Visa delays leave foreign students in limbo

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For most people, being able to pursue tertiary education overseas is a dream come true, but for a number of international students who came to Malaysia, it has turned into a bureaucratic nightmare.

The students claim delays in obtaining student visas meant they were made to be in the country on tourist visas and missed classes – some up to nine weeks per semester – when they had to leave the country when their visas expired.

The students also claimed the higher education institutions did not refund them the fees for the classes they missed when they had to leave the country.

These students claimed that their problems started even before they arrived in Malaysia, as they did not receive their Visa Approval Letter (VAL) on time.

"Students, like myself, arrived on tourist visas and had to go out of Malaysia once we received the VAL, which caused unnecessary trouble and made us miss more classes," one of the international students from University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) told Malaysiakini, on condition that he is not named.

By returning to Malaysia on a tourist visa, the students are actually attending classes illegally and exposed to unnecessary hassles from the Malaysian enforcement agencies.

"We weren't informed about the risks associated with coming in on tourist visas. At the same time, there was hardly any update given to students while waiting for the VAL," the student complained.

30-day visa-hop

Another student corroborated this. He said he did not know there were issues with his visa until he received a letter from the university instructing him to enter Malaysia on a tourist visa.

He had to leave the country each month as his tourist visa was valid for only 30 days.

"I returned to university next semester on a student visa after getting one, (but) you can get the idea of how hectic and unproductive the first semester would have been for us.

"We never expected such a start to our academic journey at UNMC and were disappointed with its unprofessional treatment," he said.

The students lodged a complaint with the university and withheld payment for their second semester pending the visa issues.

They also sought compensation for the classes they missed because they had to travel outside the country when their tourist visa expired.

According to the students, the university deferred payment for the second semester pending their complaints but then went in “a complete silent mode”.

They only heard back from the university through a notice demanding the fees due, indicating the complaint was not notified to the relevant departments.

No fees, no scrolls

One student said there was initially an offer of a RM5,000 refund, but as graduation day rolled by, the students were told they needed to pay the fees due in order to receive their scrolls.

Most of the students had left the country after dissertation and had scheduled to return for the convocation ceremony.

"Since we wanted to end this journey (in Malaysia) on a good note, we had no other choice than to submit to their decision,” he said.

When contacted, UNMC said the complaints were dealt with fairly and according to university policy.

"We are not aware of any outstanding complaints. The circumstances that faced individual students varied considerably and as a consequence, any generalisation from individual cases, or indeed responses to generic allegations, is impossible," UNMC chief executive director and provost Christine Ennew said.

Malaysiakini could not name the students and specify their exact cases to the university as the students requested anonymity pending the ongoing internal complaint process.

Ennew also said that there was a long history of international students facing difficulties in visa processing following system and policy changes made by the Malaysian government in 2013.

"The situation has been complicated by frequent changes to the implementation of policy and to the advice that is provided to institutions by the authorities," she explained.

UNMC, she added, had experienced difficulties in dealing with the new system, which subsequently created problems for many international students, including delays in arrival and requirements to leave and re-enter.

She said other institutions have reported similar problems.

Academic vetting

A Higher Education Ministry spokesperson said the Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) was introduced in 2013 to manage international student visa applications, but stressed the EMGS only conducts the academic vetting.

Approval of student visas is under the Immigration Department’s purview, a ministry spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said higher education institutions must submit student visa applications at least six weeks before the start of class, while overall processing takes 14 days from submission date.

The application processing is transparent as students are able to track the progress of their application online, he said.

Even so, the ministry spokesperson said, delays may occur if the document submitted is incomplete so it is advisable to apply for student visa early.

"As such, in this particular matter, it is important for the students to inform EMGS to look into the matter," he said.

He also warned international students against coming to Malaysia on a tourist visa as it goes against immigration regulations.- Mkini