A group of students from Gaza has safely arrived in Scotland to begin fully funded university scholarships, following months of uncertainty over UK visa requirements.
The students’ arrival comes after the UK Government faced pressure to delay biometric checks for 80 students wishing to study in Britain. The UK-authorised biometrics registration centre in Gaza was forced to close in October 2023, leaving applicants unable to provide the facial photographs and fingerprints required for a visa.
Last month, the Home Secretary confirmed that special arrangements had been put in place, allowing students to complete biometric checks in a safe third country before travelling to the UK.
Scotland’s Education Secretary, Jenny Gilruth, welcomed the news, stating: “I am pleased to confirm a group of students from Gaza have now arrived safely in Scotland and will shortly be starting their courses at universities throughout the country.”
She added that the Scottish Government had been urging Westminster to take stronger action to support these students and highlighted the need for further steps, particularly concerning family reunification.
“I have written to the foreign secretary seeking an urgent ministerial meeting on those students who have secured places in Scotland who have so far been denied by the Home Office the opportunity to bring their family with them,” Gilruth said.
Gilruth also stressed the importance of offering compassion after the hardships endured. “Given the horrors that these people have endured, the UK Government must act urgently to confirm that students with fully funded scholarships in place can bring their dependants. It is hard to imagine the trauma that they and their loved ones have experienced at home.”
The Education Secretary said she was confident the students would be “warmly welcomed on campus by their fellow students, and in the communities where they will be living.”
The students’ arrival comes just a week after the first group of children from Gaza reached Scotland to receive specialist NHS treatment.
