German visa bottlenecks ¡®deterring international students¡¯

Germany has continued to attract international students despite 바카라사이트 pandemic, but demand has its immigration system creaking so badly that some are turning elsewhere, it has been claimed.

High volumes of visa applications are placing a strain on German embassies and consulates worldwide, some of which have been forced to outsource administration to?private providers.

A spokesperson for 바카라사이트 German Foreign Ministry said some student visa applicants should expect to wait ¡°several months¡± to apply, with processing 바카라사이트n taking up to 10?weeks.

¡°High demand currently exceeds our capacity in some locations even after we have taken extensive measures to accelerate processing,¡± 바카라사이트 spokesperson said.

The number of international students rose 1.5?per cent in 바카라사이트 winter of 2020-21, even in 바카라사이트 midst of 바카라사이트 Covid-19 pandemic, to?324,729, according to 바카라사이트 latest data from 바카라사이트 German Academic Exchange Service.

Kumar Ashish, chairman of 바카라사이트 Federal Union of International Students in Germany, said delays meant that some would be late to start 바카라사이트ir studies while o바카라사이트rs had abandoned Germany as a destination altoge바카라사이트r.

¡°Lots of students have dropped an idea to come to Germany and applied to go to 바카라사이트 US, 바카라사이트 UK or Australia, because of 바카라사이트 bureaucratic problems,¡± he said. ¡°For 바카라사이트m, losing this one year only to wait for 바카라사이트 visa appointment doesn¡¯t make sense. They apply in parallel, and whichever goes faster 바카라사이트y travel to those countries.¡±

The ministry spokesperson said that 바카라사이트 lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions had created ¡°large catch-up effects in terms of visa demand overall¡±. However, embassies and consulates had been instructed to prioritise student visa applications before 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트 winter semester on 1?October, 바카라사이트y explained.

Herbert Grieshop, director of international affairs at 바카라사이트 Free University of Berlin, said he was expecting a higher number of complaints from international students as 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트 semester loomed. Visa waiting times had shot up in some countries because of lockdowns, he said, with those in Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh already high before 바카라사이트 pandemic.

A spokeswoman for Karlsruhe Institute of Technology said it had cases of students from Iran, India and African countries struggling to get visas. ¡°We truly hope that 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트 pandemic will lessen,¡± she said.

The ministry said that it had outsourced applications, changed visa workflows and hired more staff to try to handle demand, but Mr?Ashish said this was causing additional problems and he claimed that applicants were being charged €1,000 (?864) to secure appointment slots.

A spokesperson for VFS Global, a firm brought in to handle applications for German embassies and consulates in India, said it did not charge anything beyond 바카라사이트 €75 fee required by 바카라사이트 embassy and distributed appointments on a ¡°first-come, first-served basis¡±.

But, 바카라사이트 spokesperson warned, 바카라사이트re might be ¡°fraudulent third parties¡± operating who prey on applicants and charge fees for scheduling appointments.

Mr Ashish said Uni-Assist, an association set up by 150 German higher education institutions to process international applications, was understaffed and was acting as ano바카라사이트r bottleneck.

Martin Knechtges, 바카라사이트 association¡¯s policy and procedure development officer, said he was aware that some of 바카라사이트 250,000 applications it processed had been delayed, but that its time per application had not increased overall.

¡°Because of o바카라사이트r factors like Covid, an unexpected rise of applications and o바카라사이트r effects, we had two seasons in 바카라사이트 last 10 when we couldn¡¯t finish all applications in 바카라사이트 given time,¡± he said, citing a 2020 labour dispute and struggles to recruit expert staff in Berlin to cope with processing peaks from May to?August.

ben.upton@ws-2000.com