In Belarus, the government continues to implement policies that severely limit the academic and professional freedom of students. One of the most concerning practices is the system of mandatory post-graduate labour assignments (“отработки”), which requires graduates of public universities to work for state-appointed employers for up to two years after graduation, often in regions or sectors they did not choose. Historically applied to students receiving public scholarships, recent government proposals indicate that this policy may soon extend to self-funded students as well.

This policy denies graduates the freedom to pursue education or employment on their own terms, and effectively ties young professionals to the state. It is particularly harmful in the context of political repression, where many students seek to continue their education abroad in safer, more democratic environments.

Moreover, Belarusian authorities systematically restrict access to necessary documents, such as transcripts and diplomas, for students wishing to apply to universities abroad and conduct “preventive talks” with youth and their parents to prevent them going abroad to study. This practice constitutes a form of collective punishment and a violation of the right to education and mobility.

ESU believes that:

• Forced post-graduate assignments constitute a violation of students’ rights to free professional choice and academic mobility.
  
• Restricting access to academic documents as a form of political pressure is unacceptable and undermines the fundamental principles of education as a public good.
  
• Students must not be used as tools to sustain authoritarian labour policies or to control population movement.
  

Therefore, ESU:

1. Strongly condemns the practice of mandatory post-graduate labour assignments, especially the planned extension of such policies to fee-paying students in Belarus.
   
2. Denounces the use of academic documentation as a tool of political control and repression.
   
3. Calls on European higher education institutions to be aware of these restrictions and to adapt their application procedures, allowing Belarusian students to submit alternative forms of documentation or apply conditionally, especially when original diplomas or transcripts are withheld.
   
4. Urges national ministries and educational authorities across Europe to provide safe academic pathways and support (including scholarships, accelerated visa processing, and documentation waivers) for students affected by these policies.
   
5. Reaffirms the need for continuous monitoring of academic freedom violations in Belarus and elsewhere, in cooperation with student unions and civil society.
   
6. Expresses full solidarity with Belarusian students who face systematic state pressure and remain committed to pursuing education as a means of personal and societal development.

By ensuring access to education despite political repression, the European academic community defends not only the rights of individual students but also the core values of democratic, accessible, and emancipatory education.

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The accessibility of sports as a healthy outlet for students is important to combat the serious mental health issues among students in the Netherlands. Student life is getting more expensive, because of rising tuition fees, public transport costs and inflation. Now sport membership fees could increase by hundreds of euros per year. Then, students will no longer be able to afford to have a membership at a sport association. An indicative survey from the University of Amsterdam shows that a significant amount of students would cancel their membership after the change in price. Students already experience a lot of uncertainty because of their financial position and the high interest on student loans. Adding another financial burden will only worsen these problems.

Many students develop themselves through sports, physically, as well as socially and professionally. The sports centres are often places where students can come together, this fosters social cohesion. The more than 400 student sport associations in the Netherlands are strongly affiliated with the subsidised sports centres; their existence will come under serious pressure if the policy change goes through. When sports associations lose members, the chance to develop professionally there reduces as well. By taking a seat on a committee or board of one of the associations, students can gain valuable experiences.

While the changes in subsidised student sports are off the table for next year, the strict enforcement on cultural activities will continue from 2026 onwards. Then, going to a theatre, public lecture or university museum will no longer be affordable for students. These types of cultural initiatives do not only enrich academic life and lead to the personal developments of students, they are essential. The goal of studying should be investing in student success, not only getting a degree.

ESU believes that market forces should not affect the already limited benefits that students may experience, such as affordable sport facilities, cultural activities and affordable language courses.

ESU and ISO call for;

• The Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science to stop any steps in the reinforcement of Dutch Public-Private Law;
• For the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science to see the importance of sports for the development of students both physically and mentally;
• For the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science to see the concerning level of financial instability of Dutch students and to act on this;
• For the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science to ensure the safekeeping of possibilities for cultural activities, cafeterias and language courses.

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The territory of Western Sahara remains the last unresolved issue of decolonisation on the African continent. The territory is registered as a non-self governing territory, and the people have a right to self-determination and independence international international law.

The latest three rulings by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), from October 2024, repeats that Western Sahara is “separate and distinct” and the rights of the people to decide their own affairs.

Approximately half the Saharawi people of the territory live as refugees abroad, mainly in refugee camps in Algeria, following Morocco’s illegal invasion of the territory in 1975. Living for decades in refugee camps with minimal infrastructure and resources, the development of Saharawi society has been completely succumbed by one of the longest humanitarian crises in recent history.

