ISLAMABAD: The German Embassy in Islamabad has said that visa applications for students applying for the winter semester “greatly” exceeded the embassy’s resources, therefore, it would “most likely only be possible to process” the “most deserving” ones.
The statement was made on Monday in response to a Dawn.com query regarding the matter.
In numerous identical emails sent to Dawn.com over the past weeks, students complained of facing delays in securing visa interview appointments at the German Embassy in Islamabad despite being granted admission to universities.
The emails claimed that the appointment system for study visas had been opened on May 21 for students admitted for the winter semester. However, no appointment had been scheduled for applying through the “normal track” and only “fast-track applicants” seemed to be receiving attention, the students lamented.
Two such students detailed the costly process and the difficulties they faced to Dawn.com.“Regrettably, during the current academic year, it will therefore most likely only be possible to process the visa applications of the most deserving students, generally those who have been granted a public scholarship and those with the best school or undergraduate results,” the embassy’s communications sections said on Monday.
The embassy acknowledged that there was “huge interest” shown by Pakistani students to study in Germany.It added that as a result, the number of applications for German visas “currently greatly exceeds the embassy’s resources”.
Noting that the number of visas processed at the German Embassy in Islamabad was “constantly increasing”, the embassy said it was looking into improvements that could be made to address the limitation.
“We hope to improve the situation further in the upcoming academic years,” the embassy affirmed.
The emails claimed that the appointment system for study visas had been opened on May 21 for students admitted for the winter semester. However, no appointment had been scheduled for applying through the “normal track” and only “fast-track applicants” seemed to be receiving attention, the students lamented.
