Turkish students who have been admitted to Italian universities but who are still waiting for a response on their visa application protested outside the Italian Consulate in Istanbul.
Frustrated with the delays and “unreasonable” denials, Turkish students said that the long Schengen visa processing times are leaving them in limbo and threatening their academic goals, Schengen.News reports.
Similar to the previous years, a large number of Turkish students have enrolled in Italian universities for the 2024/25 study year. However, without having their visas approved, they are not able to make any further plans related to their studies in Italy.
Taking into account that students who do not arrive at their universities by the end of this month lose their spots, they are now requiring the Italian Consulate to do something about their application and provide them with a response as soon as possible.
We Provided All Required Documents & More but Are Still Waiting for a Response, Turkish Student Says
Speaking on behalf of the students protesting, Senol Beyaz said that they submitted their applications months ago and are still waiting for a response from the Italian authorities, Türkiye Today explains.
The same stressed that they submitted all the required documents and more than the required amount in funds just for them to be left without an answer.
Beyaz further emphasised that some students who had their visas denied were provided inconsistent reasons by the Italian authorities, with the latter also misspelling their names, pushing them to believe that their applications had not been carefully processed.
Unable to do anything about their current situation, Beyaz said they hope for this issue to be resolved as soon as possible so they are able to begin their semester on time.
Turkish Student Risks Losing Scholarship Due to Visa Delays
Another student also expressed her frustration. The student said that due to the visa delay, she risks losing her scholarship and housing assistance provided by Bologna University.
Despite the protest being held outside the Italian Consulate in Istanbul, the latter did not make any statement on the matter. It is yet to be seen if the students’ visas will be processed faster following this action.
In addition to students, Turkish businesspeople have also complained about the Schengen visa rules. They said that they are waiting for long periods of time for their visas to be processed and called on the Schengen countries’ authorities to ease some of the visa application rules.
Source: https://schengen.news/turkish-students-demand-faster-schengen-visa-processing-outside-italian-consulate/
