Student Visa Card
To what extent do visa regulations unjustifiable
discriminate against non-EU students who study in
EU countries and how can a new visa policy ease this
influence?
By: Georgia Bouga
Bachelor thesis Geography, Planning and Environment (GPE)
Nijmegen School of Management
Radboud University
August, 2018
Student Visa Card
To what extent do visa regulations unjustifiable
discriminate against non-EU students who study in
EU countries and how can a new visa policy ease this
influence?
By: Georgia Bouga
Bachelor thesis Geography, Planning and Environment (GPE)
Nijmegen School of Management
Radboud University
August, 2018
Student number: s4783506
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Henk van Houtum
Word account: 17.395
Table of contents
1. Introduction...5 1.1 Issue...5 1.2 Research question...7 1.3 Aim of research...8 1.4 Research methodology...8 1.5 Research theories...8 1.6 Research theory...9 1.7 Structure of thesis...92. The European Union and its visa policy...10
2.1 Introduction...10
2.2 The border control of the European Union...10
2.3 The visa...14
2.4 The visa policy of the EU...16
3. The EU visa policy and discrimination towards non-EU students...21
3.1 Introduction...21
3.2 Non-EU member states students within the EU...21
3.3 Data collection for student mobility in the EU...24
3.4 EU visa policy towards non-EU students...27
4. Analysis: Discrimination of non-EU students in visa policy...30
5. A new policy for the European Union...33
6. Conclusions and recommendations...37
6.1 Conclusions...37
6.2 Recommendations...38
7. References...40
1.
Introduction
1.1
Issue
The European Union (hereinafter: EU) is a popular destination to study for non-EU students. These international students are welcomed by universities throughout Europe. Their stay is not always made easy. In particular the provision of a student visa is complex and not always granted. For the non-EU students the student visa often is a problem.
There are several reasons why international students or students of “third” country choose to attend academic programs in European universities. This could be
because of the prestige, cost, and possible careers that come with these universities. According to their preferences each European country is rated in a different level and position; for example, international students prefer academic institutions in Germany because of their famous and well-known universities, but Germany loses the first place from Poland concerning the life costs. Tuition fees, career opportunities or education constitute several criteria in which non EU students are based on (Study.EU, 2018).
The Netherlands is also a favorite study destination for non-EU students. The Netherlands introduced a ‘new visa policy’ concerning job opportunities and future careers of non-EU students. This policy although affects both sides since EU transforms its image into a welcome and ‘open’ area to countries outside EU. International students have gained the right to stay longer in the EU after
accomplishing their studies to search for a job or to travel in EU easier or to work more than 10 hours per week which is the current limit. The EU on the other side will be benefit the profits of the longer staying of the non-EU students who are eligible and capable to offer their knowledge and skills to the European labor market (Smith, A., 2016).
This new visa policy constitutes a plan to attract more international students and to manage them to stay in the European borders. These students first need to obtain their visa. This visa provides them access to the EU and its universities. The amount of procedures, applications and difficulties with which must deal with are numerous and complicated.
The student visa is part of a control mechanism to regulate the flow of people coming and going into a country and their legal stay as a resident. The control at the borders of people’s documents such as passport, identity, visa card, illustrates the efforts of the “nation-state” to control people’s mobility; nation-states differentiate citizens from non-citizens across and within the borders using as element and identification their documents (Torpey, J., 2000). Furthermore, according to Neumayer (2006) nation-states allow the entrance to specific citizens regarding economic, financial and political scope while deny the entrance to those who are considered threat for the social security and/or illegal actions.
For EU citizens’ movement within European borders is free, as it does not require control of their documents. They have access to every European country as stated in the “Schengen Agreements” since 1995 which include most of EU countries except for Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Croatia, the United Kingdom and Romania (European Commission, 2016).
Through the “Schengen Agreements”, a ‘white and black’ Schengen list was created which indicates the share of people who can cross the European
borders without restrictions and to those who do not have this right. The only criterion for that distinction is the place of birth as the former do not “belong to” the EU while the first do. This list was renamed to ‘positive and negative’ and it constitutes the basis for visa applications and issuance (Houtum, H. van, 2010).
The societal value of this thesis is there for non-EU students that wish to study in the EU and need to obtain a National Visa. This visa allows students to reside in the Schengen country for one-year period and in some cases there is the possibility of extending it. The regulations and restrictions, even before they arrive to their host country and after their departure, constitute a number of rules with which they have to deal with.
The scientific relevance of the thesis is based on the unjustifiable discrimination against non-EU students at European universities. The European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter: ECHR) is an international court which includes only the Member States of the EU. The ECHR is open for non-EU nationals as long as the complaints are about a Member State. These complaints can concern a violation of the rules of ECHR such as refuse of entrance in a Member State and should be addressed to the relevant government or authority (Council of Europe). Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 Rome prohibits discrimination due to race, religion, age, sex, political/social status and/or national origin (Council of Europe, 2010).
However, the EU enables free mobility of national citizens through the Schengen Agreement in the EU borders which include EU students who can enter any EU country/university without restrictions. On the other hand, non-EU students are required to follow the ‘common visa policy’ of EU for non-EU citizens with the issuance of the visa card and the necessary justification of their travel reason, e.g. Letter of admission of the EU University, invitation for work etc. (European
Commission). All regulations for non-EU citizens apply for international students as well who enter a Schengen country with the purpose of study since their country of origin is not included in the Schengen list.
However, from 1991 the “European Convention on the General
Equivalence of Periods of University Study” has been accomplished and constitutes the first basis on which international students can enter different universities in the period of their studies only if the relevant universities have first agreed for that mobility (Council of Europe). Also the majority of the European countries uses programs and agreements with regard to third countries with the scope of attracting international students in their academic institutions and takes advantage of their knowledge and skills after finishing their studies; their goal is the “brain gain”
concerning the promotion of European labor market. Due to this strategy, third countries have to confront the so-called “brain drain” since students with high level skills and development prospects immigrate in the EU (European Migration Network, Study 2012).
Although the main purpose of chasing the “brain gain” of non EU students is the highlighting of EU into an excellent academic centre, the regulations,
restrictions and procedures for international students maintain an important issue. The issuance of the student visa card is required to students whose country of origin is not in the Schengen list but whose country of study is. Every non EU student should follow the rules of visa without derogations otherwise the issuance of the visa can repealed. Those criteria are not mandatory for European students who enter European universities without restrictions and/or are required to pay much lower tuition fee than non EU students. The possibility of discrimination by Dutch universities will be focus on this research.
