The number of international students getting Estonian visas has decreased, and universities do not know the reason, as stated by TalTech Rector Tiit Land.
In 2020, international students made up 18 per cent of the Latvian University students, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
But currently, this number has decreased to six per cent, Land told Äripää radio. He noted that following the Coronavirus outbreak, more and more candidates cannot secure study visas for Estonia.
The rector further explained that once the candidate is admitted to the university, they will receive a certificate to present at the Estonian consulate, where they will await the final decision on their application.
It has been said that the candidate does not have enough financial resources to show, it is not clear whether the goal is to study here, and there are also cases where the submitted papers are not correct.
Land explained that Estonia doesn’t have enough local candidates, noting that only around a third of high school graduates exceed the TalTech threshold in math skills. According to him, the Estonian labour market and research need foreign students.
We must not be a vicious little country. If the attitude is that we first offer work to our own, then we cannot do it ourselves.
15% Fewer Foreign Students Enrolled in 2022/23 Academic Year
In the 2022/2023 academic year, 1,484 international students enrolled in Estonian higher educational institutions, according to the Estonian Education Information System. Such a figure marked a 15 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, the total number of international students studying in Estonia that academic year was 4,873, which was also lower than in the four previous years.
Eero Loonurm, the head of International Marketing for Higher Education at the Education and Youth Board, said the travel of foreign students has been impacted by the global health crisis and the war in Ukraine, as reported by Study in Estonia.
Estonia remains an attractive country for international students, but the mobility of international students has been affected by both the global health crisis and the war in Ukraine.
Estonian higher education saw a decrease in the number of students from Russia (-68 per cent), Latvia (-35 per cent) and Azerbaijan (-34 per cent). On the other hand, the number of students from Ukraine and Türkiye increased by 222 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.
As further noted by Study in Estonia, most international students in Estonia are pursuing master’s degrees, with 2,043 foreign students enrolled. However, interest in doctoral studies is also growing, with 763 international students pursuing doctoral degrees this academic year.
