Gaza students with overseas university offers, scholarships remain trapped

Electricity was scarce and the bombs kept falling, but each evening, Mahmoud Aldaya left his family’s tent in a displacement camp in southern Gaza, in search of enough internet signal to submit his assignments. Much of his university work was done remotely because Israel’s genocide had devastated Gaza’s higher education system. Despite the conditions, the 24-year-old finished at the top of his class at Gaza University.

With little prospect of continuing his education in Gaza, Aldaya looked abroad. He secured a scholarship at the University of Limerick in Ireland, which issued a letter supporting his application to leave the enclave. But the academic year has begun without him.

In August, the Irish government refused his visa. He now remains in Gaza City, where an Israeli drone attack last week killed at least three people, including two children, and wounded eight others. Remaining here is an everyday risk to life.” He is one of dozens of Palestinian students who have secured places at Irish universities but have been refused permission to enter the country.

Figures from Ireland’s Department of Justice show that, up to August 21, 103 Palestinian long-stay study visa applications had been refused this year, while just 39 visas were issued – an approval rate of 27.5 percent among decisions made. In 2025, that figure was 83.8 percent. Some of those affected had already secured university places, scholarships and raised thousands of euros towards their education and evacuation.

But students and their lawyers say they are being caught by immigration requirements that can be extraordinarily difficult to satisfy from inside Gaza, from producing certified bank statements and educational records to demonstrating sufficient finances and explaining gaps in their studies during the war. The refusals are now the subject of a High Court challenge brought by students represented by Phoenix Law, a human rights legal firm. Another student, who requested anonymity, fearing reprisals from the Israeli military, secured a scholarship for a master’s programme at an Irish university.

But after a visa refusal email, “I was completely devastated … My hands were shaking from the shock and at first I could not even process what I was reading,” said the student from Khan Younis. Her finances and supporting documentation were among the issues raised. Several students were required to demonstrate access to at least 10,000 euros to support themselves for a year, in addition to their course fees.