Into a globalised world where the European Union (EU) struggles for equality, better living conditions for the refugees, and protection of the borders, education has limits and creates burdens. It is important to find out which those burdens are, what kind of discrimination the students have to deal with, the reasons of this inequality and possible solutions.
Having this in mind, this paper has as a purpose to answer those dilemmas and search deeper the reasons of the discrimination in education as non-EU students need a visa in order to study into non-EU after they are admitted in a university. There are so many rules and restrictions for those students and their student life become more difficult as for example they do not have the opportunity to retake an exam more than twice while EU students do. That constitutes one of the limits and differences between these two types of students and the reason is only the country of origin; more problems and different way of treatment will be discussed further in this paper.
1.2
Research question
The following question is therefore researched in this thesis:
-‘To what extent do visa regulations unjustifiable discriminate against non-EU students who study in EU countries and how can a new visa policy ease this
influence?’-To answer the research question, the following sub-questions will be discussed: 1. What is the framework of visa regulations?
2. What are the rules and regulations in the EU about non-EU students who study in the EU?
3. To what extent are non-EU students discriminated through EU policies? 4. Can the rules of the new EU-Directive help non-EU students who study in EU
1.3
Aim of research
The main goal of this paper is to find suitable answers and possible
solutions/recommendations regarding to visa regulations, discrimination of non-EU students and how to enter into force the new visa policy. Moreover, this thesis aims to find the factors, the stakeholders, and the circumstances under which student visa card gained so much value and its perspectives.
1.4
Research methodology
According to Creswell (2014) there are two different methods of research, the quantitative and the qualitative. The first applied to a theory when the relationship between a “study” and a “hypotheses” is investigated in order to explain or to predict “natural phenomena” (Kerlinger, 1979). For that reason this method uses variables and connects the gap between them. These variables constitute the sharing characteristics of a group such as gender, race, religion etc. and are divided into independent (causality, prediction) and dependent (result) variables.
On the other hand, qualitative method applies to more than one
attributes; focuses on theory with the purpose of a wide interpretation of the specific subject using variables and hypotheses. Also, it uses theory in order to find answers for group of individuals who share the same characteristics regarding to their race, gender, culture and transforms theory into a “generated”.
To answer the main research question, the qualitative method will be used through a case study theory. The validity and reliability of qualitative method will be shown through the findings and analysis of the case study which includes non-EU students who study at the EU universities and specifically at Dutch academic
institutions.
1.5
Research theories
Each theory has its own characteristics, according to Creswell (2007) and applies in different research designs; there are five different theories that can be used. The first one applies to “Narrative” research which is an analytical theory with societal
background. This research has different types such as “analysis of narratives”, “autobiography” or “oral history” and focus on a single individual who is required to a deeply narration from stories and life experiences that will be collected, analyzed and compared with those from the other participants.
The second research theory is the “Phenomenological” which is focused on the experiences and stories for a certain context of a group of individuals with the purpose of finding the common elements; usually these contexts apply to societal and psychological problems and anxieties which are collected and analyzed in
comparison with the other participants. This research theory also distinguishes two different types, the “hermeneutic” phenomenology and the “transcendental”.
The third theory that is possible to be used is the “Grounded Theory” which has not a descriptive character but focuses on the theory, the data collection of the group of individuals who participate in the same ‘experiment’ , the analysis and it is possible to return back to data collection if it is necessary for the results.
“Systematic procedures” and “constructivist approach” constitute the most well-known types of “Grounded Theory”.
“Ethnographic” research theory is the fourth theory that can be adapted in a qualitative research design as focuses on certain attributes and patterns of the individuals. The importance of this theory lies on the same cultural, societal and behavioral characteristics of the group of participants and they are collected through every day observation and interviews. There are many different types of
“ethnographic” theory such as feminist ethnography and realist ethnography. The last research theory is the “Case Study” which is a qualitative method of research. The “case study” theory searches the case from different cases and angles without exaggerating its research. In a case study theory, namely, the field of study and the certain period of time should be accurate and limited. This theory focuses on a thoroughly collection of data using a variety of sources like reports, documents and observations, has a descriptive character and compares the findings with the information of the observations and the existing literature. A “Case Study” theory is divided into the “single instrumental case study”, the “collective or multiple case study” and the “intrinsic case study”.
1.6
Research theory
The “Case Study” theory is used for this research. Case study theory focuses on the current events and the field of investigation is limited (Zainal, 2007); those events belong in the “real-life context” (Yin, 1984) and the interrelation between them and the context are worthy investigated. In my thesis, case of study is the non-EU students who choose an academic institution in the Netherlands.
Since the close observation of those students and interviews was not plausible, reports, existing literature and documents with data related to EU visa policies, international students and visa regulations will be used.
1.7
Structure of thesis
This research focuses on the potential discrimination of non-EU students with regards to student visas. Other types of visa’s fall outside the scope of this research.
At this point of the thesis it is already mentioned the main issue which is the
international students (or non EU students) who cross the external borders of the EU with the purpose of study. In order to manage than movement, non EU students need the issuance of a visa card which has its own characteristics and requirements. After citing the issue, I continued with the main research question and sub questions of the thesis, the aim of the research and the relevant theories and methods which will be important parameters during this paper.
In the second chapter the EU and its visa policy will be discussed. Here will be looked at the EU and its external borders, at the visa in general and finally at the visa policy of the EU.
In the third chapter, the European visa policies regarding to non-EU students, the existence of non European member states in the EU, the mobility of non-EU students in the EU countries through some figures and closes with the EU visa policy towards international students.
In chapter three the potential discriminatory behavior against non-EU students regarding the European visa policies will be discussed. In chapter four an analysis will be made of the discrimination towards non-EU students because of the existing visa policy. In chapter five a suggestion for a new policy for the EU will be provided. And finally, the outcome of the research will be given in the conclusion followed up with a couple of recommendations.
After the list of references, a reflection about the process of writing the thesis and the research of the thesis will be provided.
2.
The European Union and its visa policy
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter the EU and its visa policy will be discussed. In paragraph two the EU and its external borders will be looked at. In paragraph three the concept of visa in general will be discussed. And finally, in paragraph four the visa policy of the EU.
