Open Letter in Support of Gazan Students

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Last updated: 5th August 3:26pm

30th July 2025

Dear    

Keir Starmer - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Yvette Cooper - Secretary of State for the Home Department,

David Lammy - Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs,

Bridget Phillipson - Secretary of State for Education,

We are writing to you with regards to the forty students who have offers and scholarships to study at UK universities - including Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, and St Andrews - and are currently trapped in Gaza. These students are unable to travel to the UK due to the visa requirement of biometric data, which they have no way of obtaining due to the closure of the visa office in Gaza. Without government intervention, it will be impossible for these students to travel to the UK to commence their studies and uphold their scholarships.

As elected representatives of students across the country, we are hugely concerned about the treatment of our future members. These students have obtained extraordinarily competitive offers and demonstrated huge academic potential, only to be denied the ability to take up their places by a legal technicality entirely within your control. They have studied, written applications, taken English language tests, and attended online interviews, all while their fellow citizens are killed and their homes are levelled by the Israeli military. There is no opportunity for them to pursue university study in their home country, as there are no universities left in Gaza.

This situation is extremely time-sensitive. These students must be in the UK by September in order to begin their studies. Devastatingly, some students have already been killed while waiting for their visas to leave Gaza. Other countries - including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, and Italy - have already taken action to ensure Gazan students are able to leave Gaza and take up their university offers. It is imperative that the UK government align with this.

We implore the UK government to ensure students in Gaza are able to obtain visas and facilitate their travel to study in the UK. We make this request amidst increasing pressure from MPs, university officials, and trade unions for the same cause.

It is clear you must take action urgently, as a matter of life or death.

 

Cambridge SU

Augustin Denis - President (PG)

Matthew Copeman - President (UG)

Jessica Asiedu-Kwatchey - Vice President (Education & Widening Participation)

Olivia Ledger - Vice President (Student Community & Societies)

Melanie Benedict - Vice President (Liberation & Welfare)

 

Edinburgh University Students’ Union

Ash Scholz - President

John Rappa - Vice President Activities and Services

Akrit Ghimire - Vice President Community

Katya Amott - Vice President Education

Syjil Ramjuthan - Vice President Welfare

 

Oxford SU

Shermar Pryce - President for Communities & Common Rooms

Wantoe Teah Wantoe - President for Postgraduates

Oluwaseun Blessing Sowunmi - President for Undergraduates

Alisa Brown - President for Welfare, Equity & Inclusion

 

University of St Andrews Students’ Association

Emily Bannister - President of Education

Alice Hodges - President of Union Affairs

Callum Robert Forbes Irvine - Postgraduate Research President

William Evans - Postgraduate Taught President

 

Aberdeen University Students’ Union

Christina Schmid - Student President

Hannah Cowie - Vice President for Activities

Jonathan Dorrat - Vice President for Communities

Samuel Seymour - Vice President for Education

Karim Hurtig - Vice President for Welfare

 

Bristol SU

Jessie Yeung - International Students Officer

 

Dundee University Students’ Association

Tánaiste Custance - President

 

Exeter Students’ Guild

Francis Steptoe - Education Officer

 

Greenwich Students’ Union

Muhammad Abdulmumin - President

 

Heriot-Watt University Student Union

Cameron Fields - President

Holly McAdams - Vice President Academic

Lilja Piuli Alam - Vice President Student Communities

 

Leeds Beckett SU

Faisal Alsammarraie - Postgraduate Officer

Islam Elserougi - Undergraduate Officer

 

Liverpool Guild of Students

Holly Thompson - Deputy President

William Jones - Vice President

 

University of Birmingham Guild of Students

Antonia Listrat - President

 

University of East Anglia Students’ Union

Chris Kershaw - Campaigns and Democracy Officer

 

University of Manchester Students’ Union 

Elliot Briffa - City and Community Officer

Alec Severs - Faculty of Humanities Officer

 

University of Stirling Students’ Union

Justine Pédussel - Students’ Union President

Ellie Hammond - Vice President Communities

 

 

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