The Universities Minister has clarified the situation for students living in Tier 4 who have not yet travelled home for Christmas:
"Dear Student,
You will be aware that yesterday the government added Tier 4: Stay at Home to the COVID-19 restrictions and altered the Christmas relaxations. I am writing to you to confirm what this means for students who want to go home for the Christmas break but have not yet done so.
I know most students who were planning to go home will have done so by now in the student travel window that we created, but I wanted to give clarity and comfort to those who are yet to travel including student on clinical placements or with jobs in their university town etc. This government made a commitment that students could return home for Christmas and we are keeping it. To be clear any student can travel home once during the period 3 December 2020 and 7 February 2021. As previously stated, students will form part of the household they return to and will not count as a separate household. This remains the case for those who may be preparing to travel from or to a Tier 4 area. If you are planning to travel to somewhere outside the United Kingdom, you should check whether your destination country has any restrictions in place that may affect your plans.
If a COVID-19 test is available locally, through your university or through your host organisation if you are on a clinical placement, we would encourage you to take a test before you travel.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your patience and cooperation with the measures we have put in place to enable you to continue your studies whilst at the same time managing the continuing risks COVID-19 presents to us all
Yours sincerely,
Michelle Donelan MP Minister of State for Universities"
