Canada urged to reassess refused study permits for Gazan students

Calls for policy reversal

Rights advocates and academics urged the Canadian government on Wednesday to reassess refused study permit applications from Palestinian graduate students accepted into Canadian universities, warning that Ottawa’s pledges of fair treatment have failed to materialize. Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa on behalf of the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network (PSSAR), Baher Abdulhai said that despite repeated assurances from officials, students from Gaza are receiving refusals rather than promised resolutions.

"Despite repeated assurances from government officials, students from Gaza are receiving refusals, rather than the fair resolutions they were promised," Abdulhai said. He noted that of 37 students outside the Gaza Strip whom the network is tracking, approximately 30 have reportedly received refusals or remain without substantive decisions, adding that what began as a crisis of processing delays has become one of fairness and accountability.

'Aggressive' interview tactics

Abdulhai stated that immigration officials have subjected students to extensive, aggressive, interrogative interviews before issuing refusals that question their credibility or alleged affiliations. "To be frank, we are particularly concerned by reports of students undergoing extensive, aggressive, interrogative immigration interviews, only to receive refusals at the end questioning their credibility or alleged affiliations," he said, urging Ottawa to demonstrate urgency comparable to Spain and the UK, which have evacuated Palestinian students from Gaza and waived biometrics requirements.

Political and academic pressure

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who sits on the executive of the Canada Palestinian Parliamentary Friendship Group, said the students have already been scrutinized and accepted by leading Canadian institutions. "These students being treated like this makes me ashamed to be Canadian," she said. Aaron Shafer, a professor at Trent University, noted that well over 100 Palestinian graduate students have earned admission to leading Canadian universities, yet Ottawa has ignored their files for more than two years, and that students in Cairo faced lengthy interviews involving repeated questions about Hamas activity at their schools.

"Students should not be collectively penalized for receiving an education in Gaza," Shafer said, adding that security assessments must be based on individual evidence rather than assumptions about an entire population. Corey Balsam, national coordinator of Independent Jewish Voices, said the group was appealing as Jewish Canadians because Jewish safety has too often been invoked as a reason against welcoming Palestinians from Gaza, a premise he described as rooted in anti-Palestinian racism rather than reality.

Humanitarian appeal

Balsam, who studied at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank, added that with every university in Gaza now in ruins, the least Ottawa can do is to allow accepted students to pursue their education and their lives. Firaaz Azeez of the Humaniti Foundation emphasized that "behind every application is a life, a life that’s on hold," noting that humanitarian work must focus on stability and the future rather than solely on immediate survivability.