Dozens of Palestinian students who have secured admission to Canadian graduate and doctoral programs say their academic futures are in jeopardy because they are unable to leave Gaza or complete Canada’s visa requirements amid the ongoing war.
According to the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network, roughly 130 master’s and PhD students currently in Gaza have been accepted by more than 25 Canadian post-secondary institutions. An additional 30 students who managed to escape to Egypt — along with three others elsewhere — have submitted the necessary paperwork but remain stuck in limbo, awaiting visa approvals.
The media reviewed acceptance letters for several of the students, whose stories illustrate the human toll of the bureaucratic impasse.
Shima’a Arafa, 24, was accepted into the University of Alberta’s Master of Science in Epidemiology program in March — a moment she described as a rare source of hope amid devastation.
She said she dreams of helping rebuild Gaza’s shattered health-care system and combating the spread of infectious diseases, particularly after earning her nursing degree and spending the past two years working on the front lines during the Israel-Hamas war.
Arafa said applying itself was an ordeal. With electricity and internet access scarce, she often walked long distances under bombardment just to submit her application online.
Her acceptance, however, has not translated into a pathway out. Canada requires biometric data — fingerprints and a photograph — before issuing a study permit, but Arafa says there are no functioning facilities left in Gaza to complete that process.
“I feel disappointed and anxious,” she said. “I can’t sleep at night because my entire future depends on this one step.”
Riman Rezeq, 23, also accepted to a master’s program at the University of Alberta — this time in Elementary Education — hopes to return to Gaza as a teacher once her studies are complete. Like Arafa, she says she cannot leave because she cannot submit her biometrics.
“We cannot leave Gaza without a visa, and we cannot get a visa without biometrics,” Rezeq said. “It’s a closed circle.”
Rezeq now lives in a tent with her family after being displaced multiple times. She described fleeing on foot for kilometres under airstrikes, calling the experience terrifying.
“Our purpose in going to Canada is education,” she said. “We want to return and rebuild our city as researchers, doctors and teachers.”
She says repeated appeals for flexibility have gone nowhere. “We’re just told to wait, but there is no solution,” she said. “Time is critical, and our safety and futures are at risk.”
Abdullah Hassan, 30, left Gaza more than three years ago and now lives in Indonesia. Despite completing his biometrics, medical exam and eligibility checks, he says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has yet to make a final decision on his study permit.
The University of Toronto offered Hassan a full scholarship for a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology. He applied for his permit in March 2025 and has now waited more than nine months, missing the start of his fall semester.
“I don’t understand why this is happening,” he said. “There are more than 30 Palestinian students outside Gaza who completed everything and have been waiting for over a year.”
Hassan said the delays feel systemic. “We feel like there is discrimination against Palestinian students,” he said, adding that many want to contribute to Canadian research and eventually help rebuild Gaza.
Earlier this month, the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network and other advocacy groups held a press conference on Parliament Hill, urging Ottawa to grant exemptions or alternative measures for students unable to complete biometrics due to the war.
University of Ottawa professor Nadia Abu Zahra said the issue extends beyond biometrics, arguing that eligible applications are effectively being blocked. She noted that some students have already lost their admissions, while others have been injured or killed.
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab has previously said students in Gaza must follow the same processes as all international applicants, without exception — a stance critics say ignores the humanitarian crisis.
Some European countries, including France, have facilitated safe passage for students by coordinating evacuations and easing visa requirements.
A written statement from IRCC reiterated that admission to a Canadian institution does not guarantee approval of a study permit and acknowledged that some students are experiencing longer processing times.
For students still trapped by war and paperwork, the wait continues — with their education, safety and future hanging in the balance.
