MP Carla Denyer condemns Home Office for failing to help Palestinian students reach Bristol Uni

A number of Palestinian students awarded scholarships to study at the University of Bristol remain trapped in Gaza, despite government assurances that they would be helped to reach the UK.

Green MP Carla Denyer has criticised the Home Office for what she describes as a failure to act on commitments to support Palestinian students escaping the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

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Speaking to The Bristol Tab, Carla Denyer said she has been supporting around a dozen Palestinian students, directly liaising with six and receiving referrals for several more from the University of Bristol.

“I’m really frustrated, and frankly angry with the Home Office,” she said, adding:

“The government told us that they would support all Palestinian students who had fully funded places at UK universities to evacuate Gaza to get here to start their courses, but that is not what’s happening.”

She went on to say it was unclear to her whether this is “cock-up or conspiracy”, if it’s the government “telling the public one thing and then telling their Home Office civil servants to do another” or if it’s the Home Office “failing to deliver the policies that they have been told to.”

Students trapped by visa system

The issue centres on the Home Office’s refusal to waive biometric requirements, such as fingerprinting, which are mandatory for UK visa applications.

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According to the government website you usually need to attend an appointment at a UKVCAS service point to provide your biometric information. The government lists two UKVCAS centres in Palestine: one in Jerusalem, and one in Ramallah. Both of these are situated in the West Bank, and due to huge restriction of movement for Palestinians between the West Bank and Gaza, are therefore inaccessible to Gazan scholarship students.

This effectively leaves Gazan students unable to complete visa applications, even if they have been offered fully funded places and have already been accepted by UK universities.

However, the government insists that “we are prioritising those with fully funded, verifiable, scholarships starting in the autumn term, on the basis that the Home Office is assured that they meet the requirements of the Student visa rules. This decision has been made for full scholarship students due to their potential role in rebuilding Gaza in the future.”

However, Carla Denyer says this “priority” claim doesn’t match what’s actually happening on the ground:

“The government have said it’s a priority for them but then the response that we’re getting from the Home Office has said that it’s not a priority for them.”

But she insists that they are not giving up hope.

Bristol works with MPs to aid Palestinian students

The University of Bristol has been working closely with her office to gather information and provide documentation for affected students.

University representatives said that they have been “liaising directly with MPs and relevant government departments” to explore possible solutions. They are also offering several key concessions to Palestinian students, including covering visa application fees and other costs, transitioning international fees to home fees to ease financial burdens, and extending dates for latest arrivals.

A university spokesperson also added:

“Our approach emphasises collaboration, resourcefulness, and compassion, underscoring our dedication to global education access and support. We eagerly await the arrival of our new students and look forward to welcoming them into our academic community.”

But communication remains a major obstacle. The collapse of Gaza’s infrastructure has left electricity supplies unstable and mobile and internet connections unreliable, making any communication difficult.

“This is grim,” Carla admitted:

“But we don’t even know if all of the students we’ve been supporting over the last few weeks are still alive. That’s how uncertain this is.”

The stranded students had been accepted onto a range of development-focused degrees, including water and environmental management, earthquake engineering, public health, and international relations, and were granted scholarships given their potential role in rebuilding Gaza in the future.

Going forward, Carla emphasised the importance of the UK “pulling every diplomatic, legal, and economic lever it can” to support getting aid into Gaza, allowing Palestinians to move freely and evacuate when they need to.  She explained that it was in our global interest to help these students reach the UK, in order to work towards peace in the Middle East.

For now, Carla and university staff say they’ll keep pushing for answers, and hope that the next update from Gaza brings news that their students are still safe.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began with the October 7 attacks that left around 1,200 people dead in Israel, has since killed an estimated 70,000 Palestinians and created a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Home Office declined to comment.