As the start of the 2025/26 academic year approaches, the Guild Officer Team is excited to welcome a new cohort to the University of Birmingham this September. With A-level results released last week, we know many of you are celebrating your achievements, and we can’t wait to meet you as you begin this important new chapter.
While many of you are rightfully celebrating this important milestone, we are painfully aware that not all our future students are able to share in this moment. Several of our offer-holders remain trapped in Gaza, unable to leave due to the ongoing and devastating humanitarian crisis.
We are deeply alarmed by the situation in Gaza and stand in full solidarity with Palestinian students facing unimaginable challenges. Today, there are no universities left standing in Gaza. In the face of this, the right to study abroad is not just an opportunity, it is a lifeline. The Guild Officer Team is firmly committed to defending their right to education and endeavour to find solutions to support and bring these offer-holders from Gaza safely to Birmingham to start their studies.
We urgently call on the UK Government to:
- Waive biometric visa requirements or expedite visa approval for University of Birmingham Palestinian students immediately.
- Establish a safe and immediate humanitarian route for University of Birmingham Palestinian students to leave Gaza and reach the UK without delay.
We will also continue to work with the University of Birmingham to:
- Put in place essential support for our students from Gaza, such as financial, academic, wellbeing, and immigration advice, including prospective offer-holders and those currently at the University of Birmingham who cannot return home.
- Extend our support to students from Gaza who have recently graduated from the University of Birmingham, to help support them in their transition from higher education and who now face uncertainty about their future.
No student should be denied safety, dignity, or the opportunity to access the education they have worked so hard to achieve.
The Guild will continue to work alongside students, staff, and national partners to push for action and to ensure our Palestinian students are heard and supported.
We reaffirm our commitment to stand in solidarity with all students affected by war and oppression, and to advocate for a campus and a world where everyone can learn and live free from fear.