2.2
The border control of the European Union
The idea of the unity of Europe has possibly its roots back to the Ancient Greece, Rome, the Renaissance or the Carolingian Empire where European citizens shared the same customs, tradition, political and economic concerns (Delanty, 1996).
showed that the concept of one unity was not applicable due to the existence of a number of diversities between EU countries. This set Europe in several ways apart from the other continents but at the same time the existence of a unit with diversities was questioned after the prevalence of hegemony which excluded the possibility of unity and consistency (Delanty, 1996).
In contradiction with Delanty, Medeiros (2011) referred to the “cross-border cooperation” (CBC) into EU which purpose was to connect both sides through networks and contributions but simultaneously to empower the relations and
connections within Europe. EU aimed to re-create the political associations of Europe strengthening in a legal way every movement inside and outside the borders mutually (Medeiros, 2011).
The re-creation of the common political partnerships of Europe is caused, according to Boedeltje and van Houtum (2008), by the current strong influence of the EU. Boedeltje and van Houtum (2008) claimed that Europe did not either operate as a closed and limited unit conforming to specific or established principles neither defined itself as “Europe” and the rest as “non Europe”. Europe has its own history, territory and tradition without limits and boundaries and is separated of the EU (Boedeltje, F. and Houtum, H. van, 2008).
Nowadays, the EU is often referred to as a ‘fortress’ regarding to the surveillance system at the external borders, the barbed-wired gate and the control of guards (Houtum, H. van and R. Pijpers, R., 2007) and also due to strict policy for asylums and the security at the external borders (Thijs de Jager, T., 2009, p. 69). According to van Houtum and Pijpers (2007) the European Union sees itself as a gated
community aiming to its “protection” from invaders and illegal migrants without specifying who or what is considered so valuable in order to protect its internal borders. Continuing they claim that the EU is open to a particular portion of migrants who can contribute to its labour market and economic welfare but the ‘threat’ and the fear against to the outsiders is constantly cultivated to EU citizens. Using the term “gated community” van Houtum and Pijpers (2007) referred to a new policy for protection of (il) legal immigration within the Member States which should be able to protect themselves from any threat and to keep their identity, security and/or culture into their borders and behind the gate. The surveillance system of the gate is strict since there are guards to control the wall, cameras and other similar high level means of protection from the outsiders who are not allowed to enter this gate without a prepaid membership (Houtum, H. van and R. Pijpers, R., 2007). These outsiders who can pay for their entrance into the EU are considered privileged, valuable and without hostile activities against the public security and/or health (Houtum, H. van, 2010).
There are three different aspects of the way borders are functioned and operated: “bordering, ordering and othering”. -“Bordering”- refers to the constant effort to become a territory and/or identity legal, divided from the rest and to limit its own borders. -“Ordering”- referred to the recreation of the societal and spatial regime
excluding all blemishes and flaws from the past and aims to a new and pure order/norm. And -“othering”- implies the division and segmentation between those inside the borders who support the discrimination and those outside and also is referring to difficult accessibility and mobility through the external and internal borders (Houtum, H. van, 2010).
The term “protection” of the internal borders of the EU aimed firstly to economic reasons since EU’s interest was focused to the monopoly of the materials, excluding the non-EU ones which create their own system of labour market to avoid more strict measures of the EU (Thijs de Jager, T., 2009, p.69). In its effort to secure its external borders avoiding any possible unfortunate issue, the EU established an “Internal Market” concerning the Member States of the internal borders with the purpose of free labour market within its borders (Houtum, H., van and R. Pijpers, R., 2007). By the same written, in political philosophy and/or critical geography the strict and closed external borders of the EU seemed often as a violation of the right of movement, denial to the equality and discrimination against non-EU people supporting at the same time open external borders aiming to the welfare of EU in every level.
Within the framework of protection, EU uses several means in order to secure its external borders such as the “border machine” which prevent criminal activities and/or the “global migrant black list” which divides European citizens from non-European regarding to free entrance or the requirement of holding a visa card respectively, while crossing the external borders (Houtum, H. van, 2010). The way of construction of that list and the used criteria are unknown but due to its division people who belong at the black list are forbidden to enter free the external borders of the EU while people at the white list are mobile and therefore welcome into the borders (Houtum, H. van, 2010). This discriminatory behavior and rule is caused due to the place of birth and the country of origin of the individuals and the EU has the right and the authority to decide who is allowed to cross its borders and who not (Houtum, H. van, 2010).
Although it is said that the criteria of the “global migrant black list” which was renamed to “positive and negative list” (Houtum, H. van, 2010, p. 964), the EU tries to build a wall across its external borders keeping out the unwelcomed migrants and allowing the entrance to those whose contribution is significant for its welfare, namely workers, students, nurses etc. (Houtum, H. van, 2010). Through these specific groups of people, the EU aims to ‘brain gain’ allowing companies and universities to accept non-EU individuals respecting the different policies each Member State has established (Houtum, H. van and R. Pijpers, R., 2007). The reason of that division is, according to van Houtum (2010) the feeling of fear and threat of their privileges, public security and economic development that European individuals confront with. In other words, the EU and its citizens are open to migrants who are capable to improve the societal, political, economical identity of the EU and close to those who constitute a threat.
FRONTEX secures the borders of the EU. This is the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at External Borders of the Member States of the European Union which assists the Member States with information
about the movements at the external borders and provide them with well trained guards and an upgrade surveillance system for control and prevention of criminal actions (Houtum, H. van, 2010). The measures FRONTEX uses to secure the external borders cover every possible version of invasion since it strengthens its control with air and coastal force which protect the external borders but they do not avoid the upcoming outlanders who risk their lives in order to cross the EU’s external borders (Houtum, H. van, 2010). According to van Houtum and Pijpers (2007)
individuals who become refugees, see the EU as the only ‘safe’ solution to their problems from their own countries without concerning the facts regarding to prison or to thousands deaths at the external borders. Continuing they characterized the EU as a fort which due to the awareness of the upcoming dangers, increases its control systems and protects its external borders using any possible measure (Houtum, H. van and R. Pijpers, R., 2007). Van Houtum (2010) argues that every individual has a specific code regarding to country of origin and that code is used by the EU to categorize the individuals into the ‘right’ side of their list. Even with the list, the EU especially after the attack on 9/11 follows a number of procedures for identification of migrants at the external borders which include the control of the iris, their fingerprints and their faces through the cross-border machine and a database (Houtum, H. van, 2010). The EU has also the authority and the right to deny the entrance to individuals characterizing them as “undesirables” and to decide who the suitable applicant for a visa is (Houtum, H. van, 2010) since EU’s aim is to create a harmonious and secure environment regardless the costs (Houtum, H. van and R. Pijpers, R., 2007).
