The German embassy in Moscow has issued about 650 student visas to Russian citizens since the start of the year, roughly 150 of them in September, the German Foreign Ministry said in statistics provided to Deutsche Welle. The ministry said it does not publish data on refusals "in principle."
A ministry spokesperson said the decision not to release refusal figures was intended to avoid "false conclusions about the reasons for refusal," which he said are "highly varied."
The explanation followed the case of a graduate of the Faculty of Creative Industries at the Higher School of Economics, who secured a place in a master's program at the University of the Arts Bremen but was unable to take it up after the German embassy in Moscow refused her a visa.
In a letter setting out the grounds for refusal, a copy of which the student gave to Deutsche Welle, the embassy said that when processing visa applications for study or research it must ensure that "knowledge acquired in Germany cannot be misused." It separately cited the threat to "public security, peaceful coexistence among peoples or other important interests of the Federal Republic of Germany."
The document said that in weighing the applicant's personal interest in entering the country against the public interest in preventing those threats, the latter "carries greater weight." Deutsche Welle did not name the woman at her request.
The student has prepared an appeal to Germany's ambassador to Russia, Clemens von Goetze, asking for help in establishing the reasons for the refusal. In the letter, a copy of which Deutsche Welle has, she says she cannot understand which circumstances of her biography formed the basis for a decision taken "on security grounds." She notes that her education and work concern design, visual communication, fashion and culture, and says she is ready to provide explanations and additional documents.
In a written comment to Deutsche Welle, the German Foreign Ministry said applications for study visas are "carefully examined on an individual basis in accordance with the principles of the rule of law." It stressed that each decision is individual and that visas are issued only when a security check has raised no suspicions. The results of such checks are classified and are not disclosed. The German Interior Ministry declined to comment.
According to the human rights project Molniya, this is the first known case of Germany refusing a student visa on security grounds to a person enrolling at an arts university. Previously, the project said, such measures were applied only to those studying IT, engineering, nuclear physics and dual-use technologies.
In early September, Germany said it intended to tighten controls on the entry of Russians after an incident involving drones at Leipzig Airport, which Berlin blamed on Moscow. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul promised to reduce the number of visas issued. Russia rejected the accusations.