The diplomat also announced that the number of requests for student visas has also increased to around 600 applications per year.
Rafael Vidal, who was answering questions posed by the Lusa agency, following a demonstration held on Tuesday by Angolan students in front of the Brazilian embassy in Luanda due to the delay in issuing visas, reiterated the Portuguese-speaking country's commitment to mobility in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
The police confirmed the arrest of two students at this protest, for disrespecting the authorities. “Brazil remains committed to advances in citizen integration and its commitments to mobility in the CPLP. In Luanda, the Brazilian Embassy strengthens the link between the sister nations of Brazil and Angola and seeks possible means to facilitate integration, within the limits of the law and its competences”, said Rafael Vidal.
According to the Brazilian diplomat, the students expressed themselves “dissatisfied with the delay in analyzing some applications and with cases of denial of student visas, when they had paid registration fees at educational institutions in Brazil”.
“The protesters were instructed not to impede free access to the embassy and to avoid disrupting the normal functioning of the consular service. The diplomatic police were present at the opportunity in accordance with their expected duties of preserving and maintaining the security of diplomatic missions,” he said.
The Brazilian ambassador in Angola stressed that among all countries, the granting of visas is the prerogative of the State, within its sovereignty, and in compliance with its immigration laws and international laws, “not constituting a right guaranteed to foreign applicants, as it depends of careful analysis by the consular authority”.
Students protested against the fact that even with proof of payment of enrollment and fees at Brazilian educational institutions, visas were denied or delayed in being issued.
Regarding this issue, Rafael Vidal informed that “registration represents just one of the several requirements” to be submitted to the consular authority, as the process also depends on the analysis of other factors, “such as the student’s real ability to reside and support themselves in Brazil, for the duration of your course, the presentation of supporting documentation and the authenticity of information relating to admission to an educational institution in Brazil”.
The Brazilian diplomat said that the consular service in Luanda will allow proof of enrollment to be presented in the final phase of the analysis process, once other requirements have been approved, such as the declaration of acceptance at an educational institution, proof of the ability to support the Brazil and documentary suitability.
“But the consulate cannot prevent any educational institution from demanding payment of registration in the initial phase, which could lead to the loss of registration and fees, if the visa is denied in the end due to the other requirements not being met”, he said. Rafael Vidal.
“A visa application may not be approved, even if the student has been enrolled in an educational institution (regardless of whether or not the institution requires payment of a registration fee, which may vary from case to case),” added the ambassador , highlighting that the granting of the visa can take around four weeks.
