Palestinian students continue to have their visas rejected to study in Ireland, despite full scholarships having been granted by various institutions across the country.
At least 28 students with funding to study in Ireland covering their tuition, accommodation and additional expenses have now had their visa applications rejected.
The reasons given include insufficient/incomplete evidence of finances, gaps in education/employment record, lack of reason to return to Gaza following their studies and insufficient level of English.
Ahmed Abuhassan, a computer science student from Gaza had his study visa application rejected due to “financial reasons”, despite holding a full scholarship to study computer science from UCD.
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After his university in Gaza was destroyed by air strikes in 2023, Abuhassan spent months returning to his studies amid the ongoing violence in the region.
[ Higher education has been destroyed in GazaOpens in new window ]
“We were displaced and deliberately starved, and somewhere in the middle of that, I decided the war had taken enough, and it was not taking my future too,” he said.
“I borrowed a laptop from a relative and on that borrowed screen, in a tent on electricity I sometimes walked miles to find, I rebuilt my studies from nothing.”
Having documented his journey of finishing his software development degree online on LinkedIn, Abuhassan made contact with professors at UCD who encouraged him to pursue an application to the university.
He applied and was accepted into UCD’s computer science programme, receiving a full scholarship for the duration of the course.
[ Protesters gather in solidarity with Gazan students denied visas to IrelandOpens in new window ]
It a letter to Abuhassan, seen by The Irish Times, UCD confirmed that tuition for the entirety of his studies was covered, as well as accommodation costs and additional payments of €10,000 each year for cost-of-living expenses.
The Department of Justice cited insufficient or incomplete financial evidence as reason to reject his visa.
“The reason I was given simply didn’t make any sense,” said Abuhassan.
“I was told that I hadn’t proved enough financial evidence, and also that that I hadn’t improved my English language ability, and that my supporting documents were insufficient,” he said.
The department stated there was a lack of reason for him to return to Gaza following the completion of his studies.
“The university had already submitted everything required to the Irish authorities, including financial guarantees, confirming that my English met the university’s requirements, which is beyond the average that the authorities ask for the visa,” Abuhassan added.
Abuhassan was one of more than 20 Palestinian students with full scholarships to study in Ireland who were rejected as part of a large batch in the space of a week.
However, according to volunteer organisations, more students are still awaiting decisions on their visa applications who have scholarships covering their tuition and have gathered financial support from other areas to cover the rest of their costs.
A spokesperson for one organisation said there were many more such students than students with full scholarships. One was said to have been waiting for 77 days to hear a decision on their application.
Those who have had their visa applications rejected have two months to lodge an appeal.
Abuhassan is currently in Gaza awaiting the result of his appeal, which was hand delivered by an Irish human rights organisation as the postal system in Gaza is inoperative.
“Here in Gaza, every day we wait for the decision to be made is a gamble for us,” said Abuhassan.
“More than three weeks of the two-month appeal window are already gone, and in all that time no official guidance has reached the students on what to do.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Justice said: “There has been no recent change to visa processing procedures, approval criteria or documentation requirements in any of the department’s visa offices.
“It should be noted that each application, regardless of nationality, is decided on its own merit.”
