Some Palestinian students taking up scholarships at UK universities will be allowed to bring their families with them from Gaza after the government announced it would consider case-by-case exemptions to its evacuation policy.
After lobbying by MPs and supporters, the UK government has said partners and children could be allowed to accompany students on government-backed Chevening scholarships or studying for longer research degrees, such as PhDs.
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.
“That is why we are supporting the evacuation of dependants of students on scholarships who are eligible to study here under the immigration rules on a case-by-case basis.”
Dr Nora Parr, an academic who has been coordinating efforts to support the students, said the announcement brought the government’s evacuation policy into line with existing visa rules and would help only four students, leaving a further 25 on master’s courses still ineligible to rescue their families.
“For the Gaza student initiative to be truly successful, ministers must exercise discretion so that highly qualified professionals seeking further training to rebuild their devastated communities do not have to choose between gaining tools for the future and their family’s safety,” Parr said.
Under immigration rules covering international students, the families of those taking research degrees are eligible for student dependant visas if they have proof of funding to cover living costs of £7,600 a year in London and about £6,000 outside London. Since 2024 those on undergraduate or taught courses have not been eligible.
Fighting continues in Gaza despite the ceasefire agreement, with Israel carrying out military strikes earlier this week that killed more than 100 people, including children.
One 26-year-old student, who had been offered a funded place for a master’s degree in health at the University of Oxford, said he refuses to be evacuated from Gaza unless his wife and three-month-old daughter accompany him.
“I couldn’t leave them behind in Gaza City, where life has become a daily nightmare. I was offered a lifeline, but what kind of life would it be if I escaped while they remained trapped in this horror? I held on to hope that if I waited, we might be allowed to leave together,” he said.
So far, about 75 students have arrived since the government began allowing evacuations from Gaza for those with full scholarships last month, including a group of 17 who arrived this week.
Earlier this month a cross-party group of more than 100 MPs wrote to the government, highlighting the students’ plight and urging ministers to allow those with families including young children to be able to bring them.
In one case, a PhD student at the University of Glasgow was unable to evacuate her family despite her scholarship covering their full housing and living costs.
The Refugee Council and the University of Oxford were among those to have protested against the government’s decision.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, 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.”
