90% of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed by Israel in the genocide, and there are now zero universities left intact.

At least 31 of the 59 Palestinian students who applied for Irish study visas after securing scholarships at third-level institutions have been refused. These statistics come from the Universities of Sanctuary initiative, which develops practices for welcoming refugees and asylum seekers into third-level institutions in Ireland and the UK. Academics involved in bringing the students to Ireland have criticised the Government’s handling of the visa applications.

Some of these visa refusals are happening just weeks before the students’ courses are due to start. Eight refusals were received last Wednesday, affecting students due to study at University College Dublin (UCD), University of Limerick (UL) and the National College of Art and Design (NCAD).

Academics have raised questions about how the paperwork is handled by the government. Associate Professor Muireann Ní Raghallaigh, co-chair of UCD’s Universities of Sanctuary committee, has pointed out that “almost identical paperwork” was submitted on behalf of the scholarship students both this year and last year. However, this year there was a “very different outcome.”

The Department of Justice has rejected these claims, stating instead that each visa application is assessed on its own merits, and that there has been “no recent change to visa processing procedures, approval criteria or documentation requirements.”

However, Gazan students do not have the same capacity as other international students to access university infrastructure and documentation required for the visa process. 90% of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed by Israel in the genocide, and there are now zero universities left intact.

“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,” Ní Raghallaigh said.

Some universities have also said they received encouraging indications from the Department of Foreign Affairs that evacuations of students from Gaza would be possible. Prime Time reported that it had seen correspondence showing that the Department told 10 universities involved that it anticipated “renewed demand for an evacuation ahead of the next academic year.”

The email stated: “Assuming that such operations remain possible, I can confirm that the Department is open to supporting universities in this regard,” and reminded the universities involved that students would still need to meet the visa criteria. However, it noted that students with “full wrap-around scholarships will be best positioned to satisfy the criteria.”

“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. 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 Sarah Sartori, the Universities of Sanctuary representative at South East Technological University.

The Department of Justice says that, up to 31 July 2026, at least 27 study visas had been granted to Palestinian nationals, covering 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 has said six Palestinian students were 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.