Gov't pernalizes universities that admitted foreign students who overstayed their visas

The increasing number of international students in Kroea who have been overstaying their student visas has been emerging as a major headache for provincial universities, many of which have been slapped with one-year bans on recruiting new students from overseas.

 

Government data shows thousands of undocumented immigrants around the nation who came here initially as students, and then stayed in the country even after their academic or language programs ended and their students vias expired.

 

The universities that originally invited these studetns who overstayed their visas are now facing the consequences, as the sanction measure bans them from admitting any students of foreign nationality for a year.

 

The number of foreign students nationwide, which stood at around 33,000 in 2006, surged to nearly 160,000 by 2021, backed by support from the Ministry of Education which set the ambitious goal of raising the figure to 200,000 by 2023.

 

Since the onset of the pandemic, an increasing number of international student have not been leaving the country after their visas expire, according to data from the Ministry of Justice.

 

From 2019 to 2022, the number of international students studying for degree programs rose by 20 percent, while the number of students overstaying their visas jumped by more than 120 percent during the same period.