In view of the possibility that some personnel sponsored by government to study abroad cannot be dispatched or return home or go back to work in the destination country on time due to the novel coronavirus epidemic, China Scholarship Council (CSC), with the consent of the Ministry of Education, will adopt the following measures to support the epidemic prevention and control.

I. For personnel to be dispatched  

1. CSC supports those who are eligible to study abroad at government’s expenses till June 30, 2020 but request to postpone their dispatchment, or change their foreign destination institution or country, or give up their right to study abroad as they cannot be dispatched as planned due to the coronavirus epidemic. Their request will be handled as per the existing pre-dispatchment management process, of which the opinion of the domestic affiliated unit can be replaced by a written consent of the unit which the applicant has obtained, or a screenshot of the WeChat or email communications which shows the approval of the domestic unit.  

2. Those who request to give up their right to study abroad because of the epidemic will not be subject to the restriction on the application for government-financed overseas study within two years.   

3. Those who have had their dispatching formalities processed and purchased their flight tickets but need to change their itinerary due to the epidemic situation shall contact the Overseas Study Service Center of the Ministry of Education or the Overseas Study Service Agencies in Shanghai and Guangzhou to change or cancel their flights.    

4. The domestic units with which the personnel studying abroad are affiliated are kindly requested to assist in the follow-up work.   

II. For those who intend to return home 

1. CSC supports those who are scheduled to return to China before March 31 (tentative) but request to postpone their return due to the coronavirus epidemic. Their return can be postponed up to March 31 latest (tentative). Their request will be handled as per the existing overseas study management process, of which the opinion of the domestic affiliated unit can be replaced by a written consent of the unit which the applicant has obtained, or a screenshot of the WeChat or email communications which shows the approval of the domestic unit (those who are pursuing a degree abroad and not affiliated with any unit do not have to provide).   

For other overseas study management issues which require the opinion of the domestic unit, please follow suit.  

2. Those who have already purchased their return flights but need to change their itinerary due to the coronavirus epidemic are kindly requested to contact the Overseas Study Service Center of the Ministry of Education for assistance in changing or canceling their flights.  

3. Those whose return trip has been postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic will be provided with scholarship and allowances at the current rates during the extension period (not earlier than January 20, latest until March 31 tentative).  

III. For those who intend to return to the destination country for overseas study 

Those who have returned to China halfway through their study abroad for holidays or meetings etc. but cannot return to the destination country due to the coronavirus epidemic are advised to contact the overseas study host institution proactively and reschedule their return time. Their prolonged stay in China will be calculated as part of their overseas study period, and scholarship and allowances will be granted to them from January 20 till March 31 latest (tentative). If they can still not return to their destination countries by March 31, their stay in China from April 1 will no longer be calculated as part of their overseas study period, and scholarship and allowances will be suspended. After they return to their destination countries and report to local embassy or consulate, scholarship and allowances will be resumed from the date of entry.    

The epidemic prevention and control is a matter of importance to the health and safety of all. All personnel studying abroad at government’s expenses are kindly requested to follow epidemic situation updates and prevention and control guidance through official channels, pay attention to daily protection, and cooperate with the prevention and control measures taken by relevant domestic and foreign departments. Let’s unit as one and go all out to overcome the hard times!

China Scholarship Council