Some visas are welcomed by France when Palestinian students are waiting for Canadian visas
A group of professors who advocated bringing them here said France has accepted several Palestinian graduate students waiting for visas to study in Canada in the past two weeks.
The team said dozens of students who received Canadian university scholarships or letters of admission were already stranded when they faced delays from the Canadian immigration department.
Palestine students and Dangerous Scholars (PSSAR) said some of them are heading to France or have already arrived, a sign that the Canadian government has been neglected.
“We are very happy [students] There is actually a chance. ” said Ayman Oweida, professor of health sciences and president of PSSAR at Sherbrooke University.
“It’s heartbreaking that when we really put everything in for them to come here, they didn’t come here.”
Students and professors begin Openly increase alerts Amid delays earlier this month.
At the time, Canadian Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship (IRCC) told CBC News that there was no capacity to conduct security permit checks on the ground in Gaza – obtaining biometric information such as photos and fingerprints, such as photos and fingerprints, which made it more difficult for Palestinians to try to enter Canada.
It also acknowledged that students who have left Gaza may be delayed. It said visa processing times may vary based on “whether the application is completed, whether the IRCC has to wait for other information, how easily the IRCC verifies the information provided and the complexity of the application”. ”
“The dream of Gaza destroyed”
Ihab, a graduate student who has just been accepted into the center of a university at the University of Marseille, France, said in an interview that his first choice was the University of Alberta.
“I applied for a visa application at IRCC and I’m waiting for a long time,” he said in Marseille.
CBC News has agreed not to reveal Ihab’s full name because he is concerned about the safety of his loved ones who remain in Gaza.
CBC News received an admission letter from the University of Alberta last March that has accepted his Master of Mechanical Engineering program, as well as an IRCC message that acknowledged his visa application from mid-April.
Ihab said he had no further communication from Canadian immigrants and applied for Mediterrane on June 1. The admission letter shows that he was admitted to a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from a French university on June 17.
A few weeks later, on July 10, his French visa was verified.
The Oiaans said French authorities helped him evacuate Gaza and conducted biometric tests in Jordan.
“I feel like the French government has put in a lot of effort,” he said, providing support to students and supporting other organizations to promote their arrival.
Ihab graduated from Al-Azhar University in Gaza with Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering. The campus has been reduced to rubble in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. There are no more active universities in the enclave.
The IDF said they found weapons such as rockets and explosives in al-azhar, accusing Hamas of using the facility to attack.
Ihab said he had friends who applied to Canadian universities in early 2024 and they have not yet left the war zone.
“They stayed in Gaza and their dreams in Gaza were destroyed,” he said.
CBC News provided a similar document to another student who received a proposal from the University of Calgary in June 2024.
While students were waiting for a Canadian visa, they were accepted at the University of Grenoble Alpes in France in November 2024 and received a scholarship from France at the end of May.
The student told PSSAR they are now planning to quit the University of Calgary. Three other students also told the group that their intention was to withdraw from Canadian schools, with one pointing out they had been evacuated by France and two others saying they had been evacuated.
At the end of April, French newspaper Le Monde reported about 115 Palestinians, mainly university scholarship recipients, who had arrived in France.
Nearly 900 Palestinians from Gaza arrived
The Immigration Bureau did not answer direct questions about whether it was consulting with France for best practices to get people out of Gaza.
“As of July 8, more than 1,750 people leaving Gaza have passed the safe screening,” it said in a statement, receiving Canadian approval. Of these, 864 people arrived.
But, advocates say these are Palestinians who have found their way out from Gaza to Egypt, There is no help from the Canadian government.
The IRCC notes that universities make decisions independently of the department.
“However, all prospective international students must meet the requirements of the Canadian immigration system, including obtaining a letter from a designated learning institution and obtaining an approved study permit before heading to Canada.”
according to French government websiteDue to the ongoing war, visa applicants living in Gaza must make a claim in Ramallah, in Jerusalem.
France usually employs a third-party organization VFS Global to help applicants in Gaza.
Evidad said how the French government used its diplomatic relations with Israel to surprise the diplomatic relations that Palestinians arrived in Gaza compared to Ottawa’s efforts.
“France has a very critical position on Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza,” he said. “Canada should be able to do what France does.”
