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 ۲۴-year-old finished at the top of his class at Gaza University.
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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.
“Receiving an unconditional offer and scholarship was a lifeline,” Aldaya told Al Jazeera. “Missing this window leaves me exposed to daily military bombardment and the risk that border crossings could shut indefinitely.
“Gaza has no safe zones. 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 ۲۱, ۱۰۳ Palestinian long-stay study visa applications had been refused this year, while just ۳۹ visas were issued – an approval rate of ۲۷.۵ percent among decisions made. In ۲۰۲۵, that figure was ۸۳.۸ 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 ۱۰,۰۰۰ euros to support themselves for a year, in addition to their course fees.
The student Al Jazeera interviewed, who has since raised additional money with the help of people in Ireland, said an evacuation of students is expected in September. She hopes her visa will arrive in time.
“Behind every visa application there is a real person, a real person with a life, a family, a future,” she said.
Some refusal letters seen by Al Jazeera cite insufficient evidence that applicants will return home after completing their studies.
“I want to return home, said the student, “to help rebuild the place I belong to.”
Proving the impossible, from Europe to the US
The problem extends beyond Ireland. Across Europe and North America, hundreds of Palestinian students who have been offered university places are facing visa refusals and bureaucratic challenges as the new academic year starts, according to government figures and advocacy groups.
One issue is providing proof of funds. Applicants are generally required to provide six months of bank statements. Where originals are unavailable, online copies must have every page authenticated by the bank and be accompanied by a letter confirming they are genuine. In Gaza, that can mean trying to obtain certified documents from a banking system that has itself been largely obliterated.
Appealing refusals raises other hurdles. There is no internationally recognised postal service operating in Gaza, yet Irish authorities require appeals to be submitted by post with original supporting documents.
Some students have faced questions about gaps in their education or employment and requests for educational records after nearly three years of war. By November ۲۰۲۵, approximately ۹۷ percent of Gaza’s school buildings had been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations, while dozens of university buildings have been completely destroyed.
Even completing the basic requirements of a visa application can prove difficult.
Canada, for example, requires biometric data. Before the war, people could travel more easily outside of Gaza to access fingerprinting and photographing facilities, but it is nearly impossible now.
According to the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network (PSSAR) in Canada, more than ۱۳۰ Palestinian students who have secured places in Canadian graduate programmes, many with scholarships, research stipends or other funding, have faced delays over biometrics.
In the United States, since January ۱, Washington has stopped issuing almost all visas to people travelling on Palestinian Authority-issued or endorsed documents, including student visas, with limited exceptions, according to the US Department of State.
Belgian public broadcaster VRT reported on September ۱ that ۱۳ Palestinian students had secured both scholarships and visas to study at Belgian universities but remained trapped in Gaza.
In Italy, ۷۲ Palestinian university students were evacuated from Gaza in May through the country’s “university corridors” programme, taking the number evacuated through the initiative since September ۲۰۲۵ to ۲۲۹.
But L’Espresso reported on August ۳۰ that universities are no longer operating under the same centrally coordinated framework known as IUPALS, or Italian Universities for Palestinian Students. They are instead having to find their own funding, from university departments or private donors, to cover scholarships, travel and living costs for students hoping to arrive in time for the new academic year.
