Czech Universities Oppose Tough Rules in International Student Visa Program

Higher education institutions in the Czech Republic have strongly opposed the new tough rules introduced by the government in the Czech Republic’s student visa regime, a program that facilitates visa procedures for selected international students.

Local media reports say that the Czech Council of Higher Education Institutions, citing a resolution passed in early December, says that restrictions on schools’ access to the program hinder universities’ efforts for internationalization in an unjust way.

The reasons for exclusion were mentioned in a statement issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture in the Czech Republic earlier in December, Erudera.com reports.

Under the new rules, universities in the country will face a one-year suspension from the student visa scheme if more than 10 percent of the selected students fail to enroll or over 20 percent choose to discontinue their programs within the first year of studies.

“The number of foreigners who unsuccessfully completed the study program for which they were accepted and, on the basis of this acceptance, were included in the Student Regime, within 12 months from the start of their studies, exceeds 20 percent of the total number of students included in the given academic year in the Student Regime study at the given faculty (or university),” the notice by the Czech Ministry of Education and Culture stated, adding that measures were adopted as of December 1, 2023.

Additionally, the new rules require that only students who pass the entrance exam as part of the admission procedure can be enrolled in the Student Regime. On the other hand, each university is obligated to verify that students have taken the exam as part of the admission process.

Moreover, the regulation includes the following conditions:

• universities must verify that the students have the necessary language proficiency for the courses they will pursue;
• universities should nominate only students who have graduated from institutions only three years ago;
• an annual report to the Ministry of Education should be submitted by universities detailing students’ progress during the previous academic year.

However, the council argues that such circumstances are often beyond the control of higher education institutions, and as such, relieving factors should be taken into account before imposing any strict penalties to schools.

The new measures have caused discussion within the academic community. Some critics argue that the restrictions are inadequate, while others have suggested alternative measures, such as supervised probation periods, rather than complete exclusion from the visa program.