Pressure is mounting on the Home Office to intervene on behalf of 40 students in Gaza who have been offered full scholarships to study at UK universities but are unable to travel because of a requirement for biometric data. The only UK-authorised biometrics registration centre in Gaza closed in October 2023, and students cannot reach centres in neighbouring countries.
Campaigners and MPs are calling on the government to grant a biometrics deferral and help students find a safe route to a third country to complete their visa applications. A high-level meeting reportedly took place at the Home Office on Tuesday after the students' plight was highlighted.
Dr Nora Parr, a researcher at Birmingham University supporting the students, said Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany and Italy have already helped evacuate students with university offers. 'The students who studied, took TOEFL tests, wrote admissions essays and did virtual campus interviews under the most horrendous conditions imaginable now must wait for a government decision,' she said.
The University and College Union (UCU) also urged action, with general secretary Jo Grady writing to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to 'expedite the process' and ensure students make it to lecture halls for the start of the academic year. The students hold places at about 30 universities including Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Edinburgh and University College London, studying subjects such as dental public health, data science and genomic medicine.
One student, Soha, 31, hopes to study for a PhD in nursing and health research at the University of Ulster. A midwife in Gaza, she said: 'We need them to be faster making the decisions that we are waiting for. Give us the biometric waiver and facilitate our safe passage. We are running out of time.'
