Nigerian Students Want Embassies to Resume Visa Application Processing

A considerable number of international students who were set to head to other world countries and pursue their studies are facing many struggles with visa approvals, due to lockdowns, travel bans, quarantine measures and other restrictions imposed by countries worldwide as a way to prevent COVID-19 spreading.

Visa delays have pushed many of them to protest over this situation and call on particular embassies as well as other important authorities to start working towards fixing this problem, on the contrary, they may lose scholarships and their places at universities.

As the problem is global, students around the world have united on social media to express their disappointment and outrage over this issue.

These students have united in a student campaign in social media under the hashtag #EducationIsNotTourism and are sharing their experiences, most of them claiming that they have months now waiting to receive a visa approval.

Some of them have admitted that more than one year has passed since they submitted their applications and the embassies have still not granted them with their student visa.

Among the most demanding students recently are those from Iran, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Many of them expected to pursue studies for this academic year at German universities.

Students from Nigeria are also among the affected ones by visa approvals delays. They have also joined the campaign #EducationIsNotTourism to raise their voice over this situation which they consider serious and very unfair.

Nigerian students have asked the German Embassy in Abuja to resume visa application processing as soon as possible, in order to help the Nigerian students to leave their country on time and pursue their studies in Germany. However, the embassy did not come up with any statement regarding this situation yet.

“Nigerian students are tired and sad. We have lost hopes as winter has started already. How are we going to join our colleagues when the classes have already started? It’s unfair” a student wrote in a post on Twitter.

Lately, it has been reported that 4,000 Pakistani students were expected to start or continue their studies abroad; however, due to COVID-19 developments, they are also facing visa delays and are at risk of losing their study abroad opportunities.