Applicant guide

Short, practical answers to the problems displaced students hit most often when applying. The language toggle in the header switches to Arabic.

Guidance reviewed: 21 October 2026. Requirements and programme availability change. Follow the linked organisation, then confirm the rule with the university or scholarship provider before sending documents or paying any university fee.

1. My documents are missing or my university was destroyed

Do not rule yourself out. Many universities accept alternative evidence from displaced applicants — write to the admissions office, explain your situation, and ask what they will accept. Useful things to mention or search for:

• Scanned copies, photos of certificates, or an email confirmation from your university or its staff — even informal confirmation helps.
• Once you reach another country, two schemes can assess your qualifications without official documents. The WES Gateway Program accepts studies in Palestine, but only for people living in Canada or the US, through a referral organisation there. The UNESCO Qualifications Passport is offered in only some host countries. Neither can be used from inside Gaza.
• Some universities admit displaced students "conditionally" and let documents follow later — ask directly.
• Send sensitive documents only through an official university portal or an address on the institution's verified domain. Do not send a passport, identity number, bank details, or unredacted certificates to an unsolicited WhatsApp or social-media account.

2. English tests I can take from Gaza

• The Duolingo English Test can be taken online at home. Acceptance varies by programme and intake, so confirm it with your chosen university before registering or paying. It needs power and a steady connection for about an hour, and a dropped connection can end the attempt, so use the most stable connection you can. On our browse page, the quick filter "No test-centre English exam" appears whenever the current list has scholarships that don't require attending a test centre.
• If you studied in English before, ask for a waiver — many programmes grant one on request.

3. Application fees

Never pay a person or agent to guarantee, reserve, or submit a scholarship. Some universities charge an admission application fee even when scholarship consideration is free. Verify any charge on the institution's official domain, ask about a displaced-applicant fee waiver, and treat unstated fee information as unknown. The browse filter shows only entries where no fee or a waiver has been confirmed.

4. Avoiding scams

• Never pay anyone to apply, to "reserve" a scholarship, or to "guarantee" admission. All of these are scams.
• Check the address a link opens — our Apply button always shows which website it opens, and we remove links that look commercial.
• Real providers never ask for money transfers, gift cards, or your bank password.
• On a shared phone, or one that may be checked, use Clear this site from this device at the bottom of any page. It removes your saved scholarships and the copy kept for offline use.

5. More places to look

• UNHCR's education help page, which covers the DAFI scholarship programme for refugees and links to UNHCR's Opportunities site for studying in another country.
• University websites often have a "financial aid for refugees / displaced students" page that never appears on scholarship lists — search for the university name plus "refugee scholarship".
• For more scholarships, see ScholarPal.
• Found something we don't list? Please suggest it so other students can find it too.

6. Leaving Gaza

A place abroad only helps if you can leave Gaza to take it up, and only a few governments have got students out. This is what we found for each country. It is about governments, not individual scholarships, so also ask the university how its admitted students from Gaza have travelled.

Checked 16 October 2026. Students leave Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Allenby Bridge into Jordan, but only when the host country's embassy asks Israel to let them out, which only countries with relations with Israel can do. It needs a confirmed place, funding, a visa, Israeli security clearance and Jordanian transit approval, and can take months even after approval. Since early October 2026, Gaza's health ministry says the Rafah crossing has been closed even to medical evacuations, and all crossings were reported closed on several days; we found no report of a student group leaving Gaza since mid-September. No route is guaranteed.

Have evacuated students recently

France

France evacuates only people it selects itself: holders of French Government (France Excellence) scholarships and PAUSE-programme researchers and artists. An operation on 24 August 2026 took 44 such people out, though it is not known how many were students. We found no evidence of help for students admitted to a French university without a French Government scholarship. Checked 16 October 2026.

India

India evacuated a group of ICCR scholarship holders from Gaza in late August 2026, with its embassy in Jordan; they have started at Indian universities. We don't know how many left, or whether other Gaza nominees will get a route. Checked 16 October 2026.

Italy

Italy's foreign ministry has brought about 271 Gaza students out to study since September 2025, most recently 25 on 14–15 September 2026. There is no national IUPALS scholarship call for 2026/27, so you need a funded place from a university or arts institution itself. Each departure waits for Israeli and Jordanian approval and can take months. Checked 16 October 2026.

Spain

Spain's foreign ministry has brought 44 students with places at Spanish universities out of Gaza in four operations, the largest 25 students on 14–16 September 2026. The process is slow, and 20 to 50 admitted students are still waiting. Checked 16 October 2026.

United Kingdom

The UK helped over 100 Gaza students with full scholarships leave for 2025/26 and renewed the scheme for 2026/27, but no 2026/27 departure had been confirmed by 16 October 2026. The scheme covers only fully funded, verified scholarships (fees and living costs) for courses starting by 31 December 2026; universities must submit names by 31 October 2026, and travel is not guaranteed. Checked 16 October 2026.

On the browse page, the quick filter “Recent evacuations” shows scholarships in these countries that match the group that got out, with the month of the last known departure. The UK is left out: its scheme only covers courses starting by 31 December 2026.

