The racist penalty of Western visa regimes

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Sudanese climate activist Roaa should have been leading meetings with other youth advocates at a United Nations climate conference in Germany in June.
Instead, the 24-year-old was at home, having wasted hundreds of dollars and nearly two months preparing for a visa that was denied in less than 48 hours. Many of her peers, mostly from the Global North, flew into the city of Bonn without a hitch.
'I was the one who was leading the whole process, but I wasn't on the ground. I cried a lot, like literally every night,' Roaa, who asked that her surname and location not be published, told Context.
'Knowing everyone is there (at Bonn), but you are not there maybe because of your nationality gives you a very bad feeling, like I'm less than those people,' she said from her home in the Middle East after leaving Sudan in 2023 when civil war began.
Stricter border and visa rules are increasingly limiting the participation of nationals from the Global South in high-level talks that tackle climate, global health, economic systems, conflicts and other pressing issues, policy researchers say.
'We are the ones who are affected the most, but we are not in the room,' said Roaa, a medical student. 'Most of the conferences happen in Europe and in the US. They are talking on behalf of us.'
The rejections also have an economic cost. In 2024, Africans paid some 60 million euros ($70.10 million) for rejected Schengen visa applications, up from nearly 54 million euros in 2023, according to analysis by Britain-based research group LAGO Collective.
Despite its lower volume of visa applications compared to other continents, Africa had some of the highest rejection rates from the European Commission, which issues Schengen visas for short visits to the European Union, the data showed.
In recent years, far-right and populist parties have made gains in places like Italy, Sweden, Germany and the US, fuelling anti-immigrant policies across Western countries, where most global conferences are held.
Underrepresented
Nations most vulnerable to climate impacts, from flooding to droughts and rising seas, are often among the poorest, the least polluting and underrepresented at global talks, according to UN climate body, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The UNFCCC, which hosts the Bonn summit and November's COP30 climate conference in Brazil, said it had no sway on visa processes, but had taken steps to diversify participation at its events by boosting the quota for Global South delegates.
'The major international conferences are the places where big decisions are being made with respect to global commitments,' said Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, director of politics and governance at Britain-based think-tank ODI Global.
If those who are expected to implement global policies 'are not at the table', it compounds the inequalities they have been campaigning to change, said Nwajiaku-Dahou.
Despite providing details of her job, university studies, financial accounts and letters of support to attend the UNFCCC summit, Roaa was told she did not submit sufficient evidence to prove she would return home from Germany.
Roaa said she was denied the visa even after an appeal.
The European Commission said in emailed comments that cases are assessed according to the 'purpose of stay, sufficient means of subsistence, and the applicants' will to return to their country of residence'.
Not fair
Ugandan HIV/AIDS youth advocate Joseph Robert Linda said he secured around $4,000 from sponsors to pay for flights, visa and hotel fees to attend last year's International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany, only for his visa to be rejected.
Linda said he was told there were 'reasonable doubts' about the authenticity of his documents and his intention to leave Germany, leading to his visa refusal.
'That was not fair at all to me because they gave me feedback just three to four days before the conference, so there is no way I could appeal,' the 28-year-old said in a phone call.
Although the majority of global diseases occur in poorer countries, where around 80% of the world's population live, only 4% of health summits were held in these regions, according to a 2021 paper by Harvard Medical School researchers that reviewed more than 100 conferences spanning three decades.
Between 1997 to 2019, just 39% of health conferences analysed had attendees from developing countries, the study published in BMJ Global Health journal added.
While Linda was able to attend the conference virtually, he said that option required stable and affordable internet, something not available to people in many parts of the world.
He said conference organisers should work more closely with authorities to get visas approved so more people can have their voices heard.
Geneva-based group International AIDS Society, which runs the International AIDS Conference, said it has been switching its host city since 2023 after many delegates were unable to attend the year prior in Canada due to visa issues.
Large conferences have to prioritise finding safe and welcoming spaces for 'the most marginalised among us', an International AIDS Society spokesperson said.
Sudanese medical student Saida, who was refused a visa to attend a medical workshop in Italy this month, said it was ultimately up to Global South citizens to keep demanding change.
'You have to speak up ... This is a pattern that we see happening and that's something that needs to be changed,' said Saida, who also asked that her surname not be published.