No one knew that Covid-19 would put a halt in our life at the beginning of 2020. Had it been so, then people would have taken precautionary steps to protect themselves in every possible way. Social distancing has brought a hurricane in our life, especially in the education and financial sector. The working class and students are badly affected by the pandemic.
Students who got admitted into German Universities from the countries are stuck at home. They are unable to enter Germany due to the EU travel ban in Europe from mid-March. Needless to say, that after waiting for six months, they have become impatient and scared since a lot of money is involved. Plus, they are losing time. No one knows when this pandemic will leave this country.
Fed up with the travel restrictions imposed due to social distancing, international students are now using social media to express their concerns and frustrations. They are requesting the German authorities to allow them to enter the country and start attending the classes.
With the hashtag of EducationIsNotTourism, students have appealed to the German Embassy to consider their situation and restart the student visa application process. That would allow them to attend classes in Germany.
Read More: International Students On Online Courses are Denied Visas to Germany
The German embassy closed the student visa application process from March due to the onslaughts of the pandemic. The German embassies closed all operations to maintain social distancing and avoid spreading the viral infection. After six months, a few of them are working now. But they are still not processing international student visa applications. This is something unnatural since the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already declared that international students should be allowed to enter the country, especially those who can’t complete educational courses from abroad.
Students are the future of this world, and they have the right to education. The German Federal Foreign Office has stated that the Federal Foreign Office is striving hard to resolve it. They are trying to issue visas to students exempt from the prevalent restrictions on entering the country as soon as possible. They understand that international students need to enter the country to resume their studies. It is not possible to study everything online.
The spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office said that a vast number of visa sections are closed due to the pandemic. However, they can issue a limited number of appointments. According to the spokesperson, the security measures at work, the minimum distance restriction in the application counters, and the prolonged waiting areas have crippled the visa application process of the German embassies.
International students from Bangladesh have requested the German Embassy in Dhaka to initiate the student visa application process. But they have not yet received any response from the embassy.
An international student from Bangladesh applied for a visa in March 2020. She has already missed out on the summer semester in 2020. But even after tweeting about her distress, she has not yet received any response from the German ambassador in Bangladesh.
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The German embassy is issuing visas only for essential purposes. This means that it is high time they start processing student visa applications. Students are not applying for visas for recreation purposes. They have paid money for pursuing higher studies. The German embassy should consider and think about their situation.
The German Embassy is continuously telling that their foremost concern is the health of its team members and customers. As such, they can’t resume non-essential visa services right now. This has pushed international students into an uncertain future.
The condition of the international students in India is the same. The German Embassy has expressed its concerns due to the awful situation in India. The Covid-19 cases are increasing day by day. The embassy is trying to strike a balance between safeguarding the health of the staff and offering visa services in the present circumstance.
A few Visa Application Centres have opened for processing the skilled employment visas and new visa applications from students with exemplary academic records. However, there will be limited visa appointments owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Indian students are quite frustrated as they don’t know what will happen in the future. Their dreams and aspirations are at stake. No one is paying any heed to their complaints.
Many students have left their jobs in March to study in Germany. Now, all of them are stuck at home. They are neither earning any money nor are getting any opportunity to study. Moreover, they have already invested money to study in Germany. Visa slots are not yet open for the Master’s students. They are quite stressed as their future looks bleak.
The condition of the students from Iran, Morocco, and Nigeria is equally bad. Moroccan students are stressed and agitated. They have complained that the waiting period for getting visa appointments is getting longer every month. Initially, they had to wait for six months. But now, they have to wait for ten months. To add salt to the injury, this waiting period is only applicable for the A category students. Students belonging to the B category have to wait for an indefinite period.
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The condition of the Nigerian students is worst. Some students are even afraid that they would lose the opportunity to study in Germany. If their worst fears come true, then they would lose their money, time, and energy. They have already put in a lot of effort into studying in Germany. If the German Embassy doesn’t cooperate with the students and restart the student visa application process, then they don’t know what will happen in the future.
Nigerian students have only one request. They want an easy and swift visa application process. Some students have sacrificed a lot of things to get a chance to study in Germany. As it is, getting a student visa in Germany is quite tricky. Some of them have already lost the fees they paid last year. They can’t afford to lose more money this year also. German embassy should look into the matter urgently.
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