Science is being harmed by visa refusals to conference guests – academics

Academics and researchers in the field of migration have warned of the scientific damage caused to Portuguese universities by delays in issuing visas to international guests – as happened over the weekend, with midwives scheduled to speak at an international congress.

João Carvalho (ISCTE), Patrícia Jerónimo (University of Minho), Lucinda Fonseca (Academy of Sciences) and Thais França (ICS) have all regretted the decision to refuse the visas, emphasising that “the persistence of such cases contributes to the impoverishment of national science and undermines the work of academia”.

When questioned about the midwives’ case, the Portuguese ministry of foreign affairs stated that “all applications for short-stay visas submitted at Portuguese consular posts are analysed and processed rigorously, objectively and factually, in full compliance with the rules and criteria set out in the Schengen Visa Code.”

The ministry did not refer to the 34th ICM Triennial Congress, which saw at least 20 midwives from countries in Africa, Asia and even from India, being blocked from attending.

For João Carvalho, a researcher on migration and hate speech, the situation “contributed to the impoverishment of Portuguese science and culture”, because, in his view, “Portugal is blocking guests from organisations out of fear of illegal immigration”.

Portugal is “following other practices observed in Europe”, which “only isolate the continent” by adopting “extreme security policies” and projecting an “image of firmness”, which has “far more harmful effects”, including on academic research itself, he said.

From the list of countries of origin of those whose visas were refused (Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bangladesh and India), Carvalho says he has no doubts that racism was at play.

“The idea is to protect ourselves from the poor and the poverty of other parts of the world,” he said, drawing a comparison with the refusal to allow a Somali referee to enter the US to work at the World Cup.

“One of the Portuguese government’s objectives seems to be to copy the worst practices adopted by right-wing governments” and “this imitation has harmful effects” on the country’s own development, he added.

Patrícia Jerónimo, a researcher and lecturer at the University of Minho who specialises in migration law, told Lusa that the situation highlights the “consular system’s inability to respond” to the needs of universities.

The problem also affects non-European students, she said. “Brazilian students arrive halfway through the first semester of their first year because of these delays (…) If we are so keen to internationalise our universities” this sort of delay or refusal “is unacceptable”. Indeed, it is already beginning to affect the academic system’s international relations.

These days, the issuing of visas is increasingly relevant when organising meetings, because “there are always colleagues who are barred from entry”, the researcher added.

“In Portugal, an international pattern is being followed that is regrettable” and “frustrates our work”, because “there is a great deal of accumulated knowledge and expertise from other colleagues in the field from the so-called Global South, in an academic context”.

In the case of health, Jerónimo explained, “Africa has much to teach the world about how to deal with pandemics” and this latest refusal (albeit for a congress focussed on childbirth) shows a “very narrow-minded” attitude on the part of the Portuguese consular authorities.

“Academics should still be able to travel freely to attend conferences. As a Portuguese citizen, I can go anywhere; whether colleagues from African or Asian countries can go or not, depends.”

Lucinda Fonseca, of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, believes that the refusal of visas is a “sign” of a security-driven policy currently in force in Europe and Portugal.

Even if some of the applications were not made at Portuguese consulates but at those of Schengen partner countries, “that does not diminish Portugal’s responsibility, and the ministry’s response is absolutely unacceptable”, she said.

“Why do they only reject the visas at the last minute? What was it, a lack of documents?”

For the geographer, who is the leader of the Migrare project, “knowledge of other contexts and other realities is fundamental for progress in science”, in a “sharing that is absolutely crucial” for humanity.

Last weekend’s refusals were “very worrying and sad”, because they point to a “discriminatory dimension”, by dint of the passports affected.

“Although legally one cannot say that this decision is racist”, the “outcome is structurally unequal”, given the countries of origin, she said.

This “fuels a whole discourse that amplifies anti-migrant attitudes and hate speech”.

Thais França, a researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences, stressed the fact that visa delays or refusals “are nothing new”.

“There is a whole odyssey of problems for African researchers, for example: visas that aren’t issued on time (…), high costs” or the “outright refusal” of entry.

“The anti-immigration policy spreading across Europe has consequences for academia,” she agreed, suggesting visa refusals are not only an “attack on science and academia, but also on the internationalisation of knowledge.”

Source: LUSA