High Hurdles for Bright Talent to Study in Europe

The European Union is in intense competition with others, particularly the United States, for young, bright academics. Students from developing countries are wanted to help increase the quality and reputation of European universities and research institutes.

But what education experts in the EU demand varies radically from what Brussels' bureaucratic measures require of fellowship or exchange program applicants. Sometimes, the obstacles are so great that some college students give up out of sheer frustration.

Health insurance, apartment and large sums of money required

Valentina Dimitrovska, a 27-year old biologist from Skopje, Macedonia, knows the procedure first-hand.

An Italian research institute had invited her for a two-year stay. The only thing missing was a visa from the Italian government. The appointment at the embassy in Skopje, which she had to wait two weeks for, would make determine her fate for the next two years. For the moment, she wore the best clothing she had: dark slacks, white blouse, and a blazer. The room for error should be minimalized as much as possible.

"You have to have all your papers -- there are some 40 -- to prove to the embassy that you don't want to spend the rest of your life in Italym," she said. "You have to prove to the embassy staff that you are coming back to Macedonia. At the moment I am unemployed, so it was difficult to convince them that I was honest."

To underscore her veracity, she read from an embassy brochure what she needed: a permanent residence in Macedonia, the parents have to be wage-earners, health insurance, and last but not least, a large sum of money in a bank account.

For young scholars at the start of their careers, the last point is frequently next to impossible to fulfill: Dimitrovska, like many young Macedonians, still lives at home with her sister and parents.

"Then they wanted me to prove that my mother works and has money," she said. "My father is already retired, so I had to show his last three pay slips."

EU wants to have its cake and to eat it too

Lawmakers in Brussels, such as Ewa Klamt, a member of the conservative European People's Party in the European Parliament and expert for immigration issues, realize that the bar is set much too high for most academics coming from developing countries.

"Exactly very intelligent people, people who are ready to break out into the world, people with knowledge, finally reach the conclusion: 'I don't have to wait an eternity for a visa for the European Union. I can go to the US or Canada. I'm wanted there, I can do my research, I can work,'" she said.

Yet her beliefs of making the EU easier to enter for students and researchers are not shared by the majority. Klamt doesn't understand that lawmakers would claim that Europe is not a continent of immigrants, or that Germany is not a country of immigrants.

"In reality, there is constant movement," she said. "People are coming to us and people are leaving."

Visa in the pocket

Dimitrovska passed the rigorous test at the Italian embassy and was granted her visa. But the whole experience has left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I feel like I've been discriminated," she said. "Our country's reputation may be bad but here (at the embassy) my dignity was pushed to the limit. You just lose courage when you see all that they want. Who do they think I am? A thief? A terrorist?"