These individuals who are allowed to enter the EU, confront with many issues and requirements since the EU tries to ‘steal’ their identities and adjust them to the European life style, aiming to delete every strange and unfamiliar to the European citizens characteristic (Houtum, H. van and R. Pijpers, R., 2007). The fear of the European citizens against anything unknown causes problems to their
coexistence and cooperation (Houtum, H. van and R. Pijpers, R., 2007) and even more to the labour market and therefore to the economy (Medeiros, 2011). A study about the ‘Consumer mobility in Europe’ constitutes an example of the efforts of the EU to help and increase the European economy but simultaneously establishes barriers between the Member States as well. Spierings and van der Velde (2008) analyze the mobility and interaction between the European countries for the purpose of consuming where individuals who live near to the borders cross them easier in order to shop in another country. The host country takes the advantage of that mobility as its economy grows and the movement of products across the borders is constant but not every European citizen can cross the borders due to different policies and/or the non-convenient access (Spierings and van der Velde, 2008). Also, travelers need to feel safe and welcome in a host country in order to cross the borders and to avoid collapse of the interrelations (Spierings and van der Velde, 2008) since after the attack on 9/11 travelers feel threaten against to open internal and external borders (Houtum,H. van, 2010).
The security of the external borders is an issue which was discussed earlier by Delanty (1996) who argued that Eastern Europe had already built its borders since the fall of Constantinople while Western Europe after the American history. The two sides of Europe had become a barrier for a significant portion of
people who were not welcome into their territories and their efforts for cooperation had goal the unity of the European countries respecting any differences (Delanty, G., 1996). In order to manage the creation of a unit Europe, the Member States came up with a sequel of unique characteristics such as a flag, an anthem, and European money which are shared to specific countries into the borders, a goal which was not successful due to the abduction of Europe from the European Union (Boedeltje, F. and Houtum, H. van, 2008).
The history of Europe and Europe itself as an “idea” could not prevent the possible extension of its external borders which do not have specific limits of their territory and therefore the openness to other Member States was inevitable (Agnew, J., 2005).
One of the ways to enter the EU is through a visa. For non-EU students who want to study in the EU it is possible to obtain a student visa. In the next paragraphs the visa and the EU policy will be discussed.
2.3
The visa
Visa is a certificate, permission for the applicant to enter a country for a specific period and for different reasons (Business Dictionary). A visa is obtain to the applicants by the authorized embassy/consulate from every country which belongs to the Schengen list and differentiated regarding to its type. There are three different types of visa; the Uniform Schengen Visas (USV) which allow the holders of that visa to stay in the country of preference for three months. This visa includes two more categories, namely the “A” and “C”; the “A” category visa applies to the “Airport Transit Visa” which allows its holders traveling to different non-Schengen states through an airport that belongs to a Schengen country. The “C” category applies to a “Short-term” visa which allows its holders to stay in a Schengen country for a specific period of time and can be divided into “Single-entry”, “Double-entry” and “Multiple-entry” visa. As can be seen from the terms, the first one allows the holders’ visa to travel once in the desired country and the validity of this visa is removed once they exit this country; the second term has the same rules but the holders can travel twice into the Schengen countries during the accepted period of time; and the third allows them to travel and visit the Schengen Area multiple times within three months counting from the first travel. The second type of visa is “Limited territorial validity visas” (LTV); this type has its own limitations since its holders may travel/visit only the Schengen country (-ies) for which the issuance of visa was allowed. They cannot travel or even transit through other countries if they did not ask for permission at the first place; this restriction can only be ‘violated’ for specific and emergency reasons. The third type is “National Visas”. This type of visa applies to “D” category which allows people traveling within the Schengen Area for study, work or temporary residence; it also distinguishes into singe-entry visa where its holders are able to stay in the Schengen country for a specific period and for a specific purpose but they will return to their country after this period is expired and to multiple-entry visa which has the same restrictions as the previous one with the difference that its holders can
travel to any Schengen country multiple times and without the requirement for new visa issuance. This visa is obtained to certain applicants such as international students who will attend a part-time or full-time educational program in a university of any Schengen country for a one-year period; individuals who travel for pedagogical work or for emergency reasons (Schengen Visa Info, 2015). Besides the variety of visas and their restrictions which were mentioned, another rule for the issuance of visa is a mandatory application to the certain embassy and often an interview with the applicant and/or medical control as well (Gilpin, J., 2014).
Back to 450 BC was the first mention of a visa card or better of a ‘safe conduct letter’ in Bible’s book of Nehemian when a prophet needed a granted permission in order to enter Judah; Artaxerxes, the Persian king was responsible for the ‘visa’ and the governors of the cities close to Judah for the safe enter of the prophet (Passport Index, 2018; The Guardian, 2006).More recent than this recording event, the “safe conduct” document was referred in Britain in 1414 where the king Henry V was in charge for the issuance of that kind of document for every applicant regardless nationality; at that time payment of fee for the issuance was obligatory for English citizens but not for foreigners (The Guardian, 2006).Nowadays, a visa card obtains a whole procedure to be granted to an applicant and different types of visa exist. These types are categorized between travel visa, business, spousal, work, refugee/asylum, student visa etc. and each of them has its own characteristics (Passport Index, 2018). These visas are obligatory if the country of origin of an applicant has not visa policy with the country in which s/he wants to enter. There are some agreements for free entrance between countries but that depends on their visa policies (Passport Index, 2018).
Visa policy is a term which determines who is eligible to enter a country and who is not. In some cases the passport constitutes a granted document that allows the entrance in a country without a visa according to its policy. There are also countries which allow entrance to citizens of specific countries without a visa and in most cases it is mutual. In general visa policies are not too strict with their rules except from some circumstances of diplomatic relations or illegal immigration or cost matters (Passport Index, 2018).
Furthermore, countries have visa policies and rules as they need to control every person who crosses the borders and enters a country for the purpose of security and the preclusion of illegal immigration and criminality (Passport Index, 2018).
To obtain a visa certain procedures must be followed. The requirements for a visa application vary from country to country and every applicant should check them in the corresponding official government immigration website. In general, the requirements obtain a valid passport, a photograph and information for the trip (flight number, reason for travelling etc.). However, due to security reasons applications can be denied if an applicant deals with health problems or constitutes risk for the country due his/her criminal past (Passport Index, 2018).
