Spain eases visa rules to draw foreign students barred from US by Trump
MADRID — Spain on Tuesday said it had approved expedited access to its universities for foreign students barred from entering the US to study by President Donald Trump's administration.
Students who can't complete their studies in the United States due to visa suspensions will be able to switch to Spain instead, the Migration Ministry said in a statement. The visas will also allow the students to work part-time, the ministry said.
Trump has clashed with several top-level US universities accusing them of becoming bastions of antisemitism after large-scale student protests advocating for Palestinian rights amid the Gaza war. In his clash with Harvard, he has frozen funding for investigations and threatened to remove its tax-exempt status, prompting several European nations, including Spain, to increase research grants to attract talent.
While Trump has sought to limit immigration into the US, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is actively encouraging it, touting its economic benefits.
Spain ranks third among the top choices for students in the US seeking to study abroad, behind the United Kingdom and Italy, according to the Open Doors website, and at least 20,000 apply for visas each year to pursue part of their academic studies in Spain. — Reuters
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