Press Release: Making the EU more attractive for foreign students and researchers

The EU needs to attract talented non-EU students and researchers who can contribute to our growth and competitiveness with their knowledge and skills. Moving to Europe temporarily is an opportunity embraced by over 200.000 students and researchers from outside the EU every year.

However, far too many of them have to face unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. Current rules for obtaining a student visa or a residence permit are often complex and unclear; procedures can be lengthy and vary considerably across Member States and moving from one Member State to another can be very difficult or even impossible. This hampers the possibility to provide EU countries with a greater pool of talent and reduces the appeal of the EU as a world centre for excellence.

On 25 March 2013 the European Commission proposed to make it easier and more attractive for non-EU national students, researchers and other groups to enter and stay in the EU for periods exceeding three months. New legislation will set clearer time limits for national authorities to decide on applications, provide for more opportunities to access the labour market during their stays and facilitate intra-EU movement.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Rapid: MEMO/13/281: Clearer and more consistent rules for non-EU nationals coming to the EU for studies, scientific research and other exchanges http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-281_en.htm

European Commission: Rapid: SPEECH/13/257: Making the EU more attractive for foreign students and researchers http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-257_en.htm

Deutsche Welle, 26.03.13: EU courts foreign students with new visa rules http://dw.de/p/184PG

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