MPs Call on UK Government to Delay Biometric Visa Checks for Gaza Students Amid Humanitarian Crisis

Published: 06 July ‘2025. The English Chronicle Desk

A growing cross-party coalition of UK Members of Parliament is urging the government to temporarily waive biometric visa requirements for 80 students from Gaza who have secured placements at British universities, but now face insurmountable obstacles due to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the region. The call comes as the new academic year approaches, and hopes for the students’ safe arrival diminish with each passing day.

More than 70 MPs have signed a letter, led by Labour’s Abtisam Mohamed and Barry Gardiner, addressed to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, imploring the Home Office to defer biometric checks for these students until a safer and more feasible process can be established. The students, including young poet Haia Mohamed, who earned a scholarship to Goldsmiths College in London, are being held back by what the MPs describe as an “all but impossible” process under current conditions in Gaza.

Biometric data—including fingerprints and facial photographs—is a standard requirement for UK visa applications. However, the UK’s authorised biometric centre in Gaza was shut down in October 2023 following the Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli military response. With Gaza now under constant bombardment, facing famine, and suffering infrastructure collapse, students are effectively unable to complete this step, leaving their future in jeopardy.

In their letter, the MPs describe the situation in stark terms, citing a complete breakdown of mobility and safety in the region. They warn that unless urgent steps are taken to issue visas and coordinate evacuations, students with confirmed offers from some of the UK’s most prestigious universities may instead face death in displacement camps or starvation under siege.

The urgency of the matter was underscored in an internal message circulated among MPs, where Mohamed and Gardiner wrote candidly: “Unless the government makes rapid progress with offering visas and coordinating evacuations over the next week, students who should be starting university next month in the UK will be among those who are being shot dead at aid sites, bombed in displacement camps, or starving as famine spreads deeper in Gaza.”

Despite the humanitarian concern, not all in Westminster agree with the proposed deferment. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has publicly opposed any waiver of biometric requirements, stating that such checks remain “an essential part of our security arrangements.” Home Office guidance maintains that biometric screening plays a critical role in safeguarding the border and immigration system.

Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent West, argues otherwise, highlighting the UK’s past flexibility in granting exemptions, such as in cases involving injured children from Gaza. Speaking to Sky News, he called on the government to show the same compassion and urgency now, saying that helping these students is about more than academic opportunity—it’s about investing in the future of a viable Palestinian state.

“These young people are the future of Palestine,” he said. “Whether they’re town planners, engineers, musicians or poets, the nation will need them. Their acceptance into the UK’s top universities in the face of unimaginable adversity shows extraordinary resilience, courage and ability. We should be doing everything we can to facilitate that.”

The MPs’ appeal also draws comparisons with actions taken by other European nations, some of which have established safe corridors and evacuation processes for students fleeing conflict zones. In contrast, the UK’s current visa framework, though thorough, appears ill-equipped to respond to such acute crises.

With the new university term set to begin in just weeks, time is rapidly running out for the Home Office to make a decision that could define not only the academic futures of 80 young Palestinians, but also Britain’s role in responding to one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of the current Middle East conflict.

As the political debate intensifies, the fate of these students hangs in the balance—a test of both policy and principle in the halls of Westminster.