Palestinian students say that the visa delays have been cut off despite admission to Canadian schools

With the killing of two of their peers last year, more than 70 Palestinian students raised the warning of the stalled immigration to Canada despite admission and scholarships in universities throughout the country, and they penetrate them in Gaza or Egypt nearby and Jordan are waiting for war.

“The situation in Gaza is to obtain hardship day by day, and they target many crowded and random places,” said Mira, an industrial engineering student who was accepted at the University To apply for a complete agreement to the Federal Immigration Department.

“Like many other students, I have become trapped in my dreams,” she told CBC News in an interview.

CBC News only uses its first name due to concerns about its safety. CBC has witnessed a letter of acceptance from the University of Regina, as well as paperwork that turned out to have started the immigration file with the Canadian government.

In December 2024, the twin sisters were killed by Sally and Dalia Ghazi after they were accepted in a doctoral program at the University of Waterloo in South Ontario, in What the school described as an Israeli air strike.

“They did not start even their dreams,” said Mira, who knew the sisters.

“They were very excellent girls who have always been asking for new opportunities and a new opportunity to learn more information about the opportunities in Canada,” she said.

Like dozens of other students, Mira tried to reach Canada with the help of a non -profitable Canadian institution called Palestinian students and scientists at risk. (PSSAR). According to PSSAR, there are more than 70 stuck students in Gaza, waiting for here.

The federal government maintains the main issue of the Palestinians trying to leave Gaza and enter Canada, obtaining a security permit by providing pictures and fingerprints, known as biological measurements. Immigration, refugees and citizenship in Canada (IRCC) cannot manage these tests on the ground because it has no presence in the war zone.

“The movement outside Gaza is still very difficult and may not be possible at this time, as countries and other actors have identified the requirements for their entry and exit,” IRCC said in a statement.

Professors find a high government explanation

IRCC Aaron Chevir, a professor of forensic science at the University of Trent in Peterpuro, who works with PSSAR to bring another Palestinian student awaiting Gaza.

“We know that other countries were able to do so. France, for example, was able to facilitate a safe passage for students,” he said. “I would like to ask and ask the Canadian government to try to facilitate something similar.”

In January 2025, the French media reported About 32 students managed to reach France to follow up studies over the previous yearIncluding at least one directly from Gaza.

Chevir also says that a third of students is trying to help in leaving Gaza already and wait in Egypt or Jordan, where the Canadian government still has not yet handled its papers.

“They can be in their laboratory tomorrow at the University of Columbia, the University of Toronto, if the Canadian government will address its visas,” he said.

Alaa, one student CBC News spoke in Cairo, Egypt, said that he presented immigration papers in May 2024. He has been waiting for approval since then.

He was accepted on a doctoral program in Montreal, Alaa says he has not received any update from IRCC.

CBC News has also seen its documents and agreed not to use the packing name in its interested in its safety.

Alaa says that he lives alone, separated from his wife and four children staying in Gaza, and is barely able to talk to them.

He completed previous testimonies in Gaza, but he says that his university, like all others in the region, has been settled in the war between Israel and Hamas, which has been raging since October 2023.

“This is why I made a decision to travel to Canada to complete his doctorate, return to Gaza, enrich it and contribute to rebuilding our academic institution.”

The time is to accept

Another obstacle that students face is the expiration dates for admission or scholarships.

CBC News told that she had already been postponed twice from Regeina University, and she is concerned about having to do so for the third time.

CBC News told Alaa that its offer is valid only if it is “followed by the course’s registration in the fall of 2025”.

In response to a question about the delay of students who have already left Gaza and waiting for visas elsewhere, IRCC said, “Every application is different, and as a result, the time may be different.

IRCC did not directly answer a question about whether he was in contact with France or other countries allied with best practices to help students leave Gaza.

“We cannot comment on bilateral discussions of other countries with foreign governments,” he said.