Nearly 60 charities, law firms, and organisations have signed a letter to the Home Secretary, advocating for the creation of a Ukraine-style visa scheme for Palestinians in Gaza with family in the UK.
The letter, organized by the Gaza Families Reunited campaign and signed by the Refugee Council, Care4Calais, and the Helen Bamber Foundation, states that “existing immigration routes are insufficient and not working.”
The proposal outlines a Gaza family scheme to enable Palestinians in Gaza to reunite with immediate and extended family members in the UK.
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said, “The UN has said the population is on the brink of starvation.
“There are many people who have family in the UK and the government has effectively placed huge obstacles in the way of people being able to exercise their right to travel to be with their families and we’ve had a completely unsatisfactory response still despite that petition from the government.
“So now the situation is very complicated but they obviously have responded in a very different way to Ukrainian people who also faced an appalling situation.”
Currently, Palestinians are not eligible for refugee resettlement in the UK.
The petition for a Palestinian family visa scheme had gathered over 103,834 signatures and has been considered for debate in parliament.
The government responded: “There are no plans to introduce bespoke arrangements for people arriving from the region.
“Those wishing to come to the UK who currently have no visa can apply under one of the existing visa routes.”
The only existing legal route for Palestinians is through the Refugee Family Reunion visa, which includes a spouse and only children under 18, and it usually costs £1,840 to apply.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 32,000 people have been killed since the October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are working around the clock to get British nationals who want to leave out of Gaza.
“We have a team on the ground in Cairo and at the Rafah crossing providing consular assistance.
“Any dependents of British citizens who need a visa can apply for one.”
The Ukrainian Family Scheme allowed eligible Ukrainian nationals to join family members or extend their stay in the UK.
Care4Calais has said the scheme has offered safe routes for refugees and “no Ukranian has had to cross the channel to seek safety in the UK.”
Credit Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contract with APAimages, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
