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Germany amends student visa application process

Germany amends student visa application process

All students who are aiming to study for a UG or PG degree in Germany have to get their academic documents verified.

The German Ambassador recently stated that around 15 per cent of visa applications of Indian students consist of fake documents. Thus, the German Embassy in India has announced that, while applying for a study visa to Germany, Indian students must include a certificate from the Academic Evaluation Centre.

The Academic Evaluation Centre is a Science section division of the German Embassy. It was established to increase the speed of the visa and student admissions processes. All students who are aiming to study for a UG or PG degree in Germany have to get their academic documents verified.

This must be done at APS India in order to obtain the APS certification. Moreover, the added advantage is that the certificate has no expiration date. However, a number of students are confused due to the sudden change in the application process.

CHALLENGES

There is a lack of awareness about the new process. Therefore, the offline exercise of submitting the documents is still underway. Moreover, the cost has also been added to obtain the certificate.

A resident of Delhi this year was admitted to the Goethe University Frankfurt. He secured an MS in Cell Biology and Biophysics in July. However, due to the newly issued visa guidelines, his entire visa application process was delayed.

The student stated that the decision of the embassy to introduce this new guideline is untimed. He added that he became aware of this new system only when he was a few days before attending a visa appointment. The application window opened only on October 1. Therefore, he had to wait for a month to apply for the certificate and an extra three weeks to receive it.

The entire process to submit the documents for verification was offline. Thus, students were instructed to visit the embassy in Delhi or its 4 consulates. After the application and fee payment on October 1, he received an appointment date for October 4. He had to submit the documents at the German embassy which is located in Delhi.

The entire process took three weeks. However, presently, students can send photocopies of documents through a courier facility. The student visa application process is extended by a month through this APS process. Moreover, many students are also concerned about paying Rs 18000 as a fee.

UNFAIR PRACTICES

A DU graduate has complained that the fee imposed was unfair. This is because it is the responsibility of the embassy to get documents verified and not the students. Students with genuine academic certificates are burdened to get them verified with a hefty amount.

She added that the cost of 15 per cent of students who forge documents is borne by genuine candidates. She stated that students must be allowed to upload documents online for verification. This process has been complicated instead of being sorted.

APS was first established in China in 2001. Later, it was followed by Vietnam and India in 2007 and 2022 respectively. This was to ensure that only eligible students enter German universities. Previously, for Indian students, there was no system of document verification.

Students who have received scholarships funded by the German or European Union need not apply for an APS certificate. It is also not required for those who wish to pursue a course of 90 days or less in Germany. If there is any change in the candidate\’s eligibility criteria, one must apply for an updated APS certificate under a new category.

Experts have claimed that this method will streamline the process and it more efficient. Moreover, Student visas will get approved in shorter durations. The rest of the students will benefit with the reduced time at visa allotment.

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