International students who want to pursue their studies in Portugal continue to face obstacles, especially when it comes to receiving a response to their visa application.
Concerned with the situation and fearing that they might lose their chance of studying in Portugal, a large number of students have made complaints, which have reached the government, Schengen.News reports.
However, despite many complaints, the government has not yet provided any response to the matter.
According to the students, one of the main problems they face once they get admitted to Portuguese universities is securing a long-term visa. As the students have explained, they are waiting for at least two months and up to six months for the authorities to process their applications, leaving them in limbo and threatening their academic goals.
There are also some students who have claimed that they have been waiting for almost a year to be able to enter Portugal for study purposes.
Visa Delays a General Problem at Portuguese Public Universities, Ferreira Says
While there is still no official data from the authorities on specific numbers of students waiting for a decision on their application, the president of the Council of Rectors and the University of Aveiro Rector, Paulo Jorge Ferreira, said that the waiting period is a general problem at Portuguese public universities, Publico explains.
According to Ferreira, in the case of the University of Aveiro, in addition to the students, the delay in visa processing is also an obstacle for foreign researchers. Taking this into account, Ferreira called on the authorities to resolve bureaucratic problems while stressing that delays are harmful to both parties.
It’s bad for them and for the university. And the problem is not just the delay in issuing visas. If, eventually, these people need to return to their country of origin, for example, in the case of a family emergency, they cannot. There is too much bureaucracy that needs to be resolved.
Some Students Wait up to 6 Months to Receive a Visa, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança States
The Polytechnic Institute of Bragança also said that it is aware and concerned about the visa delays that international students are facing, Publico notes.
The institution said that some students who have been accepted for this academic year are yet to receive their visas, despite some of them submitting their applications six months ago. It further noted that the institution contacts consulates and embassies every year to resolve visa issues, which have become recurrent.
In addition, it revealed that students from Brazil, Cape Verd, Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea are the most affected by visa delays, with a large number of them not able to obtain authorisation to enter the country in time.
Portugal is not the only Schengen member state that has been receiving criticism about visa delays. International students have also been complaining about long processing times for an Italian Schengen visa. Iranian, Afghanand Turkish students are just some of those who have complained about Italian visa delays, with some of them even taking to the streets to protest.