Gazan medical students denied visas to study in Norway

Norway has denied student visas to a group of medical students from Gaza who were offered temporary placements at the University of Oslo, prompting widespread protests.

Ten students from Gaza’s Al-Azhar University were accepted for a four-month exchange semester at the university, scheduled to begin in August, which would have enabled them to complete and be examined on several of the remaining major courses of their degree.

In the wake of Hamas’ 7 October attacks in Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, the students were displaced and now reside in Egypt, while Al-Azhar University, alongside all other higher education institutions in Gaza, has been bombed and its campus largely destroyed.

Only one of the students saw their application for a study permit approved, with five rejected so far and the rest expecting to be denied by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). “A clear condition is that the applicant must leave Norway when the permit expires,” Karl Erik Sjøholt, UDI’s director of residence, told Times Higher Education. “The current situation in Gaza weakens the likelihood that applicants from Gaza will be able to return after completing their studies in Norway.” The student who was granted a permit also holds Egyptian citizenship.

Manar Al Khodari, a fifth-year medical student who hopes to specialise in ophthalmic surgery, told THE that while the Oslo exchange “would be so helpful if it worked out”, none of the exchange students intended to remain in Norway after the semester. “We have been through hell, and starting our life over again is not an option,” she said. “We have to go back to Gaza.”

Stein Stølen, rector of the University of Oslo, said “political will” was needed to accept the students, noting, “[The government] gave us money to accept students from Ukraine, and they were given automatic study and residence permits.”

“I think that universities do have an obligation to try to contribute. This is about the human right to education,” Professor Stølen said. “It’s extremely important to rebuild Gaza, and that work can’t be postponed. It has to start now.”

Anne Kveim Lie, a professor at Oslo’s Institute for Health and Society who helped coordinate the exchange, said the university was helping the students to launch a legal appeal against their permit refusal, while the Norwegian Student Organisation (NSO) planned to protest the decision. “We’re trying to mobilise politicians to act,” she said. “I’m angry – this doesn’t make any sense at all.” The students had missed other exchange opportunities in order to accept their places at Oslo, she added.

Before they were granted permission to cross into Egypt, Ms Al Khodari and her family were displaced 16 times within Gaza. “Every time we were displaced from one place to another, I would go to the hospital to be in the emergency room and do whatever I could,” she told THE. “It was terrifying. My mum hated every second. But it’s what we’re supposed to do – even with the little knowledge I have as a fifth-year student.

“Finishing our degree so we can go back is so crucial for our healthcare system to rebuild,” she said. With only two years left in her degree, she said, “I can go back to make a difference.”

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com