The UK government has announced that some Palestinian students on scholarships will be allowed to bring their families from Gaza, reversing a previous policy that forced them to choose between education and family. The change applies to students on government-backed Chevening scholarships or those pursuing research degrees like PhDs, with exemptions considered on a case-by-case basis.
A government spokesperson said: “Students coming from Gaza to the UK have suffered an appalling ordeal after two years of conflict. They have endured unimaginable hardship but can now begin to rebuild their lives through studying in our world class universities.” The move follows lobbying by MPs and supporters who argued the previous policy was too restrictive.
Dr Nora Parr, an academic coordinating support for the students, said the announcement brings the evacuation policy in line with existing visa rules but will only help four students, leaving 25 on master’s courses ineligible. “For the Gaza student initiative to be truly successful, ministers must exercise discretion so that highly qualified professionals do not have to choose between gaining tools for the future and their family’s safety,” she said.
Under current immigration rules, families of students on research degrees can apply for dependant visas if they show proof of funding for living costs: £7,600 a year in London and about £6,000 outside. Those on undergraduate or taught courses have not been eligible since 2024. One 26-year-old student offered a funded master’s at Oxford refused evacuation unless his wife and daughter could join him, saying: “I couldn’t leave them behind in Gaza City, where life has become a daily nightmare.”
About 75 students have arrived since the evacuation programme began last month, including 17 this week. Fighting continues in Gaza despite a ceasefire, with Israeli strikes killing over 100 people this week. Earlier this month, over 100 MPs wrote to the government urging ministers to allow students with families to bring them, highlighting a case where a Glasgow PhD student could not evacuate her family despite having full funding.
The Refugee Council’s chief executive, Enver Solomon, said: “It is excessively harsh to tell students fleeing the appalling devastation in Gaza that while they can study safely here, they must leave their loved ones behind. No one should be forced to choose between their education and their family.”