In order to avoid those kinds of visitors, some countries such as Canada and the United States have as a requirement an invitation letter to the applicant from the person s/he will visit. In some cases an interview with the applicant is also necessary where the visa officer need to know the reason of travelling to a specific country, the duration of the stay, the applicant’s background, his/her health condition, his/her financial situation and other similar information (Passport Index, 2018).
After all these procedures, each applicant is required to pay fee for their visa but the amount varies depending on the country of visiting. Each country has also different duration of visa processing which can last some days or even some weeks (Passport Index, 2018).
2.4
The visa policy of the EU
A “common visa policy” has been addressed by the EU to European countries which are included in the Schengen Area (European Commission, Visa Policy). These EU countries have agreed, after Schenge’s order, to cooperation, trust and cancellation of their internal borders and simultaneously the security of their external borders showing that Schengen set the rules and requirements that EU countries should follow (European Parliamentary Research Service Blog, 2015). These rules concern the control of people’s documents at the borders, the allowing period of stay and the criteria of entrance in the Schengen Area (“Schengen Borders Code”) which the Member States should establish in their policies (European Parliamentary Research Service Blog, 2015). Therefore, the Member States are obliged to follow the orders and the rules addressed by the Schengen Area and not to establish their own.
These rules and regulations will be discussed further in this chapter starting from the illustration of countries which a visa is required to enter the Schengen Area. Continuing, measures of the EU for the protection of its external borders and how an electronic system can prevent illegal invasions in the EU will be discussed. Furthermore, information about a “Visa Code” and the “visa facilitation agreements” (VFAs) will be provided concerning the procedures and the restrictions of holding a visa according to the relevant Regulations. After that, the “local border traffic permit” established by the Schengen Convention will be described and finally, the regulation of a “Community Code” referring to people’s mobility at the EU
borders.
The Schengen Area constitutes the part of the EU which includes European countries sharing common agreements and policies (European Commission, 2018). Figure 1 illustrates world-wide the countries where visa is required with the light red color, countries of the Schengen Area with the dark blue, countries with light blue which are part of EU states but are not included in Schengen Area, the green territories represent countries where visa is not required and in countries in the dark red color a visa and a transit visa is mandatory by all Schengen Sates.
Figure 1: Visa requirements for the Schengen Area (Source European Commission, 2015B)
The European policy of visa requirements which are illustrated in Figure 1, represent the subject of this thesis as well since non EU students, students whose country of origin do not belong in the Schengen Area need a visa to cross the EU’s borders.
Although the movement inside this area is free for the citizens of those countries, non-EU citizens and European citizens who do not belong in the EU are required to apply for a visa card to travel in EU. Visa card has its own policies and regulations with regard to the duration of stay which is 90 days in a period of six months. The non-EU countries in which visa cards can be granted have already been issued while there are still non-EU countries which have not made agreements with the EU (European Commission, 2018).
The protection of EU’s external borders strengthens through technology by monitoring and controlling them via exchange of information; the “Visa Information System” (VIS) is one of the means that EU uses for that scope. This system is the bridge of communication between EU Member States through available biometric visa data according to the Council Decision 2004/512/EC (8 June 2004) and documents of potential travelers in the EU and is connected to non-EU embassies and consulates where only specified data can be transferred and for specified reasons, according to Article 31 of the Regulation (EC) No 767/2008. The VIS is a
system of verification, identification and avoiding possible frauds as it can control the identity of every traveler through its database. It can prevent from low level frauds such as a stolen visa document to criminal or terrorism attacks. The access to that system is limited to authorized employees and to authorities of asylum, visa and/or national. The database of the VIS has an expired date 5 years after the expired date of a visa or when the issuance of a visa is repealed (European Commission, 2018). All Member States have access to the database in order to verify a traveler’s
document, fingerprint or photograph in their area or to identify any traveler who does not meet anymore the certain conditions for entry in the EU. The “Management Authority” is obliged to control and check the activities of the VIS and to make sure of the good quality of technology that it uses for its database. It is also responsible for the security and the cooperation between VIS and Member States and the constant function and reliability of the system (Official Journal of the European Union, 2008).
The Council of the European Union according to the Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 established a “uniform format” for visas which should be issued in the form of a ‘sticker’. This ‘sticker’ constitutes the decision and/or the delegation from a Member State with the purpose of entry in its area; the ‘sticker’ allows the entrance and stay in one or more Member States in a three months period and/or the transportation through the area or airport of one or more Member States. This form of visa should be protected against forged and false display of visa. In order to avoid that, the form of a visa should be established by qualified and suitable agents of Member States who will compose a committee which in a case of fraud should examine and vote the relevant actions that should be taken into consideration. The Commission is required to adopt and accept these decisions only if agree with the committee; in case of disagreement or non submission of their decisions, the Commission should act by sending to the Council the document with the relevant measures. In case of a delayed or even no decision, the Commission should accept the measures without the consensus of the Council. These constitute technician designations which are required to remain hidden, not in public and only authorized people by Member States or the Commission is allowed to access that information in order to issue visas. With regard to the data protection and the information which are included, people whose visa has issued can control and/or correct their own information in the database if they do not match reality. Member States are responsible for the entrance of people in their territory for two reasons which should not coincide with other scopes of issuance a uniform format of visa (Council Regulation, 1995).
A Community Code of Visas (Visa Code) is another EU Regulation No 810/2008 of the European parliament and of the Council (2008) which is responsible for the issuance of short-stay visas in the territory of Schengen Area and affects even types of visas which are granted for years and not for the 90 days limit in a six months period. Even though the EU has accepted the entry of nationals visa-free from almost 50 countries respecting the 3 months duration, the presupposition for a long-stay visa or the issuance of a residence permit during longer trips is required. Moreover, the EU has multilateral agreements with countries outside EU which are called “visa facilitation agreements” (VFAs) and the issuance of a visa card for the Schengen Area is mandatory (Official Journal of the EU, 2008).
