THE PANCYPRIAN Association of Private Higher Education Institutions (PASISTE) yesterday blasted the move on the part of the Immigration Service to deny visas to 300 students who applied to colleges and universities in Cyprus.
The decision is particularly controversial, as the Education Ministry had already approved the same students, assuring PASISTE that they would be granted visas.
“This move compromises our standing because we had already informed these 300 students that they were granted visas – that is what the Education Ministry told us.
“Cyprus’ image has also been affected as a result. The Ministry of Education should have communicated with the Immigration Service before giving us an answer,” Dr Marios Americanos, President of PASISTE told the Cyprus Mail.
The group of 300 students from countries including India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh has been getting consistently mixed messages from Cyprus for months.
In January 2009, Education Ministry officers went abroad to hold personal interviews with students and denied visas to a number them, including the group of 300.
According to Americanos, upon returning to Cyprus, these officers admitted that they were too strict. After reviewing the students’ documents for a second time, the ministry agreed to grant the 300 students their visas.
The students’ ordeal, however, did not end there. After being told that they have been granted their visas, the Immigration Service issued a decision that prevented their entry to Cyprus.
“At the interview, they checked the students’ documents and those who were in order were given a visa then and there.
“Approximately 600 candidates whose papers were in order did not receive the visa. This was the first time that Education Ministry officers (travelled overseas to conduct interviews), so when they returned they expressed the opinion that they may have been too strict.
“They asked us to send them a list with those students whom we believed should have received a visa. From that list, the ministry approved 300 students after reviewing their documents for a second time,” Americanos explained.
However, when the matter went to the Immigration Service, its Director refused to issue the visas based on the opinion that decisions should not be reviewed and on the fact that some of the students’ documents had since expired.
The documents had expired – for the simple reason that they were valid in January 2009 when the interviews were taking place.
“The relevant law does not provide for the re-examination of applications, which is why we did not accept the Education Ministry’s decision to review the 300 applications,” said Anni Shakalli, Director of Immigration .
“Although these students were not approved for the summer semester, they can re-apply if they wish for the fall semester,” Shakalli added.
The decision infuriated PASISTE as it showed a lack of co-ordination between the Interior and Education Ministries.
“It is unacceptable that the Education Ministry admitted they were too strict, asked us to submit documents, approved 300 students – and then another ministry came and said something else.
“We will request a meeting with Shakalli as she is the only one with the authority on this matter,” Americanos said.
PASISTE also plans aims to raise the issue of Cyprus’ policy on the procedure for accepting foreign students.
Although the government has a stated objective to transform Cyprus into a regional and international training and education centre, the practices and policies of the Immigration Service are perceived as unproductive by the college-owners.
“We recently brought the issue before the House Interior Committee, where we explained what happens in other countries such as the UK and Iceland.
“These countries are genuinely concerned with the essence of the matter, which is to check that documents are genuine.
“In Cyprus, however, they focus on having a number of stamps on each document. This does not guarantee that a document is genuine, and also unfairly excludes students from countries where Cyprus does not have an embassy or consulate,” Americanos said
“We are not seeking a relaxation in the verification procedure. They should continue to be strict, but in a correct and effective way, which is not presently the case.
“The general attitude of the Immigration Service is definitely affecting Cyprus’ chances of becoming an educational centre. Although that is a stated objective of the government, these policies are not helping in any way,” he added.
