Photo credit: Euro News
Around 300 i international students at a private university in Berlin have received deportation notices after the local immigration authority said it did not recognize their degree program.
I AM EXPAT reports that the students of the International University (IU), Berlin, received their deportation notices since March 2025
Deep Shambarkar – an Indian national who has been studying business management at the private university since 2024 – explained that he had recently received a deportation notice from the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA). He suspects the university employs too few staff and that it does not have the proper accreditation to teach c courses.
Speaking to Euronews, IU said that at the beginning of 2025, LEA changed its policy on issuing student visasfor hybrid programs, “without informing IU International University.” The university explained that it would introduce new regulations in 2026 to ensure that face-to-face courses met the requirements needed for students to obtain and keep a visa to study in Germany.
In the meantime, students like Shambarkar have been left in limbo. Instead of completing his remaining modules and thesis, he’s currently involved in a legal dispute with the LEA and feels abandoned by the university.
Having obtained a 200,000 euro bank loan in India to fund his studies abroad, he’s worried that the university will not refund his fees should he be forced to leave Germany and be unable to complete his degree.