VFAs follow the regulations of the Visa Code and make the procedures of the visa applications more convenient by decreasing the number of the necessary documents, the time-consuming process and the length of citizens’ stay in a Member State who are related to EU citizens or they have the principle of journalist and/or students. According to the Visa Code the amount of fee has been fallen to 35 Euros from the initial 60 Euros and for specific categories of people visa procedure has no charge. The Visa code can therefore apply as a regulation after its modification in a legal basis. Due to the nature of the Visa Code the European Commission obtained several problems regarding a wide range and expenditure of its procedure,
unspecified resonance to non-EU countries whose citizens do not often have a stay limitation, and in general the affect in the European economy. Because of the
legislations of the Visa Code and their negative influence in the EU, the Commission came up with another type of visa the “touring visa” which provides non-EU citizens to travel and resident in the EU for more than one year. This new type of visa ‘rejects’ the limit of the 90 days period in six months duration and benefits non-EU workers, researchers and students who wish or should lengthen their stay in the EU. The nature of the Visa Code concerning faster procedures, unknown geographical coverage and loose visa rules influences the economy of the EU. Therefore, the Commission aims to adjust these regulations in a legal basis which would benefit the EU by letting more non-EU citizens, tourists, students and workers to enter the external borders. For that reason the multiple entries for a long stay visas is
obligatory and in case of any disagreement and/or establishment of new legislations from the Council and European Parliament, they should become available in public (Mrozek, K., Yeliseyeu, A., 2016).
The Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 (2001) has created a list which indicates specific third countries whose citizens are required to have a visa document in order to pass the external borders of the EU and those whose citizens are
excluded of that right. Third country citizens holding a visa document can stay in the EU for the period of 90 days and these who belong in the second category cannot cross the external borders unless the Council changes its restrictions for certain reasons. In that case the criteria need to be examined by the Member States, the Commission and the Council at least 30 days before the upcoming travel of the third country citizen. Having the right to a visa through this Regulation concerns a short stay in the Member States for maximum three months and/or transit through an area of a Member State without including the airport transportation. The same restrictions apply for refugees and people without nationality while laws change for holders of official and diplomatic passports, in case of emergency for the flight staff or sea or civilian and/or students on an excursion. Any change or reorganization into the rules of the Regulations should be discussed by the Member States and the Commission, their decisions should be published and any interaction between the laws of the Regulation and those of the Member States should be held (Council Regulation, 2001).
Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2006) establishes laws and restrictions for local border traffic at the external borders of EU countries with regards to the Schengen Convention. For that scope the Regulation adopted permission for the traffic at the local borders concerning the need
of support and sustainability of the bilateral agreements between Member States and third countries. The aim of that Regulation is not to infringe the national laws of the Commission regarding to the duration of stay of non-EU nationals, to their economic actions and to their civil issues. With the term ‘local border traffic’ refers to constant mobility of non-EU residents in and out of the EU external borders relating to different scopes and activities; these non-EU residents are called “border residents” since they have legally stayed in a neighboring country which has bilateral Agreements with a Member State. The “local border traffic permit” constitutes a legal document which allows border residents to cross the borders of a neighboring Member State and do not belong in the ‘black’ list of the Schengen Information System due to their criminal records or to the potential threat of public security and health. In general, the “local border traffic permit” includes an amount of restrictions and rules regarding the duration of stay, the geographical coverage, the necessary information which are required to be available on the document, the using technology for security reasons, and the potential fees and should be issued by competent authorities. Moreover, in order to keep it safe and inviolate Member States should protect this permit by controlling constantly the holders of this document and preventing any abuse or misuse; every activity of the border residents should be compatible to the bilateral Agreements of their country of origin with the Member States (Official Journal of the EU, 2006).
In a common sense and line with the previous Regulations, the
Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2006) is established as well. This Regulation refers to a “Community Code” on the
restrictions regarding the monitoring of people’s mobility across borders (“Schengen Borders Code”). The presuppositions of crossing the external borders non-EU nationals are the specified hours the borders are open with exemption of special circumstances such as fishing or in an emerge situation but there should not be a suspected threat for the public security or there are people at the external borders without the necessary permission documents; at those situations Member States impose penalties to the offenders. Moreover, non-EU nationals can cross the external borders holding the relevant visa and travel document, their information is valid according to the database, they are able to verify the reason and the duration of the travel, their financial situation and/or they are not citizens whose entry is denied by the Schengen Information System. In order to monitor those visitors, the external borders have surveillance system and security guards who can check the most important information on the visa documents and the international database in case of suspected offense. During the exit of non-EU nationals, controls at the external borders are obligatory as well since guards should inform and update the database concerning to the exit of the individual. All these information are available for all Member States and the European Agency which is responsible for the cooperation of Member States about issues at the external borders (Official Journal of the EU, 2006).
These Regulations include an amount of information and presuppositions regarding non-EU nationals who wish to cross the EU external borders for certain reasons. The scope of the travel concerns job opportunities or studies, all regulations or conditions should be met by the applicants; they should have a valid visa travel document,
verification and proofs of their travel and any criminal records or potential threat for the public security and health. Besides of those criteria, according to information retrieved from the ‘Schengen Visa Info’, non-EU students need an admission of the academic institution where they will start their studies in order to submit application for a visa. Due to the duration of their studies, that is in most cases a whole
academic year, non-EU students should apply for a residence permit as well since the short-stay visa (90 days) does not fulfill their criteria of the travel. In order to become holders of the student visa, they should meet more conditions than the already mentioned such as proof of sufficient income (or parent’s income), health and travel insurance, a permanent residence in the host EU country and a current
document of identification. Third country students who are holders of the student visa card can travel in the Schengen Area during their allowed period of stay but they should inform the authorities for every trip outside this area (Schengen Visa Info, 2017). According to the Directive (EC) 2016/801 (2016) about the rules and
restrictions of the entry of third country students in the EU, the above laws apply here as well. This Directive refers also that before non-EU students enter the host EU country and university should have already paid their tuition fee, if this is mandatory from the Member States; non-EU students should take care of their medical
treatment applying for a health insurance for every kind of risk.
3.
The EU visa policy and discrimination towards non-EU
students
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter the EU visa policy and discrimination towards non-EU students is discussed. In paragraph two the situation of non-EU students within the EU is discussed. Then in paragraph three, student mobility in the EU is looked at.
3.2
Non-EU member states students within the EU
In this section the situation of non-EU students within the EU is discussed. The situation of non-EU students will be demonstrated using three figures. In the first figure (figure 2) the international students who chose an academic institution abroad are shown. The second figure (figure 3) shows the first permits issued for education reasons by (Member) State 2008 and 2011 and finally the third figure (figure 4) shows the first permits which were issued as per Directive for study reasons in 2008 and 2011. The data in these three figures will give an overview of the movement of international students towards the EU for the purpose of studying.
Figure 2 show that the universities in the EU are a popular study-destination for tertiary education students. Figure 2 gives an overview of Tertiary education students from abroad by ISCED level is shown. The overview includes all European countries. The biggest number of international students has chosen a university in the EU, either for Bachelor or Master program. For example, the total number of Bachelor international students in Norway is 3,845 while in Germany is 83,800; in Serbia the total number of Master international students is 2,258 while in the Netherlands is 24,557. It is clear that international students prefer European countries for their studies and that may occur to the quality and high-level education system which EU tries to create in the academic institutions.
