Home Office approves special arrangements to bring students from Gaza to UK

Special arrangements will be made for students in Gaza who have been offered fully-funded scholarships at UK universities to complete their immigration applications.

The home secretary will allow dozens of students to have their biometric checks carried out in a safe third country before they travel to the UK to take up their places in September.

The decision comes after more than 70 MPs signed a letter asking the government to delay biometric checks for 80 students from Gaza so they could study in Britain.

The UK-authorised biometrics registration centre in Gaza closed in October 2023 but in order to obtain a UK visa, applicants must provide a photo of their face and their fingerprints.

Among the students now a step closer to being able to begin their studies is Palestinian writer, translator and scholar Shaimaa Abulebda who has been offered the chance to undertake a PhD at the University of Edinburgh.

She told STV News in July how studying in Edinburgh has been her “long-standing dream”.

“It’s not just an opportunity to continue my studies, it will also be a way to reclaim my future as a scholar and researcher,” she explained.

“It’s about a continuation of my life’s work and my life’s research. I think of it as my opportunity to bring more attention to Palestinian literature.

“It would give me space, mentorship, and access to resources within the intellectual community in Edinburgh. It’s what I need to grow as a writer, as a researcher, as a scholar. It would be a lifeline.”

Shaimaa is one of millions displaced by the conflict between Israel and Hamas since October 7, 2023 – around 90% of the population of Gaza.

Edinburgh & East

‘I have a lifeline scholarship to study in Scotland – but I’m trapped in Gaza’

Shaimaa Abulebda has been given the chance to reclaim some of her old life – but remains stuck in Gaza because of government red tape.

The writer herself has been displaced 12 times and is now living in a tent on the beach.

The University of Edinburgh said it believes Shaimaa and others like her will make an “invaluable” contribution to the institution.

A Home Office source said: “This remains a complex and challenging task, but the home secretary has made it crystal clear to her officials that she wants no stone unturned in efforts to ensure there are arrangements in place to allow this cohort of talented students to take up their places at UK universities as soon as possible.”

The Government is also working to bring sick and injured children from Gaza to the UK for urgent medical treatment.

More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef.

A small number of children have so far been brought to the UK for specialist medical care via an initiative by Project Pure Hope, and they are being treated privately.

Christine Jardine, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, said: “I could’ve cried at the news that the Foreign Office is allowing 50 students from Gaza to come to UK. Our universities – including Edinburgh – offers them the opportunity to change their lives and help rebuild their communities.”