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Pakistani citizens seeking student visas for the United Kingdom are experiencing financial setbacks and educational disruptions due to extensive delays in the visa processing period, resulting in missed classes and financial losses, according to VisaGuide.
Syed Shujaat Ali Shah, the managing director of FES Consultants based in Karachi, expressed a prevailing belief among Pakistani students that visa delays are deliberate, potentially linked to the UK’s efforts to reduce immigration numbers.
Shah noted instances where interviewers posed only a couple of questions to candidates and failed to communicate the end of the interview upon their departure.
It’s noteworthy that Pakistani nationals constitute the fourth-largest group of international students in the UK.
According to THE PIE, an organization in the international education sector, Pakistani students have faced month-long delays in visa processing despite opting for priority processing and paying higher fees.
These delays have adversely impacted thousands of Pakistani students, leading to universities retracting acceptance confirmations for January admissions. Approximately 10,000 to 12,000 Pakistani students applied for the January 2024 intake.
Moreover, Pakistani students are encountering financial losses as visa application fees, and non-refundable fees for priority processing add to their expenses. Additionally, costs associated with transferring tuition fees, including conversion and currency fluctuation fees, further burden students financially.
As a result, Pakistani students are not receiving the services they paid for, with processing times stretching up to 45 days for some applicants, surpassing the 30-day upper limit set for decisions.