This is the typical reply from professors at U.K. universities (except for Chinese professors.)
On May 4, 2020, the U.K. government initiated a new bail-out scheme to support U.K. universities that will be financially strained from considerable reduction of student enrollment, home and international students alike.
As such, many professors will lose funding from the U.K. government. The professors who receive funding from the EU Commission, or industrial partners, will be in a better shape.
At present, many U.K. institutions are recruiting international students aggressively (the longer, the better). The recruitment measures include lowering admission requirements (applicable to doctoral students as well) and waiving IELTS requirement (for certain schools).
You are recommend to give up searching funding opportunities among U.K. universities but instead searching for funding in Germany and the Netherlands. These two countries are doing MUCH better in terms of both handling covid-19 and of continuing financial support for international students. Check the link below:
