UK Home Office Blocks Palestinian Academic’s Family Evacuation, Citing Lack of Urgency and Security Concerns
The UK Home Office has refused to expedite the evacuation of the wife and children of a Palestinian academic, determining their case was not urgent and suggesting the children were better off remaining with their mother in a tent in Gaza, despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Bassem Abudagga, a PhD student at York St John University, was informed in a letter that officials found no “sufficiently compelling” reason to waive the requirement for his wife to attend a visa application centre (VAC) in Gaza to provide fingerprints – a facility that no longer exists due to Israeli bombardments. The decision has sparked outrage from supporters who accuse the Home Office of prioritizing bureaucratic procedures over the safety and well-being of a family fleeing conflict.
Abudagga last saw his wife, Marim, son Karim, six, and daughter Talya, 10, four weeks before the October 7, 2023, attacks when he returned to Gaza for a visit. He had arrived in the UK in 2022 on a scholarship and is described by his tutors as a model student. Since the outbreak of hostilities, his family home has been destroyed, and they are now living in a camp near the sea.
“I felt my final hope of being reunited with my wife and children after more than three years had been lost,” Abudagga told The Guardian. “It was very, very hard.” His wife’s reaction to the news was one of despair. “She kept saying to me when I called: ‘It seems we will never meet again. Don’t make any more efforts to bring us to the UK because it seems the UK will never get us there. Just keep concentrating on your studies,’” he recounted.
The Home Office’s letter also raised concerns about national security, stating that consideration had been given as to whether his wife and children’s circumstances “outweigh the interests of national and border security” and implicitly concluding that they did not. Abudagga expressed disbelief at this implication. “When I read that they link bringing my family to the UK with UK security, and suggest the children are better off in Gaza, I simply could not believe in British values and norms any more. I expected the British government cared about family life, about human rights.”
Abudagga had requested the Home Office grant a decision in principle on his family’s visa applications before requiring his wife to attend a VAC, hoping to then seek assistance from the Foreign Office for evacuation to a country where she could complete the biometric requirements. This request was also denied.
The Home Office’s decision-making team stated they were “not satisfied that their circumstances are sufficiently compelling for [us] to be able to deviate from our normal policy that requires your clients to attend a VAC prior to consideration of their applications.” They further justified the decision by noting Abudagga’s stated intention to eventually return to Gaza, deeming his stay in the UK temporary. “Consequently it is appropriate for your minor clients to remain with their primary carer, their mother, until circumstances change,” the letter stated.
Supporters of Abudagga’s case have been appalled by the Home Office’s language, particularly its acknowledgement of the “difficult circumstances” in Gaza, including displacement and limited access to necessities, while still refusing to expedite the family’s evacuation.
Legal sources indicate a recent trend of increasingly stringent Home Office responses in immigration and asylum cases, potentially influenced by the rise of Reform UK and a broader push to tighten border controls. Many of these cases involve Palestinians trapped in Gaza.
Abudagga described the dire conditions his family faces, including food shortages, exposure to the winter cold, and constant fear of bombardment despite the fragile ceasefire. The Guardian has previously reported on the trauma experienced by Talya, Karim, and their mother as a result of the conflict, including displacement and hunger. Adding to their hardship, Marim is now mourning the recent death of her father two weeks ago. “My wife is trying to do the daily duties of bringing food, securing the tent from the weather – it is very cold, very windy, very rainy – when her father passed away two weeks ago. The details are very, very hard,” Abudagga said.
The situation is particularly frustrating for Abudagga, as another PhD student in a similar situation was recently evacuated to the UK with her family after being allowed to provide biometrics in Jordan. “This lady was allowed to get her fingerprints done in Jordan and the Home Office later allowed her family to join. The case is the same as mine,” he said.
The Home Office was asked for comment regarding the impossibility of accessing a VAC in Gaza, but has not yet responded. Rebecca Long-Bailey, Abudagga’s local MP, has written to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, urging a reconsideration of the case, but the Home Office has maintained its position.
Abudagga has now retained the human rights firm Leigh Day to challenge the Home Office’s refusal. Sarah Crowe, a human rights lawyer at Leigh Day, stated, “We will be writing to the Home Office to set out why their decision-making in this case is plainly unlawful. In line with the Home Office’s own policy, Bassem’s family should have their applications predetermined, which is an important step in reuniting the family.”
