Other problems also presented by NANCA President were the Up-hill task in processing visa applications in Austrian Embassy Abuja that has almost made family reunion impossible, discrimination against Nigeria Asylum seekers, lack of well-coordinated working framework between NANCA, Austrian Foreign and Interior Ministry as well as the Police, high cost of Document verification in Austrian Embassy in Abuja and the Inconsistency by MA35 (Austrian authority on documentation requirements Visa and Nationality issue) on document assessment and verification.
The second speaker Dr. Jones Edobor, Chairman Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in Europe (NIDOE) Austria Chapter in his paper titled Challenges in getting Austrian Investors to Nigeria revealed that the situation seems to have affected the volume of direct foreign investment from Austria. Going down memory lane, Dr. Edobor, recalled that in the eighties, Nigeria and Austria enjoyed a cordial and good business relationship that was built on trust and mutual respect and therefore argued that problems emanating from obvious misunderstanding must have led to a noticeable decline.
Presentations by the next two speakers were to reveal that proper knowledge of the Austrian new Visa Regime has a very vital role to play in creating better understanding for mutually beneficial relations between Nigerians and their host country.
In his presentation titled The new Austrian Law and Implications for Nigeria/Nigerians, Mr. Clement Itamah, Nigerian lawyer with years of experience with the Austrian immigration Authority, in laymans terms, explicitly outlined the provisions of the new law and its implications, but the hidden dangers often barrier to successful integration were highlight by Ms Eva-Caroline Pfleger of the Austrian Ministry of Interior.
In her presentation on the Schengen Visa Regime, immigration, asylum and sundry matters, Ms Pfleger who stood in Mag. Gerhard Reischer, Head of the Immigration and Border Control Department of the Interior Ministry succinctly distinguished between immigrants with right to stay longer in Austria and those that were not. She revealed that the existing problems stem out of the lack of knowledge on the part of the immigrant as to when it has become a must to leave the country, very often defying the warning that repatriation could lead to refusal of entry into European Union Territory in future. Another problem, but this time peculiarly to Visa approval in Austrian Embassy in Abuja, she said, was the problem of identifying applicants with intention to stay permanently in Austria and those that were not. This she argued could have led to the rejection of Visa to some applicants with genuine reasons of visiting Austria. She further explained the various categories of Visas and went on to identify those with work permit, those that would require application for a work permit, and those not permitted to work in Austria, particularly as it affects family
reunion visa applicants and asylum seekers.
Nigerian Students were not left out of the problems emanating from the Austrian new Alien Law. In her presentation titled The Nigerian Student in Austria: Pains and Gains Ms. Ibifuro Alasia said in Austria, Nigerian students, unlike their counterparts in Finland and the United Kingdom among other countries, were completely barred from seeking part-time jobs. The situation in being so unbearable has forced them to seek the help of Austrian authorities but was often confronted by the question Why do you need a job when you have supported your application for student Visa with a deposit of about 11,000 euro. The Austrian authorities therefore expect Nigerian students to be supported only by these funds, she said. (page 3)