A Palestinian student who was refused permission to come to the Republic to study has said the war could not break his spirit, “but the visa refusal did”.
Hazem Faris, a 19-year-old living in Gaza City, was due to begin an undergraduate degree in computer science at South East Technological University’s (Setu) Waterford campus this month.
He was one of three students to be awarded a full scholarship to study there. All three were refused visas in July.
Faris, who said he studied through severe hunger, lost his home and was displaced seven times, added that the refusal was “the worst feeling I have ever experienced in my life”.
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The refusal rate for student visas granted to Palestinians has risen significantly from 22 in 2025 to 115 so far this year, according to figures supplied by the Department of Justice.
Some 50 student visas have been granted so far this year, compared to 114 in 2025.
Setu sanctuary chairwoman Sarah Sartori, who is tasked with facilitating displaced students, said there was a legitimate expectation the three students would be able to study there.
She said no changes had been made to the process since last year and there was nothing to explain the mounting refusal rate.
“When the visa refusals came through, it was a complete slap in the face,” she said. Sartori has three boxes full of supplies in her garage for the students, two of whom are women, due to start master’s degrees.
“It was really upsetting because these young people, we have given them false hope,” she said.
Noting that several students chained themselves to the Department of Justice office overnight last week, Sartori said “these young people are having to take a stand where adults are failing”.
Faris said his family was renting a damaged house in Gaza City that lacked the most basic necessities after they lost their home in Khan Yunis when their “entire area was destroyed” in 2023.
“Most of our neighbours were killed,” he said, adding that two of his friends also died.
One friend was killed after an air strike in 2024, while another was among those killed last year when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd gathered around a flour aid truck in June 2025, he said.
Faris said he hoped a degree in the Republic would help him to “perhaps one day to be able to contribute something better to Gaza”.
He said the reasons for the visa refusal were difficult to understand.
The correspondence sent in July and seen by The Irish Times said the refusal was due to insufficient documentation, including evidence of sufficient funding.
This was despite Faris being awarded a full scholarship, which covered fees, accommodation and living expenses.
Another reason cited was insufficient evidence accounting for gaps in educational or employment history, which Faris said was “directly related to the war”.
There was also insufficient evidence of “strong obligations to return to your home country”.
He felt the State had a “special connection with Gaza”, adding that it was “extremely painful that the country where I had placed my hopes and future became the place from which my visa was refused”.
He is “still holding on to hope” as he awaits the outcome of an appeal.
The Department of Justice said it does not comment on individual cases. A spokesperson said last week that each application is decided on its own merit and that it was progressing appeals as quickly as possible.
