Table 2.

Coding results of influencing factors of overseas students returning home.

Dimensions	Categories	Factors	Examples from online news or interviews
Survival rationality	Life and Risk Factors in Foreign Countries	Protective supplies reserve	Personal protective clothing, face masks, and disinfectant are so hard to buy that no one dares to return to China.
		The supply of daily necessities abroad	The supermarket snapped up badly. Everyone hoarded goods. All the cheap markets in Leicester are closed and supermarket prices are rising. Try to buy more items and store them at a time.
		Epidemic prevention awareness and behavior of foreign people	British people only wear masks when they are sick. Wearing a mask in public places and being abused by passers-by, I usually dare not go out. My neighbor still goes his own way, having a family party on weekends. I am worried that I will be infected by people around me.
		Collective life abroad	I live in a group apartment, where the kitchen and bathroom are shared, which can easily cause cross infection.
		Infection risk when purchasing outside	Every few days, I have to go to Tesco to buy things. There are many people there. The local people do not wear masks. I am very worried.
Social rationality	Social relation factors	Media public opinion	Alarmed by some “discriminatory” comments against overseas students on the Internet, I repeatedly told my parents not to tell others about my return date.
		family relationship, friendship and love	My family advised me to go back as soon as possible. It is safe to return home early. My friend is getting married on May Day and wants me to go back to China to attend his wedding.
Economic rationality	Return cost factors	Transportation cost	Look at the recent air tickets, the lowest starting price is 20,000. Air tickets are expensive and not available. My scheduled flight ticket has to change planes. It is so difficult. Before returning home, you need to isolate yourself for 14 days in advance and report your daily physical condition to the relevant domestic departments before boarding. After returning to China, you cannot go home until 14 days after the quarantine.
		Quarantine expenses
		time cost
Institutional rationality	Policy control factors	British epidemic control policy	Britain’s “herd immunization” policy makes people uneasy. Its effect is not optimistic.
		China’s epidemic prevention and control policy	No one can replicate China’s epidemic prevention and control. In this epidemic, China has the lowest mortality rate.
		The policy of the Embassy in the UK to help Chinese students studying abroad	I am so happy that I received a “health package” from my motherland.
		Management policy for international students	My visa has expired, but I can apply for an extension to May before returning to China.
Development rationality	Personal development factors	Academic research progress	The school informed that all courses will be changed to online courses from next month, and I am considering whether to return to China for online courses. If I went back to China, I have to get up in the middle of the night to take online classes. Half of my experiment has been carried out, and the data can only be collected abroad.
		Mentor’s requirements and suggestions	Because I need to hold frequent seminars with my tutor’s team, the teacher suggested that I should not return home for the time being to avoid poor communication.
		Graduation and job hunting	At present, the epidemic situation in foreign countries is not well controlled. I think it is more reassuring to return to China to find a job after graduation. China is developing very well now.