The UK government has come under sharp criticism from charities, universities, and politicians for enforcing immigration rules that prevent Palestinian students from Gaza from bringing their families with them as they begin studies in Britain.
Thirty-four scholarship students were evacuated from Gaza last week ahead of the new academic year. However, many now say they are being forced to abandon their studies because of restrictions that bar them from travelling with spouses and children.
UK Charities Express Concerns
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy defended the policy, stating that while the UK was committed to supporting students, the government’s aim was “to bring people who are able to study, not to cause them further pain or hardship” by separating them from family.
The decision has triggered outrage across the education and humanitarian sectors. Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, described the rules as “excessively harsh,” stressing that students should not have to choose between education and loved ones. Oxford University voiced similar concerns, warning that the restrictions risked shutting out talented scholars with young families.
In Scotland, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said she had sought urgent talks with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, arguing that the policy was incomprehensible on humanitarian grounds.
“Given the horrors these people have endured, there is a moral imperative that this ask is honoured,” she said.
Individual cases highlight the personal toll of the restrictions. Manar Al-Houbi, a PhD candidate at Glasgow University, said the policy could force her to remain in Gaza with her three children and husband rather than pursue her studies. She previously studied in the UK in 2018, an experience she described as one of the hardest periods of her life due to separation from her family.
“We are a family, we are one unit, we cannot be separated,” she told the BBC from Khan Younis.
Under the government’s wider immigration crackdown, most international students are no longer permitted to bring dependents, although exemptions remain for PhD candidates. In Al-Houbi’s case, her children qualify for visas but are ineligible for evacuation from Gaza.
Pressure is mounting on ministers to reconsider. Campaigners note that dependents of Chevening scholars, a prestigious, government-backed programme, would number fewer than 20 children this year if allowed entry. At least one exception was previously granted by Yvette Cooper during her time as Home Secretary.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of Israel’s escalating war in Gaza. A United Nations inquiry this week accused Israel of committing genocide, a finding Israel strongly rejected. Since the war began in October 2023, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry.