Academics criticise visa refusals for Gaza scholarship students

Academics involved in efforts to bring Palestinian students from Gaza to study in Ireland have criticised the Government's handling of visa applications, as more than half of a group awarded scholarships were refused permission to enter the country.

At least 31 of 59 Palestinian students who applied for study visas after securing fully or partially funded scholarships by Irish third-level institutions have now been refused, according to representatives of the 'Universities of Sanctuary' initiative.

The initiative works to develop practices for welcoming asylum seekers or refugees into third level institutions.

Eight of the refusals were received on Wednesday, and related to students due to begin courses within weeks at University College Dublin (UCD), University of Limerick (UL) and the National College of Art and Design (NCAD).

Associate Professor Muireann Ní Raghallaigh, co-chair of UCD's Universities of Sanctuary committee, said "almost identical paperwork" had been submitted on behalf of students this year as last year, but with "a very different outcome".

The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, which is responsible for visa policy, said there had been "no recent change to visa processing procedures, approval criteria or documentation requirements" and that each application was decided on its own merits.

More than 70 Gazan students have come to Ireland through a cross-university initiative working with the Department of Foreign Affairs, since 2024.

Prof Ní Raghallaigh said the lack of a functioning state and university infrastructure in Gaza meant students there faced particular difficulties obtaining documentation required as part of the visa process.

"By not taking into consideration that Gazan students lack the same capacity as other international students to access documentation, the visa process is not treating them equitably," Prof Ní Raghallaigh said.

Prof Ní Raghallaigh said Government departments involved, "should have communicated to the universities and students that more documentation would be required [this year], in order for them to have made every effort to provide additional information and to meet what appears to be a higher bar this year".

Dr Sarah Sartori, the Universities of Sanctuary representative at South East Technological University (SETU), said universities that organised scholarships for Gazan students had acted on what they regarded as "encouraging indications" from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) about the prospect of further evacuations.

Correspondence seen by Prime Time shows that in March, the DFA told ten universities involved in previous scholarship programmes that it anticipated "renewed demand for an evacuation ahead of the next academic year".

"Assuming that such operations remain possible, I can confirm that the Department is open to supporting universities in this regard," the email said.

The Department also reminded universities that students would have to satisfy the criteria for study visas, but said full-time undergraduate or postgraduate students with "full wrap-around scholarships will be best positioned to satisfy the criteria".

Dr Sartori said the correspondence led her to believe students with fully funded scholarships were likely to be evacuated in time for the new academic year.

"It was on that basis we did all this work, and I would never have given these young people false hope, if I had not believed this was going ahead as it had in previous years," she said.

"I think maybe no hope is better than false hope. To have beaten all the odds, to have gotten so close and to be denied at the last minute, feels cruel beyond belief, " Dr Satori added.

Further correspondence in June informed universities that "Ramallah colleagues will reach out" to scholarship students "to confirm the location of the passport and will work with them if the passport needs to be dropped at the embassy."

WhatsApp messages were also sent to individual students from the embassy's Ireland Gaza Consular line asking them to confirm the location of their passports "as part of our preparations".

However, those messages also explicitly warned students: "We are not in a position to confirm your visa status or potential dates of travel."

On 6 July, students were informed by the DFA that while "a potential exit operation" from Gaza was being prepared it was not possible to include them at that point.

The first visa refusal letters were subsequently received on 14 and 15 July.

"We had such positive results in 2025 with the coordinated effort with DFA, and believed that this year would be the same," Dr Sartori said, "but somewhere along the road something changed."

One refusal letter seen by Prime Time told a student in Gaza, "You have not demonstrated that you have sufficient finances to support your stay for the duration of your proposed course in Ireland."

The letter said the student or their sponsor must have ready access to at least €10,000 for each year of the course, in addition to course fees.

Dr Sartori said details of the students' fully funded scholarship packages had been submitted as part of their applications, including evidence from the universities of provision for accommodation, living expenses, utilities, health insurance and campus meals.

At UL, nine of eleven Gazan students awarded fully funded scholarships have now been refused study visas, according to Professor Ronni Greenwood, chair of the university's Universities of Sanctuary committee. Two students are still awaiting decisions.

Prof Greenwood said that what has happened this year, was the imposition of "impossible conditions" on students living in Gaza and an "embarrassment".

At UCD, ten Gazan scholarship students have so far been refused visas.

However, two students who were awarded scholarships under the separate Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship programme, received visas.

The Department of Justice said Palestinian nationals must have a valid Irish visa before seeking to enter the State and that applications are examined by the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv.

The DFA said responsibility for immigration matters, including visa policy, rests with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

In a statement the DFA also confirmed that even scholarship students that it has approved have been, in some instances, refused visas under Dept of Justice rules.

"At the time of writing, not all students awarded scholarships under Government of Ireland programmes have been deemed eligible for travel to Ireland," according to the statement.

The Department of Justice said that, up to 31 July 2026, at least 27 study visas had been granted to Palestinian nationals. This includes applicants from both Gaza and the West Bank.

"There has been no recent change to visa processing procedures, approval criteria or documentation requirements in any of the Department's Visa Offices," it said.

"The guidelines for information required to support a visa application are outlined on our website. Each application, regardless of nationality, is decided on its own merit."

The Department of Further and Higher Education said six Palestinian students had been awarded Government of Ireland International Education Scholarships for the 2026/27 academic year.

It said it had received correspondence from stakeholders in the higher education sector over visa issues affecting Palestinian scholarship students and was liaising with the Departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs.