Help Gaza Students Reach UK Universities

About the Campaign

As recently outlined in the Telegraph, Times, Guardian, Channel 4 News and Times Higher Education, UK visas require applicants to enroll their biometric data before an application can be processed. Since 7 October 2023, the Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Gaza has been closed, with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) citing safety concerns for staff and applicants. Whilst there is a biometrics deferral protocol, put in place in 2023, requests have been ignored when students have requested to apply for a deferral. Although some have managed to submit requests via legal counsel, they must wait weeks for a decision as to whether or not they are eligible for a deferral request, and only then put in an application dossier. Requests to expedite this process have gone unanswered.

These 40 students (as well as another 40 waiting for scholarship decisions and private funding) face an administrative block in the UK visa system that reinforces Israel's illegal blockade on Gaza.

As pressure mounts on the government to find a way to support sustainable peace in the region, a first step, clearly in line with a national priority to use soft power to bolster international diplomacy, is to let our universities do what they do best in building the capacity of these scholars and equipping them with cutting edge resources in health, humanities, engineering, and social sciences. Inaction is preventing talented Palestinian students and scholars from taking up their places in the UK. This, in turn, is stifling a generation of leaders who need tools to rebuild their communities in Gaza. Government silence directly contradicts promises to use the nations’ soft power to reinforce diplomatic leadership, and years of research that shows education brings stability.