Those who remain in the territory suffer violations of their fundamental rights on a daily basis. The territory is qualified on international rankings among the places with the worst conditions for political freedoms in the world. https://freedomhouse.org/country/scores

IMPRISONED STUDENTS

During the last 50 years, the only University built has been built by the Saharawis authorities. Saharawis who wish to study need to register to places of education in Morocco, where they are in minority and discriminated against. The access of Saharawis to universities is highly limited, normally reduced to a number of subjects or courses.

The Saharawi student movement works under intense pressure.

A larger group of imprisoned students, also referred to as the Student Group, was arrested for its student activism in the university cities of Morocco in 2016. Four of the members of the group are still in jail serving 10-year sentences, where they have been since 2016. A fifth was arrested in 2019, serving a 12-year sentence. The UN already in 2019 called for the immediate release of the students. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Detention/Opinions/Session86/A_HRC_WGAD_2019_67_AdvanceEditedVersion.pdf

In April 2025, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention published a statement calling on Morocco to immediately release the Saharawi student and human rights defender Al-Hussein Al-Bachir Ibrahim. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/detention-wg/opinions/session101/a-hrc-wgad-63-2024-morocco-advance-edited-v.pdf

The working group states that his arrest is arbitrary and that his prison conditions are deplorable. He  was arrested in 2019 following his forcible deportation from Spain, where he had requested asylum. Upon arrival to Morocco, he was detained, subjected to ill-treatment, denied access to legal counsel, and ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison following proceedings marred by fair trial violations.

The group has carried out hunger strike in prison, decrying medical neglect and demanding treatment.

COOPERATION WITH SAHARAWI INSTITUTIONS

In the refugee camps in exile, the Saharawis themselves have established its own university – The University of Tifariti. The institution was created at the end of 2012, the only university and higher education institution in Western Sahara, thanks to the investment and cooperation with three foreign entities in Portugal and Spain.

The curriculum of study of the University is limited to nursing, teaching, computer science and journalism. In total there are 450 students that the University of Tifariti can accommodate.

Of historic and geographical reasons, there is a large Saharawi community in Spain. This includes Saharawi students. As Spain did not officially decolonise the territory in accordance with the obligations under the UN Charter, Spain still has a legal and moral obligation to protect and defend the rights of the Saharawi people.

ESU demands:

• That places of higher education in Spain radically strengthens its programmes of support to Saharawi students, making sure the support is rightly adapted to the particular situation that the Saharawi students are living under, in exile, under occupation and in Spain.  This should be done in close coordination with the Saharawi authorities.
• Increase sensibility and to curriculum courses in HEI.
• Addapted access to scholarships attending the different situation of saharawi students.

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Disabling education is not a side effect of authoritarianism — it is one of its primary tools. Higher education is often among the first sectors attacked when regimes aim to consolidate power. By neutralizing spaces of critical inquiry, limiting access to independent knowledge, and silencing student voices, such regimes create the conditions for unchecked ideological control.

The global nature of this threat is starkly illustrated by developments in the United States during the presidency of Donald Trump. Since the beginning of 2025, his administration has launched an aggressive campaign to reshape U.S. higher education, targeting institutions it perceives as ideologically oppositional — most notably Harvard University. Universities have been pressured to reform their governance structures, admissions policies, and campus environments in line with state-imposed directives. In response to non-compliance, the federal government has frozen research funding and threatened to revoke tax-exempt status and international student programs. Though framed as efforts to combat alleged ideological bias, these actions exemplify a broader authoritarian strategy: using state power to coerce ideological conformity, marginalize dissent, and erode the institutional autonomy that underpins democratic education.

Similar authoritarian tendencies are increasingly visible within Europe. In Turkey, the government has systematically dismantled academic freedom since the 2016 coup attempt. Thousands of academics have been dismissed or criminalized, and university leadership is now appointed directly by the president. In 2025, the country saw a deepening of state interference in higher education, marked by politically motivated actions such as the revocation of university diplomas and the suppression of student dissent. A particularly visible example was the annulment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s degree, widely viewed as a tactic to exclude political opponents from democratic participation. This move sparked nationwide protests led by students and academics, which were met with police crackdowns, arrests, and digital censorship. These developments reflect a broader strategy to undermine academic autonomy, intimidate student movements, and turn universities into instruments of political control.

