Gazan students with UK university offers yet to be evacuated

Students in Gaza with offers to study in top UK universities are uncertain whether they will be evacuated, despite government assurances that it will support them.

Last autumn, government ministers promised to ensure that around 40 students from Gaza, who had been granted full scholarships to study at various top UK universities, would be able to enter the country. Progress has stalled, however, as Gazan students are afraid that they will ultimately be forgotten.

Many of the students’ dependants are already in the UK, while the students may arrive as late as December

Government intervention became necessary when Gaza’s borders and visa centres were forced to shut in the wake of Israel’s prolonged bombing campaign in the territory. This made obtaining relevant biometric checks impossible for the students.

11 Gazan students obtained Cambridge interviews, one achieved an offer from Oxford and several more earned places at other prestigious UK universities this year. The question of they will be evacuated in time to begin their courses remains unanswered.

So far, the campaign to welcome the Palestinian students has lacked direction. Many of the students’ dependants have already arrived, while the students, some of whom were expected to start university in September, may arrive as late as December.

The future of the Gazan students in UK higher education remains uncertain. As universities ask whether those with course dates starting in January will have the chance to enter the country safely, the government maintains that the importance of the policy is “currently being assessed”.

Arranging these departures has been a hugely complex task, entirely dependent on cooperation from our international partners… that can make the timelines for each departure extremely unpredictable and difficult to control

A Government Spokesperson

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced a “permanent framework for refugee students to come study in the UK”, but this has yet to come to fruition. A government spokesperson has also highlighted the difficulty of coordinating evacuations due to them being “entirely dependent on cooperation from our international partners”. This makes timelines “unpredictable and difficult to control”.

Nora Parr, a research fellow at the University of Birmingham, has claimed that the October 2025 ceasefire hindered the progress of the scheme as it “gives the false sense that the urgency for student support is over”, despite visa centres still being closed and departure being practically impossible.