Visa Facilitation for Students Coming to EU Countries

The end of visa restrictions on students, raised by Bahçeşehir University Chairman of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel first in Berlin and then at the European Parliament in Brussels, is drawing near. If the bill submitted to the European Parliament is adopted, students and scientists will be granted easier visas and residence permits in European countries.

The European Union is preparing to enact a bill that will enable students and scientists to come to Europe. If the bill is adopted by the parliament, it will become easier for students to obtain entry and residence permits in European countries for educational purposes, and they will be allowed to work to support themselves.

The call made by Bahçeşehir University Chairman of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel both at the opening of the Berlin campus and at the European Parliament has been answered. The demands of Yücel, who took initiatives to lift visa restrictions on Turkish students wishing to study in Europe and gave a speech on this subject at the European Parliament last month, are being put into practice. The bill, announced to the public by European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström, covers more flexible travel, visa and residence permits for students. According to the new bill, a decision on whether to grant students a residence permit is to be made within 60 days at most. It is also planned to grant students permission to work at least 20 hours a week so that they can finance their education.

"This visa is meaningless"

Enver Yücel, who raised the issue at the opening of the Bahçeşehir University Berlin Campus and took the visa problems to the European Parliament, addressing members of Parliament in February, had said: "This visa regime applied to students and scientists in European Union countries seems meaningless. Students are forced to return to their countries after studying for three months. This mentality should no longer exist in the world. We need to overcome this together," and had called on the European Parliament to act on the issue. Also conveying the issue to Claudia Roth, Co-Chair of the German Green Party, Enver Yücel had described the problem as follows: "We opened a campus in Berlin. We plan for our students to study in Berlin in different semesters, but the German authorities grant our students visas of three months at most. We want this to change."

Stating that they are extremely pleased with the positive developments resulting from meetings with the European Parliament and its officials, Bahçeşehir University Chairman of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel said: "We say everywhere that borders in education must be removed. In this century, it is unacceptable for students and scientists who want to study to be granted limited visa rights. Now the European Parliament is taking positive steps on this issue. I hope that these initiatives will have positive results and that Turkish students and scientists will be granted the right to work and study in Europe as long as they wish."

What does the bill cover?

The bill submitted to the European Parliament also includes allowing scientists and students whose education or research projects have ended to stay in Europe for another 12 months to take advantage of job opportunities. Making it easier for scientists to move to another EU member state with their families is also among the planned facilitations. The bill also covers young people coming to European Union countries as au pairs and paid trainees. A spokesperson for European Commission member Malmström said: "It is in the EU's own interest to improve its image as an international center of excellence." Every year, 220,000 students, scientists and trainees come to the EU. For the new bill to enter into force, a decision by EU governments and the European Parliament is awaited.