Elsewhere in Europe, member unions of the European Students’ Union have reported growing political pressure and structural threats:

• In 2025, Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), leading coalition negotiations, proposed withdrawing from the Bologna Process and introducing excessively high tuition fees – an elitist move which would limit access to higher education and isolate Austrian institutions from the European academic community. At the same time, the FPÖ is openly advocating for the abolition of the mandatory membership of the legally anchored and democratically elected Austrian National Students’ Union (ÖH), which it frames as an ideological adversary – a change which would effectively cut off its primary funding stream and critically limit its outreach. These proposals signal a broader effort to erode student representation and reshape higher education along exclusionary lines. 
• In Germany, the far-right AfD repeatedly attempts to interfere with the autonomy of universities and student bodies. For example, it uses inquiries in parliament to control and interfere with the financial autonomy of student bodies or to question their mandate in higher education policy. It also calls for the abolition of study programmes and research fields that it considers unscientific, like Gender Studies – a clear attack on the freedom of research and teaching.
• In Belarus, the ideologisation of education has intensified under the combined influence of authoritarian governance and increasing Russian interference. The Ministry of Education has introduced compulsory “patriotic education” courses based on Kremlin-aligned narratives, including the justification of the war in against Ukraine and anti-Western rhetoric. Russian institutions have been actively involved in curriculum development and teacher training, contributing to a broader russification strategy that undermines Belarusian identity and autonomy, promotes Russian far-right, fascist ideology, and restricts the academic research environment. Universities are pressured to align with state narratives, discouraging critical inquiry and further isolating Belarusian academia from the international academic community. Dozens of students and professors have been expelled, detained, or criminally prosecuted for expressing dissent or supporting democratic values — many accused of “extremism” simply for not aligning with the authoritarian regime.
• In Portugal, the far-right Chega party has advocated for radical reforms targeting higher education, proposing the dissolution of the Ministry of Education and transferring control of public universities and polytechnics into private hands—effectively dismantling the public education system. Chega has simultaneously championed policies aimed at imposing a conservative curriculum, explicitly opposing what it deems “LGBT propaganda” and promoting rigid “Judeo-Christian” values, marginalizing diverse perspectives within educational institutions. These measures represent a broader strategy to undermine academic freedom, weaken state-supported higher education, and reshape Portuguese universities according to exclusionary and ideological criteria.
• In Romania, in the current increasingly tense political climate, extreme nationalism is on the rise. As society becomes more and more polarized, some groups become more and more radical, attacking intellectualism, denying science, weaponizing minority rights and spreading hate speech. For students and academics, this is deeply concerning — especially in a country where, just 35 years ago in Bucharest’s University Square, chants of “Death to intellectuals” echoed during a brutal crackdown on democracy.
• the Netherlands, where the biggest far-right party is sitting in government, the cabinet announced they wanted to cut 10% of the budget for higher education and research. This will impact grants for young researchers and has already led to several HEI’s announcing the closure of small study problems.
• In Sweden, the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) have increasingly targeted higher education. The party has argued that public funding should be withdrawn from universities that engage in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, framing such efforts as ideological rather than academic. SD has also submitted motions to close or merge higher education institutions that are commonly regarded as having strong profiles in subjects and areas associated with progressive or critical perspectives. In 2025, the party further stated that it is open to introducing direct ministerial control over public authorities if included in a future government, a position that would challenge Sweden’s long-standing administrative tradition of autonomy from political interference, particularly as universities are formally classified as government agencies. These developments signal a growing effort to subject higher education to ideological control and undermine academic freedom.

These examples indicate that the global shift to the far right has detrimental consequences for civil society. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has sounded the alarm over the growing influence of far-right political movements, particularly in Europe, warning about the undermining of fundamental human rights. And truly, these threats in the education sector in various member states, driven by far-right economic and ideological agendas, stand in direct conflict with Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to free and equitable education. Together, these developments highlight how far-right policies and rhetoric can erode democratic values and human rights protections. The European community has to respond accordingly to counteract this rise of the far right, not only with reactive, but also with preventative measures.

