Some, with luck, manage to make the desired appointment within 15 days, made through the VFS Global portal, the body that manages the visa issuance process at the Consulate General of Portugal in Luanda, but the majority wait months to be able to book a place, since, they say, the page is "almost always blocked".
Several users who go to the Visa Center for Portugal, in Luanda, told Lusa that the process for obtaining visas for students "remains complicated" and they fear losing places in educational establishments.
Among the dozens of people waiting for visas to Portugal is Amélia Correia, accompanied by her son, who intends to travel to obtain secondary education (secondary) and said that she has been waiting for a month for a response from the consulate.
"The process is complicated, I managed to get a place in high school for my son, but the consulate hasn't authorized entry for a month, appointments were blocked, they only opened for a few minutes yesterday," she said.
Amélia Correia, travel agent, highlighted that after some persistence she managed to get the appointment, but only for the 2nd of October, asking the consular body for speed because classes in Portugal started on the 15th of September.
"It's complicated and in this situation we are blocked, because we really don't know who can help us with this", she highlighted, fearing that her son will lose his place.
Dozens of citizens, mostly young people, fill the Visa Center of the Consulate of Portugal in Luanda every working day, eager to obtain answers to their migration process.
Payment forms, school documents, passports and other proof are the paperwork visible in the hands of each of them, which at the entrance to the building are attended to by private security personnel and then taken to the 2nd floor of the building for additional information.
Visa applicants are also aware of the existence of "intermediaries", who promise speed and facilitation of appointments, but no one agrees to use these facilitators.
Mauro Jorge Binda, who has been waiting for answers for four months to complete his training trip process, is 28 years old and intends to travel to Portugal to continue his higher education.
He says that resorting to intermediaries "is not a worthwhile path" and regrets the "bureaucratic demands", which are not encouraging.
"Now the issue is the handling of documentation, because in Portugal enrollments and registrations have risen and it is very difficult for students here to register from there", he said.
He also regretted the "very time-consuming" process, a situation that forced him to send a letter to VFS Global so that it, together with educational institutions in Portugal, could ask for the process to be "speeded up".
"I've been waiting four months, it's a long time, and nowadays you pay the registration, they send a message to register, but you can't access the website to register, and there's a lot of complication that has happened regarding the study visas", he said.
Demilton Moreira Félix, 21, also applied for a student visa, after getting an appointment, reporting a "headache", in a process in which he did not have "intermediaries".
"It really is a headache, as the website takes a long time to have vacancies available, I think this happens because there are a lot of people trying to access the appointment and this causes this overload", he said.
Demilton, who hopes to graduate in business management in Portugal, also said that charges for scheduling are charged, above all, by some travel agencies.
João Baptista Pereira thanked God for getting the student visa, after making an appointment online in the early hours of a Saturday and through "the influence of family members".
With a trip scheduled for the 24th of this month, the 28-year-old student recalled the moments of struggle to get a free appointment, after having secured a place in the system during the early hours of the morning.
"You just have to be patient, it's not easy," he said, noting that all the requirements for applying for the visa cost him close to 200,000 kwanzas.
Taking higher education in nursing in Portugal is the purpose of José Adriano Gonçalves, 27 years old, who regrets the "bureaucracy" and the delay that he says exists, right from the first contact with VFS Global agents.
He said that higher education students are exempt from scheduling, but the process for granting a visa to Portugal "remains difficult".
At stake, he noted, will be the VFS bureaucracy: "I don't know if the contract it made with the embassy (of Portugal in Angola), but this has made it very difficult for us who want to emigrate in search of quality education".
"I filed the process last week, because it is said that we must wait 15 days, because there is a call letter for the exam", concluded the student, expressing confidence that he will soon have the much-desired visa.
