UPDATE: On March 20, the government announced exemptions to travel restrictions include temporary foreign workers; international students who held a valid study permit or had been approved for one when travel restrictions took effect March 18; and permanent resident applicants approved before restrictions were announced March 16 but who hadn't yet travelled to Canada. The government is expected to next week announce when these exemptions will be in place. Before traveling, people must undergo health screening and after arriving in Canada must isolate for 14 days.

International students of Canadian universities who are abroad doing research, field work and internships face uncertainty about whether they can return because borders have been closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s not entirely clear,” said Paul Davidson, president and CEO of Universities Canada, which advocates for Canadian universities at the federal level. “We’re working very hard to get an interpretation from government.”

“There are international students who have rented apartments in Montreal or in Vancouver and just happened to be away doing field work at the time. They’ve got community in Canada, and they’ve got responsibilities in Canada. So, is there a way we can get them home?”

He estimates “hundreds” are in such a predicament, noting the issue “is under active discussion right now with the government.”

The University of Toronto says it’s in touch with “all international students who are abroad and who have registered with our Safety Abroad Office to ensure they are safe.” It is also “working to minimize any negative academic impacts on affected students.”

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered the closure of Canada’s borders to all except Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Americans to try to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Temporary residents, such as those with valid student and work visas, are not exempt.

Then on Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said during a press conference that he recognized the impacts of this crisis on those such as international students, workers with visas and temporary foreign workers. “They’ll be allowed to enter Canada” and must observe a 14-day period of self-isolation, he said.

Davidson told the Star on Thursday, “We very much hope that Minister Blair’s answer prevails in this.”

“Minister Blair’s comments can be interpreted one way. The order by the prime minister appears to go another way,” Davidson said. “We’ve got many, many students who need clarification.”

Davidson added, Universities Canada is “in really good and active dialogue at senior levels on a whole host of issues for international students ... public servants are working around the clock, night and day, trying to answer and clarify.”

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Discussions with the federal government have yielded some important answers, he said. For instance, student visas will not be impacted as university classes move online nor if school semesters are extended.

According to the latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, there are about 642,500 international students in the country at all levels of study. Of the 1.3 million students enrolled at Canadian universities in 2019, about 238,000, or 18 per cent, were international students.

It’s estimated that international students, at all levels, contribute about $22 billion a year to Canada’s economy — that includes money they spend on things such as rent, groceries, entertainment and transportation.

“As we look at the economic impacts of the virus, people have talked about travel and small business,” Davidson said. “There’s very much an impact on the higher-education sector.”