Therefore, ESU calls for: 

• The fundamental right to education to be protected against the current climate of democratic backsliding and anti-intellectualism. 
• The European community to unequivocally condemn the shift towards  extreme right and anti-intellectual politics & European stakeholders to actively work against this shift towards the far right. 
• The protection of international cooperation within the academic community and condemning efforts to isolate national education systems from international communities e.g. the Bologna process.
• A firm commitment and concrete steps to safeguard free higher education across Europe, and to reject the instrumental use of tuition fees as a gatekeeping mechanism in line with exclusionary agendas.
• Protection mechanisms for academic fields under political threat and support scholars and students facing repression.
• HEIs to recognise their own responsibility in the fight against the far-right and work independently for an open environment. They should be places free of extremist actors and right-wing ideology in teaching and beyond. HEIs should support the commitment of students and staff as well as external initiatives against the extreme right.
• HEIs to explicitly protect international students and advocate for common standards for non-discriminatory visa procedures, study access, and legal protection for mobile and international students, as right extremist policies pose a big threat to them.
• HEIs to specifically promote research projects that deal with the causes, structures, phenomena and effects of extremism and it´s interlinkages to education. Universities should also provide political education and make the knowledge they acquire about extremism accessible to the general public.
• Safeguarding student representation from far right political forces seeking to directly or indirectly undermine their autonomy, legitimacy, or operational capacity.

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The demand for housing for different reasons is not being absorbed by the actual housing student system has already created an unsustainable situation in Spain. Prices are extremely high and uninhabitable dwellings without basic needs covered, that are rented by students who have no other option than the imperative need to live under a roof. This price increase creates a widespread reality of working and studying simultaneously intensifying economic and intergenerational inequalities of opportunity. Due this situation it is already not a possibility for domestic students to afford moving out, whichever the reason is behind this decision; according to the Spanish Youth Forum only 14,8% of young people between 16 and 34 years old have been able to move out on 2024. 

We recognise this crisis due the major gentrification that the country is suffering but also the inflation and incapacity from the public institutions to work on it to find long term solutions. 

Still with this situation, according to Article 47 of the Spanish Constitution, all Spaniards have the right to enjoy decent and adequate housing, and it is the public authorities that must promote the necessary conditions and establish the pertinent norms to make this right effective. In addition, article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, among other international treaties, recognize the right to adequate housing.

In consequence,  attending the work CREUP has been doing regarding this matter, united with the European Sudent’s Union, we request; 

• Increasement of the founding student housing from the public institutions in charge.
• We demand a joint cooperation and bigger compromise from the spanish institutions and Government to work on a long term solution plan with CREUP and the pertinent organisations taking in mind the statements and plan of work CREUP has worked on the matter. 
• Increase the quality of student housing for the new construction or readaptation of it.

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Despite progress in several EU member states, conversion practices remain legal in some countries, and even promoted, putting thousands of people at risk of psychological trauma, social rejection, and physical abuse. The European Union has a duty to protect its citizens from degrading treatment. We urgently need binding EU legislation to ban conversion practices in every member state, and support survivors.

This responsibility is not only on the shoulders of LGBTIQ(A+) organisations, but also the responsibility of HEIs and therefore ESU, they should recognise the vital need to lobby for implementation of a complete ban of conversion therapy in all Member states. HEIs must also amend internal policies to be more inclusive of LGBTIQ(A+) students, so that they don’t face stressful and unnecessary situations regarding their incorrect name being used on HEI documents.

With the united voice of the European Students’ Union, we call for;

• The European Commission to propose a binding legal ban on all conversion practices targeting LGBTIQ(A+) citizens in the European Union
• The support of all member states and organisations based in those countries to implement supporting structures for people who have been victims of conversion therapy.
• Higher Education Institutes to provide support to LGBTIQ(A+) students in their education and recognise their right to live and express themselves freely.
• An ease of access for students to change their names on university documents in line with their preferred name.

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The statement indicates that 20,000 French student (representing 10% of all students in French-speaking Belgium) choose to study in Belgium because France enforces a strict selection policy in higher education due to a shortage of available places, which forces many French students to seek opportunities in other French-speaking countries.

Furthermore, the Minister instrumentalizes the presence of these students by arguing that their presence imposes an excessive financial burden on the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, especially given the significantly smaller number of Belgian students pursuing studies in France.

The stated purpose of this working group is to find a solution to this “problem” that allegedly “costs” the French-speaking Belgian community too much. However, this argument is fallacious, serving primarily to justify the Ministry’s refusal to reinvest in higher education. It also opens the door to potential measures targeting French students currently residing in Belgium, such as a possible increase in tuition fees, the introduction of entrance exams, or the implementation of quotas.

