June 28, 2022

Education Abroad: India Raises Long Visa Delay with US, UK, and Several Other Nations

I India discussed the problem of long delays in granting visas to Indian students wishing to continue their on-campus classes with Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and a number of other countries on Friday.

Hundreds of Indian students are battling to return to these regions to attend off-campus classes due to massive delays in visa processing by the individual embassies, according to persons familiar with the situation.

…Senior MEA officials dealing with Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, Poland, UK and USA had constructive discussions with corresponding Heads of Missions/Senior Diplomats of these countries about streamlining student visas to Indian Nationals…

According to sources, the Indian side stressed the issue forcefully and requested certainty and expedited processing of visa applications. The Indian authorities who raised the matter with the countries also emphasised the importance of having a proper communication strategy in place to keep visa applicants informed about the timetable and other specifics about the visa procedure.

The meetings, according to External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, were "productive." He tweeted, “Senior MEA officials dealing with Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, Poland, UK & USA had constructive discussions with corresponding Heads of Missions/senior diplomats of these countries about streamlining student visas to Indian nationals.” He further added, “They decided to keep working on further streamlining and expediting the procedure because the flow of students has been mutually beneficial.”

Posted in News and tagged News, India, Education Abroad, Visa Delay, External Affairs Ministry, Student Visa
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