Trnava Foreigners' Police on PaulĂnska Street in Trnava on March 17, 2023. (source: P.D. for The Slovak Spectator)
Furkan’s study exchange stay in Slovakia had been going swimmingly until the day he turned up at the Foreigners’ Police. Shortly after, he was abruptly told to leave the country – even though he had done nothing wrong.
With a national visa issued for 150 days by the Slovak embassy in Turkey, the 20-year-old Turkish student arrived in Trnava, a university town just north of Bratislava, last September. At Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (UCM), he spent the winter term studying international relations.
But less than two months into his stay, after enjoying a short but positive experience of Slovakia, Furkan decided to extend his study exchange in Trnava in order to remain for the full academic year. “I wanted to stay with my fellow Erasmus friends, who are continuing their studies in Trnava, and finish my third year over there,” he told The Slovak Spectator in March, via WhatsApp. He asked that we not reveal his surname.
