Chaudhary Abdul Manan, a Pakistani student who moved to Ukraine two years ago to become a doctor. He studies at Kharkiv National Medical University, but plans to return to Pakistan after his graduation, for doctors’ salaries in his native Pakistan are much higher than in Ukraine.

When Pakistani medical student Kashif Raza Mir moved to Kyiv four years ago, he was impressed by the scope of freedom Ukrainian students could enjoy.

“In Pakistan, parents interfere a lot in your studies,” Kashif said. “They know what you learn and can control your achievements.”

But freedom is just one thing that makes studying in Ukraine so appealing to international students. Ukraine is cosmopolitan and affordable, and it offers graduate diplomas that are valued and recognized abroad.

There are now more than 75,600 international students in Ukraine. But for Pakistani citizens, the situation is difficult as more and more often they are denied entry to the country – sometimes without a justified reason. The struggle with visas has resulted in there being as few as 379 Pakistani students in Ukraine, 45% of whom study medicine in Ternopil, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv or Poltava.

Struggling with visas

According to the Pakistani Embassy, there are many more students who want to obtain a degree in Ukraine, but they are denied visas or prevented from entering the country even with all the required documents.

“For Pakistani citizens, it is hard to arrange visas in Ukrainе,” Zeb Alam Khan Takkar, the deputy head of mission at the embassy, told the Kyiv Post. “It takes two-three weeks to get a visa and, in most cases, it is rejected.”

To study in Ukraine, the student needs a D-type visa, which allows the holder to obtain a temporary residence permit.

Before applying for a permit, a Pakistani student should secure a contract with a university, receive an invitation letter and apply for a long-term visa in the Embassy of Ukraine in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital.

At this point, the task of obtaining a visa may turn into a nightmare.

“In many cases, visas are rejected for the so-called migration risk countries,” said Vasyl Cherednichenko, an immigration expert with law firm ExpatPro.

Pakistan is on the list of 70 states whose citizens must undergo a special procedure to enter Ukraine. Visas for citizens from the “migration risk” list should be approved by the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, and cannot be issued online, the option available for almost every country (out of 52) which citizens need a visa to enter Ukraine.

Some claim that there is an unwritten rule to deter these 70 countries from entering Ukraine. Thus, even the submission of all necessary documents does not guarantee anything.

Ali Saddique, a Pakistani medical student from Lahore, told the Kyiv Post that his visa was rejected because he supposedly couldn’t confirm the purpose of his intended stay in the country. And although he had received an invitation letter from Ternopil State Medical University and prepared all the documents, he got a refusal.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the $65 consular fee is not refunded in case of rejection. And Saddique couldn’t appeal anyway: The procedure looked expensive and unclear, and he couldn’t talk to a court without knowledge of the Ukrainian or Russian languages.

Immigration law expert Cherednichenko told the Kyiv Post that foreign students often get rejected for visas for no reason in Ukraine. By rejecting the visa the first time, the embassy wants to encourage foreigners to file an appeal and turn to mediators at the consulate.

“You need to pay a mediator to get a visa,” he said.

Medicine – top choice

As of 2019, there are students from 154 countries studying in 443 Ukrainian higher education institutions.

In these realities, Takkar from the embassy told the Kyiv Post that rejecting visas for Pakistani citizens is not reasonable.

“People come here and spend money on education, business and tourism,” he said.

Asian students usually come to Ukraine to obtain a degree in medicine and surgery that will secure a well-paid and prestigious job upon return to their native countries. As the Ukrainian State Center for International Education told the Kyiv Post, foreigners turn to Ukraine because of high-quality education and relatively low university fees.

International students in Ukraine pay $4,000-$4,500 annually to study for an MBBS – bachelor of medicine and surgery – as compared to $10,000-$15,000 in Europe or $32,000 in the U.S. According to the Expat Insider 2019 survey, Ukraine is ranked fifth among 64 countries by respondents’ satisfaction with the cost of living in the country.

But when it comes to applying for a job, Pakistanis usually opt for moving back to their home country.

“In Ukraine, I probably will not have a chance to get a job. And the salaries of medical workers here are far lower than in my country,” said Raza Mir, a medical student of Kyiv Bogomolets National Medical University.

The average salary of Ukrainian doctors in 2019 was $253, according to the State Statistics Service. In Pakistan, physicians receive almost $650 on average.

Easy way to chase dreams

The medical education system in Ukraine is built in accordance with the recommendations of the European Union, United Nations, UNESCO and Bologna standards. In 2019, 93.2% of students in Ukrainian universities have successfully completed the KROK examination that assesses students’ knowledge of basic scientific and medical concepts.

But in spite of competition and such a demanding curriculum, Pakistani students say that studying in Ukraine, without the strict supervision of their parents, is easier for them.

“If you’re trying hard – teachers respect you and help you to pass an exam,” said Chaudhary Abdul Manan, a dental student from Kharkiv National Medical University.

Language barrier remains

Ukrainian higher education institutions provide courses in Ukrainian, Russian and English. All textbooks and study materials are also available in all three languages, but the main challenge for international students is daily communication with Ukrainian peers and citizens of the country.

“People are usually reluctant to speak English here,” Raza Mir told the Kyiv Post. For this reason, international students usually interact within their community and create their own chats on Instagram or Facebook.

The language problem becomes more substantial when foreigners have to deal with urgent issues. According to one case reported to the Kyiv Post, a Pakistani student with a valid visa who arrived at the Boryspil International Airport was stopped by a security guard and sent back to Pakistan because he could not explain his status.

“Of course, the student could not explain his position,” Takkar from the Pakistan Embassy in Kyiv told the Kyiv Post, pointing out that Ukrainians themselves could be the reason: “Not always people can speak English at an airport.”