Working to speed up issuance of students' visa, says German ambassador

With thousands of Indian students waiting for visa to join academic courses in Germany, German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann described the situation on Tuesday as "heart-breaking" and said efforts are underway to facilitate their travel to the country.
 

Ackermann said German authorities are also in touch with some of the universities to ensure that the Indian students do not lose out on their studies.
 

"We are very unhappy about the current situation. It is a big concern for us, because we want Indians to get visas smoothly and quickly," he said during an interaction with the media.
 

"We know and you know that we have not been able to do it the way we want to. This is of great concern to us. We are trying to find a solution and to make it a quicker and smoother procedure," he said.
 

The newly-appointed envoy was replying to a question on long delays in issuance of visas by the German embassy in India that have affected a large number of Indian students.
 

"We are addressing the issue. I think by the end of the year, we should be back to normal.... We will find ways and means to give Indians visas in a speedy way," Ackermann said.
 

On thousands of Indian students not being able to join academic courses in German educational institutions, he said it was "heart-breaking".
 

The German ambassador acknowledged that some of the Indian students who applied for visa will not be able to get it on time for the upcoming semester in some of the institutes.
 

"We are speaking to some universities about the visa issues.... There are hiccups," he said.
 

Ackermann suggested that around 10 to 15 per cent visa applications involved fraud and the authorities need to scrutinise the documents thoroughly.
 

"We have to ensure that only the deserving students go to Germany," he said, indicating that some agents had misled the students.
 

To a question on reforms of the United Nations Security Council, Ackermann said Germany is working with India, Japan and Brazil under the framework of the G4 to press for it.
 

Asked about India banning a significant number of Chinese apps on the ground of security concerns, the ambassador said Germany also has similar concerns and is looking into it.
 

He said some of the Chinese apps operating in Germany are under scrutiny.