Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that Palestinian students in Gaza who are eligible to apply for visas and scholarships for UK courses beginning before December 2025 are able to access university places, in the context of many UK institutions having already closed their applications for the 2025 academic year.

The government outlined plans for how it is supporting students travelling to the United Kingdom from Gaza in a policy statement published on 15 September 2025 available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-students-travelling-to-the-uk-from-gaza/scholarships-for-students-from-gaza.

To be eligible to come to the UK under this approach, students must submit a student visa application, which will need to be sponsored by their university, and pay associated fees.

Students must:

• Be aged 18 or over.
• Meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
• Have an offer for a course starting no later than 31 December 2025.
• Be supported by a fully funded and verified scholarship that covers both course fees and living costs.

The government remains committed to doing everything we can to assist eligible students to leave Gaza, specifically those who hold full scholarships to UK universities with course start dates no later than 31 December 2025.

The government is making every effort to support this process. However, a student’s journey from Gaza to the UK cannot be guaranteed, and timelines remain subject to external factors, outside the government’s control.

The government is working with the devolved governments and universities to identify eligible students, and to ensure students receive the support they need for the duration of their studies.