Figure 2:Tertiary education students from abroad by ISCED level, 2015 (number) ET17.png
Source: Eurostat
Figure 3 illustrates the first permits for educational reasons issues by the (Member) State from 2008 and 2011. As it is presented in the figure, in some countries like United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Spain the permits were increased by 2011 while in German, Denmark and Belgium were decreased. It is shown therefore that several EU countries are more open and accept non-EU students to issue a first permit for educational purposes in comparison with other EU countries, equally
popular study-destination for international students, but without the issuance of first permits.
Figure 3
:
First permits issued for education reasons by (Member) State 2008 and 2011(Source:
European Migration Network, Study 2012)Figure 4 presents the first permits which were issued as per Directive for study reasons in 2008 and 2011. France has the most issued permits in 2011 while Italy in 2008 followed by Germany and Sweden. The country with the second biggest record in study permits in 2011 is Spain where any permit was issued in 2008. EU countries with the biggest number of international students, issued the most first permits and the declination at the numbers of first permits through the years, is clearly shown.
Figure 4
:
First permits issued for Study reasons as per Directive 2004/114/EC by (Member) State 2008 and 2011(Source:
European Migration Network, Study 2012)
Consequently, non-EU students prefer an EU academic institution for their tertiary studies in comparison with universities outside EU due to the qualified EU
universities and the advanced image of EU as an excellent academic centre. However, it is shown by the figures that several EU countries deny to non-EU students the issuance of first permits either for educational or study reasons while other EU countries increase them. This discriminatory behavior between the EU countries and international students represent the power of the EU countries to decide when, to whom and to how many non-EU students, permission for studies will be given, even though foreign students choose these EU academic institutions.
3.3
Data collection for student mobility in the EU
International students constitute an important amount of population into EU and contribute to several factors such as economic growth and welfare. In 1994 the strong relations and interaction between EU and third countries became official with the support of the “Council Resolution on the admission of third-country nationals to the territory of the (Member) States of the EU for study purposes” (European
Through data collection it is shown how many international students choose an academic institution in the Netherlands for their higher education. These data are collected from students, scholars, national governments and organizations such as UNESCO, OECD, and the European Commission. However, the already existed data are not always accurate as many information could be missed or could be not true.It is difficult to collect all international students who cross the European borders in order to study although there are made many efforts to improve the existed results (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.78).
To improve that, it is obligatory for every country worldwide to collect the numbers of academic institutions, of their students and their staff. These numbers should be sent to its country’s government and each government should send them to the international agencies which are in charge for the international statistics (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.80).
All data are collected by UOE data, which namely is the “joint collection of education data by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Eurostat” (Eurostat, 2016).
Each European country delivers the national data to UOE data collection through a specific organization/agency; for example, the Netherlands delivers those data through the ‘Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek- CBS’ which is responsible for every citizen and business as well (Scholto Bos, 2018).
Some problems that may come up due to data are the inaccurate information for students who cross the borders for a short time as they are exchanged students or study abroad through Erasmus programs; information for those students are not always delivered to the government or they are delivered but due to their short stay they are not calculated in the data (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.83).
In general, data collection began decades ago, but as the mobility of international students increases the less accurate are the data of “foreign students”. The reason of this issue is that years ago foreign students changed their nationality of country of origin with the nationality of country of study. In that case the data collection was easier and clearer for the governments as they could calculate with accuracy all the students who had crossed the borders. Through the years, that changed as students kept their nationality due to globalization, internationalization and the “rapid process of Europeanization” and so the governments were not able to have valuable data (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.84).
In the Netherlands these data are available in Nuffic which is the ‘Netherlands Organization on International Cooperation in Higher Education’; this database collects information for student mobility to and from Netherlands and distinguishes students into groups depending to ‘diploma mobility’, ‘credit mobility’ and ‘(scholarship) programme mobility of credit or diploma mobile students, graduates and staff’. But still Nuffic is the only available source which can provide
these kind of information for the Netherlands and that means that they are not wide (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.141).
The main source of Nuffic is the ‘Information Management Group in Groningen (IB-Groep)’ which has the CRI-HO as a database where information about students who are enrolled into academic institutions in the Netherlands, their
nationality and numbers can be found. This database is continually getting new information in order to remain a valuable source; it also differentiates students according to their activity in each academic institution (degree, diploma, certificate, full or part time students etc.) (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.142).
As stated above, CBS constitutes the main source of data for
international students but it only notifies them after a request; that means that these data are not easy to be found as they are not published and not everyone has access on them (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.142).
On the other hand, data for students’ mobility are more difficult to be found as they are not available in the Netherlands; also, data for external mobility and for students who went abroad are available only due to surveys with graduates’ students which are held by the University (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd
Wächter, 2006, p.142).
Due to all these issues, the quality of data is questionable as there are few published information for international students and there are gaps on them since the Dutch government does not include students who study in the Netherlands but live abroad, although these students cover a high percentage of foreign students (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.142).
However, according to the already existed information and the
EUROSTAT data in 2002-03 the number of foreign students in the Netherlands was estimated to 20.531 which cover a 3.9 percent of the amount of students. In that year a percentage of 38.7 corresponds to international students outside EU while German students constitute the biggest amount of foreign students in the Netherlands since they represent the 25% of the round sum of international students’ population (Kerrie Kennedy, 2018). Furthermore, Chinese students increased significantly from 1998-99 to 2002-03 “by over 700 percent”; this is due to the relationship between the
academic institutions of the Netherlands and China which is still exists (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.143-144).
Through these years IND, the ‘Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service’ (a delegation of the Dutch Minister of Justice) approved many visas and residence permits to students who wanted to study more than 3 months in the Netherlands; between 2002 and 2003 there was a prosperity in visas but in 2003-2004 a recession, without knowing the exact reasons for that (Maria Kelo, Ulrich Teichler, Bernd Wächter, 2006, p.148).
By 2011, more than 2 million visas were approved to people from
countries outside EU from which 21 percent corresponded to students for educational reasons (European Migration Network, Study 2012).
During the years the number changed as in 2015 the records of
international students in the Netherlands were about 90,000 with the 23,000 non-EU students; by 2017 this number was increased to 112,000 foreign students. The level of Dutch degrees, the high quality of the academic institutions and the possibility of work after their studies were appealing reason for so many international students to choose the Netherlands as their host country. There are noticed about 164 different countries of origin from the students where the most come from Germany and China. The Netherlands has improved its academic level and international students have helped as well; many of them remain in the Netherlands for work, bringing their new and innovative ideas into this country and its business, their experiences and their knowledge from their own countries optimizing the country’s finances. The
contribution of international students in the Netherlands’ economy is clear as estimated up to 1.57 billion per year (The Hague Online, 2015; 2017).
This chapter constitutes an overall view about the number of international students into EU focusing on those who come in the Netherlands; these numbers have increased significantly the last years and the dominant nationalities are German and Chinese. This shows also that the visa and residence permits for non-EU
students are increased as well but that does not secure same opportunities or easier student life for those students, an issue which will be discussed in the same section.
3.4
EU visa policy towards non-EU students
The EU visa policy is part of EU’s policies to promote EU as a successful academic centre. This is set out in innovative rules/policies such as “Regular policy dialogues” from which EU will became appealing for the third-countries, “Bilateral agreements” and cooperation with these countries by exchange programs or
conferences, “Programmes to encourage and support mobility” namely the ‘Erasmus Mundus’ for scholarships and the ‘Marie Curie Fellowships’, and “Joint Consortia Scholarships” for students who are interested in research between EU and third countries. While the most academic institutions promote their own alumni, those into EU focus on international alumni as well and therefore keep the relations with the third-countries strong (European Migration Network, Study 2012, p.15).
This EU policy is followed by an amount of different educational programs with the same purpose, namely to create and maintain the link with countries outside EU. Some of these programs are “Study in Europe” with plenty of information about the universities, their facilitates and their offers, the “ENIC” (“European Network of Information Centres in the European Region”)/ “NARIC” (“National Academic Recognition Information Centres in the European Union”) and “GAMM” (“Global Approach to Migration and Mobility”) which provide useful information to international students about their admissions and mobility into EU, helping EU’s economic growth.
In the same purpose there are policies for non-EU students accordingly to their entrance, admission and all necessary information for the European academic institution, to requirements for their visa and residence permit and to labour market during their studies (European Migration Network, Study 2012, p.15-16).
From the national view, EU countries focus on attracting international students through the high level of training and education and therefore foreign students will contribute to labour market using their skills to strengthen the economy and promote mobility. For example, the Netherlands plan to increase its academic level through high-skilled students creating a brain gain situation and also to
decrease mistreatment against international students through a more detailed control on their visa permits (European Migration Network, Study 2012, p.16-17).
Although many EU countries have as a purpose their welfare through international students’ contribution, other EU countries try to take advantage of them due to fees that they are obliged to pay or their housing; also, there are EU countries which attract only high-skilled students who can contribute into labour market and a further development of the country. In order to achieve this, many countries have a specific preference for the country of origin of foreign students as each of them try to build strong relationships with the most direct to them third-country (European
Migration Network, Study 2012, p.17-18). This is a strategy where many other issues are fomenting due to political and/or economic relations.
However, in general the European Union makes constantly efforts to improve its academic level and therefore to attract more high-skilled students; Masters and PhD constitute the most important programs which can be appealing for international students. This upgrade of the universities is necessary since the
academic area and level changes continuously, not only in EU but also in other areas of the world, and the competition would be bigger and more difficult (European Commission).
As stated above in this chapter, “Study in Europe” is a program through which some countries promote their high-leveled university and educational system while the Commission participates into conferences where analyzes the advantages of the universities into EU. Moreover, graduated students are willing to promote their universities by creating several organizations, promoting European universities into their own country and participating at conferences and study events (European Commission).
Another program which was also mentioned above is the “Erasmus+” that gives the opportunity to people and/or students to participate into a study program but into sports or youth as well. The audience which is referred to is constituted by individuals or even organizations mostly within the EU since “Programme countries” –as they called them- are able to participate in any factor. “Programme countries” are namely all EU countries and some non-EU such as Iceland or Turkey; on the other hand, there are the so-called “Partners countries” where every other country of the world belongs from the countries which border on Europe until Asia, Australia, and USA etc. The difference between those two groups is that the former does not have the same privilege as the first one as it can take part in particular sector of
“Erasmus+” program and under specific circumstances which are due to the country of origin of participants (European Commission).
Although there is discrimination in that European program, EU is willing to create relations and bridge the gap between itself and non-EU countries because those actions could improve EU’s image as a high-level academic centre. The policy of cooperation with non-EU countries dedicates itself to support these countries and their educational systems, to contribute to their services’ improvement and to maintain the exchange of students all over the world. Through these actions, EU is able to improve its educational system and services by participating to new projects and events, to succeed economic growth and prosperity and to insert labour market with innovative ideas and beyond the borders staff (brain gain) (European
Commission).
As stated above, EU has as strategy to promote European universities to excellent academic institutions by using the help of students all over the world. These students are able to improve the educational systems with their innovative ideas and knowledge which are part of the strategy of EU for collaboration between EU and non-EU universities. Another goal of EU is the after-graduation strategy which includes the labour market and economy’s improvement as 45% of students comes from non-EU countries; EU’s focus is on high-leveled students with perspectives and progress that would be follows upgraded courses by talented professors (European Commission).
This chapter describes the efforts of EU to become an excellent
academic centre, to upgrade its educational systems and its resources by including students not only from European countries but from countries outside EU as well. Several European programs attract non-EU talented students into EU who can contribute to EU’s plan. However, non-EU students do not have the same
opportunities as EU students as stated above since the former have more options without restrictions in education while the first have to deal with these problems.
All the above raised the question for the image of EU and if EU is presented as a fortress to the outside countries; as it is multiple times said, EU protects its students by giving them the privilege of choice at professors and creating a high-level environment into academic institutions. In order to succeed that, the contribution of non-EU students and staff is necessary as they are able to bring new ideas and knowledge benefiting EU’s educational system.
Although EU has a plan to succeed this, the procedures and the
restrictions –as stated above in this paper- for non-EU students are plenty and all of them begin from the birth country of them. For that reason, at this point of the paper a comparison of EU as a fortress with the ‘Panopticon’ of Foucault constitutes a good closure to this chapter. According to van Houtum and Pijpers (2007) EU could be characterized as a fortress because of the barbed-wire gate, the controls at the borders from the guards and the surveillance system for those who cross the borders. It might referred to illegal migration and to invaders who try to cross the borders without permission, but non-EU students who try to cross the borders with
