More foreign students mysteriously "disappear" in Hungary

It seems that Pécs University - as well as the Hungarian immigration authorities - were recently scammed by 21 Chinese students who were accepted to the university only to arrive and then quickly disappear, reports daily Népszabadság.

This is not the first time that Hungarian universities have accepted foreigners whose intentions are not scholastic. The portal reports that often citizens from Asia and Africa apply to short-term language programs in order to receive student visas, only to skip out on the courses and head to other European countries shortly after arriving in Hungary.

In the most recent case, the missing students are among 87 Chinese who applied to a three-month English language course at Pécs University last November, using the same recruitment agency in China.

Officials at the university have notified the country's immigration authorities about the possible scam, and reported that if the missing Chinese citizens are found in other European countries, they will likely be deported. While numerous Chinese students have matriculated at the university, in the last ten years only fifty have graduated.

Meanwhile, Pécs University has had previous experience with deceptive applications from foreigners. In 2004, all but two of 98 Indian and Bangladeshi students disappeared shortly after beginning their studies in the southwestern city.

Reportedly, the university proceeds carefully now when reviewing applications from such students, and rarely accepts Indians and Bangladeshis. Furthermore, the university said Chinese students are only accepted if a Chinese state universities provides a legitimate reference; however they did not indicate if the students who recently disappeared had this recommendation.

Meanwhile, Budapest's Corvinus University reported last March that the admissions office was contacted by a teacher at a Nigerian university requesting the acceptance of twenty students to a two-week language program. However, when admissions officers contacted the university in question, they discovered there were no records for either the teacher or the students. Consequently, the university says it only accepts foreign students from Asia and Africa who are recruited by Corvinus.

The University of Debrecen similarly reports that agencies representing individuals from Asia are often involved in human trafficking.

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