Estonian universities to Refrain New Russian & Belarus Students due to war in Ukraine

Institutions of higher education in Estonia are considering adding additional sanctions for Russian as well as Belarus students following an Estonian university that did it the week before.

The University of Tartu (UT) is among the most highly-rated universities in Estonia this week, said it will not be accepting fresh students coming who are from Russia and Belarus in the coming academic year due to two main reasons: as a punishment that was imposed in response to the Russian incursions into Ukraine and also due to security concerns in the 27-nation bloc. visaoperations.com reports.

"It is crucial to remember that the decision only applies for the 2022/2023 academic calendar and only to applicants who are new. Students who are matriculated to the University of Tartu are part of the family that comprises university students. Their residency permits remain valid and they can pursue their studies. At present, there are 257 students from Russia in addition to 25 who have Belarusian citizenship who are studying in the University of Tartu," Vise Rector at UT announced in an announcement.

As a follow-up, universities in Estonia plan to impose penalties on citizens of Russia and Belarus entering the Baltic country to study. There are around 440 Russian citizens and 50 Belarus students at Estonian universities.

Hendrik Voll, who represents one of the biggest Estonian Higher Education institutions Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) has disclosed that the school plans to follow suit due to security concerns about Russian as well as Belarusian students.

"We had also talked about this problem with security experts outside the university. The university does not have the capacity to distinguish the Russian and Belarusian student candidates in support of Putin's administration from the ones who do not," Voll told Aktuaalne camera (AK).

He also mentioned that similar decisions are likely to be made by other institutions like Tallinn University and the Estonian University of Life Sciences because the topic has been a subject of debate for some time.

Russian students weren't happy about this decision, since one of them, Danila Kuklianov, told reporters that there were friends who planned to visit Tartu prior to the time war began to break out, as an attempt to escape and escape from the Putin regime.

"I do not know of anyone who is in agreement with the Russian government regarding the Russian students here studying. Everyone is against war, everyone is seeking peace and to learn within Europe,"

Additionally, Russian and Belarusian students who are currently enrolled at Estonian universities can pursue their academic career in Estonia if the proposed bar goes into force at the beginning of the academic year that follows in the event that they hold an authorization to reside in Estonia.

Furthermore, Russian and Belarusian students with dual citizenship will be exempt from the ban if the other citizenship is of the state that Estonia believes to be legitimate.

However, President Alar Karis, a former Rector at UT was not a fan of the announcement, saying that it will likely require re-examination.

After shutting down the visa offices in both countries The Estonian government has stopped requests for visas to Russian as well as Belarus citizens in the wake of last month's Russian invaders of Ukraine that took place in the month of March.