases of Covid-19 cases continues to increase. Most organisations remain closed under the current situation till further notice.

The UK Government announced that they will be issuing an updated set of rules for fully vaccinated international travellers into England starting from 4 October 2021, where the rules for international travel to England will change from the red, amber, green traffic light system to a single red list of countries and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world. The rules for travel from countries and territories not on the red list will depend on your vaccination status.

Individuals with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines from 17 countries including Malaysia will benefit from these rule changes. Individuals must:

• book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test – to be taken after arrival in England.
• complete your passenger locator form – any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in England.
• take a COVID-19 test on or before Day 2 after you arrive in England.

Individuals do not need to:

• take a pre-departure test
• take a Day 8 COVID-19 test
• quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days after you arrive in England

More information here.

Find out more about the impact of Covid-19 on international students. The FAQs provide information about teaching and learning in the 2021-22 academic year, the available support for international students, basic information about travelling to the UK and the Graduate Route visa. Click here for more information about the Study UK Covid-19 FAQs. 

UK

The Covid-19 vaccine is available to international students in the UK. Anybody aged 18 or over in the UK is eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination for free, regardless of their nationality or immigration status. Find out more information about and full guidance about the procedure to get vaccine as international students here and on the NHS website.

Malaysia 

The Malaysian government has rolled out the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK). Please follow the guidance by the The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme here.

The Immigration Department of Malaysia requires Malaysian students who receive an offer to study abroad to apply for a travel pass via My Travel Pass. You will need to fill up the online form with a basic information about your travel and upload the unconditional offer letter by the university in the UK. It is optional to upload flight ticket or accommodation information. The processing time will take around seven to 14 working days. Therefore, it is adviseable for you to complete this process at the soonest once your receive an offer.