German envoy warns Indian students against overreliance on agents amid rise in visa rejections

“Don’t trust your agents too much,” German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said in an interview with The Print, noting that nearly one in four Indian student visa applications gets rejected. He attributed a part of this to the role of education agents, some of whom have contracts with lesser-known private institutions.

“Out of the 60,000 Indian students in Germany, the overwhelming majority are going to very good schools. There is a small group of people who, I think, listens carefully to their agents,” he said.

Ackermann explained that such agents often earn commissions for placing students in private universities, some of which are not even German.

“My appeal to every Indian student who wants to consider going to Germany is: don’t trust your agents too much because the agents have their own agenda. They want to make money, and if they propose a university for EUR 10,000, it is very beneficial for them. You should not forget that when you go to a public university in Germany, it is for free,” he added.

He warned that certain private institutions offer foreign certificates instead of German degrees, leaving students disillusioned.

Agents also tend to “tune” visa applications, which weakens their credibility and contributes to rejection rates.

Despite challenges, Ackermann underscored Germany’s attractiveness compared with the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia.

He pointed to its liberal immigration system, which allows graduates 18 months to seek jobs, and stressed that migrants significantly contribute to sustaining Germany’s social welfare framework.

Citing the example of Syrians who entered in 2015 and later joined the workforce, he said: “We cannot afford to be passive spectators in a world where decisions elsewhere determine our destinies.”