This constitutes a serious attack on mobility, access to higher education, and equality among European citizens.

FEF and ESU strongly opposes the instrumentalization of the internationalization of higher education as a pretext for refusing to reinvest in the sector. We stand firmly against all discriminatory and elitist approaches to access to higher education and any potential violations of European treaties, including the Bologna Process, such as the imposition of differential treatment on students from the European Higher Education Area or restrictions on student mobility.

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However, the challenges facing the Erasmus+ program are becoming increasingly evident. The current financial envelope is proving insufficient in the face of growing demand, the need to guarantee effective inclusion of students in vulnerable situations and the response to the European Union’s new political priorities, such as the “Union of Skills” or the European Green Deal. Added to this scenario is the administrative complexity of the program, which has made it difficult for various higher education institutions to access it equally, exacerbating existing disparities. Without a substantial increase in funding, we run the risk of compromising the sustainability of the program and its transformative impacts in the long term.

In this context, the ongoing discussion on the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is particularly important. Maintaining current funding levels is, in practice, a step backwards, and it is urgent that Portugal and its representatives take up the unequivocal defense of budgetary reinforcement for education, particularly for student mobility. Although there is an intention to integrate programs such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps under a new financial model, there is no guarantee that this merger will be accompanied by a real increase in resources. On the contrary, there are worrying signs that such integration could serve to mask budget cuts, severely jeopardizing the effectiveness, scope and credibility of European youth, education and training policies.

Without a robust budgetary reinforcement, Erasmus+ could suffer a significant reduction in the number of grants, excluding thousands of students and exacerbating inequalities in access to mobility, especially among the most vulnerable. This scenario will compromise the internationalization strategies of higher education institutions and weaken transnational partnerships. The continuity of effective public policies will depend directly on this investment, and the lack of financial ambition will endanger the credibility of the European Union in the field of education and youth.

FAIRe reaffirms its commitment to promoting student mobility, the quality of higher education and building a more cohesive, inclusive and knowledge-based Europe. In this context, we argue that:

• There should be a debureaucratization of the Erasmus+ program as a whole;
• Portugal must invest in the internationalization of higher education, with its own funding from the state budget;
• The Erasmus+ budget must be at least doubled in the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework;
• Any process of integration with other European programs must guarantee a proportional increase in the total financial allocation, avoiding across-the-board cuts, guaranteeing transparency with a rigorous analysis of any possible incorporation of these programs;
• The key actions involving Higher Education (KA131 and KA220) should be prioritized, ensuring their reinforcement and continuity.

And we appeal to:

• The Portuguese government should integrate the defense of strengthening Erasmus+ into the priorities of the Portuguese representation to the Council of the European Union, and to lobby their peers accordingly;
• The Portuguese Members of the European Parliament to publicly commit to defend the increase of the budget for Erasmus+ and act in the European Parliament to make it happen;
• A national concertation and advocacy front should be promoted, involving higher education institutions, student representatives and other relevant stakeholders, in order to influence European decision-makers in a coordinated manner.
• All stakeholders to ensure that, by 2030, at least 25% of higher education graduates experience learning mobility to foster global competence, inclusion, and employability.

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These measures were taken without any public consultation or prior dialogue with student representatives, breaching the principles of participatory governance and transparency that are central to Romania’s commitments as part of the European Higher Education Area and the Bologna Process.

Beyond the immediate impact on hundreds of thousands of students in Romania, these changes threaten the accessibility, inclusiveness and equity of higher education. Affordable mobility is essential not only for attending university but also for engaging in academic, civic and professional opportunities across the country. Internships, cultural activities, volunteering and participation in national student events all require affordable and flexible travel – especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The implementation of the ordinance has also been discriminatory, as the remaining discount is only available to certain categories of students. International students, students with residence permits in cities other than their registered home address and those whose commute involves multiple railway operators or non-standard routes are often excluded from the benefit altogether. Such gaps result from the authorities’ inability to design inclusive criteria and operationalising mechanisms, leaving many students to bear the full cost of travel.

For orphaned students and those from foster care, this ordinance strips away a critical support mechanism. By withdrawing full transport coverage, the state imposes an unjust burden on young people who already face systemic inequality and reduced access to opportunities.

The restriction of student mobility and the overturn of previously granted rights are a regress that is incompatible with the values of inclusive education and social cohesion. While many European countries are expanding transport discounts and support mechanisms for students, Romania is taking a dangerous step backward.

