Consular issues, particularly visa policies, significantly obstruct international student mobility, imposing emotional, psychological, and financial burdens on students.
Authors
Priya Poojary, Manipal Centre for European Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), India
Sushmita Roy, Deputy Manager, Office of International Affairs and Global Initiatives, O.P. Jindal Global University, India
Summary
Academic mobility of students constitutes a core dimension in the internationalization of higher education (IHE). Recent trends in student mobility reveal that factors restricting the mobility of international students extend beyond market forces. Efforts of the government in the form of relaxing visa policies, providing work permits after completion of study as well as permanent residency in the host country corresponds as an important factor in internationalization.
A critical study of literature illuminates the dearth in the scholarship that addresses the consular issues influencing student academic mobility patterns. However, increase in international mobility of students is also a cause of concern for policy makers in most countries that are popular higher education destinations. The problems and issues extend beyond the sphere of education. Interestingly, countries have adopted a different approach towards international student mobility. While some countries do offer a liberal visa policy regime, others follow a rigid system. This places a significant burden on the students that is of emotional, psychological as well as financial in nature. The focus of this paper is to understand how consular issues with respect to visa policies of the higher education destination countries obstruct international student mobility.
Published in: Internationalization of Higher Education: The Dynamics of Educational Ecology
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