Have evacuated students before

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan's foreign ministry evacuated 14 Palestinian students from Gaza in September 2025 to take up Heydar Aliyev International Education Grants. We found nothing for 2026/27, so ask the ministry before relying on this route. Checked 16 October 2026.

Netherlands

The Dutch government has helped Gaza students who already held a Dutch visa or residence permit and a university place to leave: five in August 2025 and about 21 in June 2026, after a court ruling. It calls this diplomatic support, not an evacuation scheme. We found nothing confirmed since 1 July 2026, so do not assume help is available. Checked 16 October 2026.

San Marino

San Marino helped two Gaza students reach its university in May 2026 on Italy's evacuation corridor, a one-off for two design scholarships. Nothing is announced for 2026/27. Checked 29 September 2026.

Slovakia

Slovakia's foreign ministry got 9 Slovak Government scholarship students out of Gaza in 2025 (4 in October, 5 in December). No operation has been announced for 2026/27, although Slovakia again offers 5 government scholarships to Palestinians. Checked 16 October 2026.

Students stuck, or visas blocked (16 countries)

Australia

We found no evidence that Australia has evacuated Gaza students. The Home Affairs department says its ability to help people leave Gaza is extremely limited, help goes first to citizens and residents, and a visa does not mean Australia will help you get out. Checked 29 September 2026.

Belgium

Belgium is not getting Gaza students out. The government failed to agree an evacuation of 13 scholarship holders at Belgian universities in September and again on 10 October 2026, and on 15 October the foreign minister said the matter is closed for now. Checked 16 October 2026.

Canada

Canada has not evacuated any students from Gaza, and more than 130 Palestinians admitted to Canadian graduate programmes are stuck: a study permit needs fingerprints and a photo taken outside Gaza, and Ottawa has not waived this. Checked 16 October 2026.

Egypt

Egyptian universities, including Al-Azhar, still offer places to Gaza students, but we found no working route to take them up: Egypt admits Gazans only for medical treatment or transit elsewhere. The Palestinian ministry now nominates only Gaza students who are already outside Gaza for Al-Azhar places. Checked 29 September 2026.

Finland

Finland has not evacuated students from Gaza: its foreign ministry may only help citizens, permanent residents and their families leave. Students must also be identified in person at a Finnish embassy, which cannot be done from inside Gaza. Checked 29 September 2026.

Germany

We found no sign that the German government helps Gaza students leave to study in Germany: in January 2026 it said it supports exits only for German nationals and their close family, apart from WHO medical evacuations. Get written confirmation before relying on a German route. Checked 29 September 2026.

Hungary

Hungary has not evacuated any Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holders from Gaza. The government says it will only handle entry paperwork for students who leave on their own; about 18 winners were given a one-year deferral. Checked 29 September 2026.

Indonesia

We found no evidence that Indonesia has helped any Gaza student leave to study. Indonesia has no diplomatic relations with Israel, and more than ten Palestinian scholarship holders were reported unable to leave in 2025. Checked 29 September 2026.

Ireland

Ireland helped roughly 60 to 80 Gaza students reach Irish universities in autumn 2025, but between 1 January and 15 September 2026 it refused 115 Palestinian study visas and granted 50, refusing many students with full scholarships. On 9 October 2026 the justice minister reversed three refusals after court challenges, but no Irish-run evacuation has been reported. Checked 16 October 2026.

Malaysia

Malaysia offers scholarships to Gaza students, but we found no working exit route: in July 2026, 62 students with Malaysian scholarships were still stuck because Israel had not approved their departure. Malaysia has no relations with Israel. Checked 29 September 2026.

Portugal

We found no report of Portugal helping any student leave Gaza. Portugal's parliament has asked the government to arrange exits for students enrolled at Portuguese universities, but we could not confirm it has done so. Checked 29 September 2026.

Singapore

We found no evidence that Singapore's government has helped any Gaza student leave. A privately funded scheme brought three Gaza-origin scholars in 2025, but all had already left Gaza. Checked 29 September 2026.

South Africa

We found no evidence that South Africa has evacuated Gaza students, and since 6 December 2025 Palestinians need a visa in advance, which in practice cannot be obtained from inside Gaza. Checked 29 September 2026.

Tunisia

Students who already hold Tunisian places are stuck in Gaza, and we found no report of any getting out or of Tunisia's government organising exits. Tunisia still offers scholarships, with 54 Gaza students among its 2026/27 bachelor's nominees. Checked 29 September 2026.

Türkiye

We found no evidence that Türkiye has helped any Gaza student leave to take up a place. Türkiye offers many scholarships to Palestinians, and 28 Gaza students were nominated for 2026/27, but no travel arrangements were announced. Checked 29 September 2026.

United States

The US is effectively closed to students from Gaza: since 1 January 2026 it has suspended almost all visas, including student visas, for Palestinian Authority passport holders. We found no US evacuation of Gaza students. Checked 16 October 2026.

No government help found

For these 67 countries we found no report of government help for Gaza students to leave: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Estonia, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Korea, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.