The European Students’ Union stands in full solidarity with Romanian students and with ANOSR in their continued efforts to defend student rights and hold national authorities accountable.

Therefore, the European Students’ Union calls for:

• The Romanian Government to immediately reverse Article LXV of Emergency Ordinance no. 156/2024, restoring the national transport discount for students on all internal routes OR The Romanian Parliament to reject the ordinance’s implementation into law;
• The reinstatement of full free transport benefits for orphaned students and those from the child protection system;
• A transparent and inclusive decision-making process in higher education in Romania, ensuring that ANOSR is consulted before any reforms impacting students are proposed or adopted;
• Student unions and civil society across Europe to support Romanian students in this cause and amplify the message that mobility, access and student wellbeing must not be compromised;
  

Students in Romania deserve support, not setbacks. The European Students’ Union reaffirms that student mobility is a right, not a privilege. 

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ESU welcomes the effort to reduce barriers for incoming students and researchers, but is concerned about the one-sided focus on solely attracting “talented” (i.e. top) students and workers, with a special focus on academic disciplines considered as particularly useful for the advancement in strategic sectors. Access to education in Europe should remain available to everyone in line with the principle of equity, independent of their academic and social background.

Academia is inherently international, and student mobility enriches the education of the respective student, their HEIs, and societies at large. However, bureaucracy and inconsistency in the provision of student visas, residency and working permits constitute barriers for short, long-term and degree mobility and for the integration and employment opportunities of international students.

The application process

The visa application process is often bureaucratic, time-consuming and costly, and it should be made more effective, inclusive, affordable and accessible. Costs for applying for admission, student visas and residency permits quickly add up, including costs for document preparation, translation costs, financial statements obligations, proof of financial means for the entire period of stay, and travelling to embassies. In order to keep mobility accessible to all students, ESU calls for fees on student visas and permits to be abolished.

Additionally, digital services should be available for uploading and submitting all necessary documents and tracking the visa application status. ESU is also in favor of clear, regulated timeframes for the whole application process, including how early they have to apply, how quickly they get an appointment, and how quickly visa applicants must receive a reply on their applications. Further, a common European-level focal point (“one-stop-shop”) for visas for students and researchers could increase accessibility and clarity.

One of the largest obstacles for applying for visas is the need to access embassies or consulates, as they might be far away or even located in other countries. ESU encourages closer cooperation between the embassies of Schengen countries, with the aim of allowing people to apply for visas closer to where they live. Long term, the aim should be to use all Schengen embassies as visa contact points for any Schengen country rather than the current procedure requiring acquisition at the embassy of the country where the longest stay is expected.

Residency permits

In addition to a visa, students also have to apply for a residency permit upon arrival in the country. Obtaining and renewing residency permits is a bureaucratic, time-consuming, emotionally draining and costly process. Residency permits should therefore be issued for the full duration of the academic programme in which the student is enrolled, with the possibility to extend the residency permit if they need more time or want to enrol in a new study programme. Additionally, there should be an appropriate grace period after graduation to allow students to transition into the European employment sector.

Students at Risk

Special attention should be given to at-risk students and students in refugee-like situations. Students are often at the democratic frontline, protesting and fighting for just and democratic societies. Authoritarian regimes therefore regularly target student activists. These student activists risk threats and persecution, and are often met with arrests, surveillance, or expulsion from their higher education institutions.

Students at risk (StAR) programs have been established in several European countries in order to allow these activists to complete their education in a safe manner. The Visa Strategy should explicitly account for these programs, and ensure that participants in StAR-programmes in difficult situations are not hindered by visa issues. In addition, the visa strategy should hold provisions for students in refugee-like situations and account for students that are unable to access required documents due to the withholding and burdening of such acquisition processes by their country of origin.

ESU calls for:

• The EU Visa Strategy to focus on how to make mobility accessible to all, not just “talented” students and workers.
• Extend the duration of Student visas to match at least the duration of the program in which the student is enrolled, plus some time before and after the program duration.
• Fees on student visas and residency permits to be abolished.
• The visa application process to be comprehensively digitalised, including clear timeframes for application decisions.
• All Schengen member state embassies to be used as visa contact points for a visa to any Schengen country.
• Avoiding a visa-regime that is parallel to schengen, but rather to ensure that there is one common visa-regime in line with the already established one.
• The Visa Strategy should explicitly mention Students at Risk-programmes, and secure visas for participants.

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