Belgium finds no way out for 13 students from Gaza
Belgium’s government is divided over how scholarship students can leave Gaza and begin their studies.
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No solution has yet been found, according to current Belgian reporting, for 13 Palestinian students and researchers with a Belgian scholarship. The case is dividing the federal government and raises the question of how strictly visa rules should be applied in a war situation.
The students and researchers have been awarded scholarships to study in Belgium, but according to public Belgian documents they are stranded in Gaza. They cannot begin their studies as long as they are unable to leave the Gaza Strip and complete their visa procedure.
Belgium’s federal migration service generally assumes that a visa application is submitted in person. Myria, the independent Belgian federal migration centre, previously wrote that remote applications are possible only for certain family-reunification visas. For other visa categories, Myria says there is no general route for remote applications from Gaza.
That makes the situation exceptional. The students do have academic admission or a scholarship, but that does not automatically entitle them to an evacuation organised by the Belgian state. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot told parliament that evacuations from Gaza are exceptional and organisationally very complicated.
Opinions within the government differ on the solution. Prévot has pressed for an arrangement for the group. Minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt previously warned that a special route could set a precedent. Current reporting by VRT and RTBF says that negotiations had still produced no agreement on Saturday.
For Belgium, the case is larger than the 13 individual files. Supporters say an exceptional arrangement could prevent students from losing their scholarships and places at university because of circumstances beyond their control. Opponents fear that a one-off procedure would blur the line between a study visa and a humanitarian evacuation.
The Belgian Lower House has previously discussed the case. Parliamentary documents state that several groups asked the government not to make the students a bargaining chip in broader debates about migration policy. Prévot responded that a visa in itself does not confer a right to transport from Gaza to Belgium.
The precise outcome of the new talks had not been set out in a public decision that we could consult at the time of publication. This article is therefore limited to the confirmed procedural background and the reported deadlock. New information about an agreement, evacuation or refusal could quickly change the situation.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- According to public Belgian documents, 13 students and researchers with Belgian study scholarships are in Gaza.
- Visa applications must generally be submitted in person; for this group, that is extremely difficult in practice.
- A Belgian visa does not automatically create an entitlement to a state-organised evacuation.
- The Belgian government has not yet published a public decision on a definitive solution.
Left
Arguments Wants to give the students access to Belgium as quickly as possible and believes that exceptional wartime circumstances justify an exceptional procedure.
Values Humanitarian responsibility, education as a protected opportunity and equal treatment.
Consequences Fears that formal rules will punish people for a situation they did not cause and that students will lose their studies.
Centre
Arguments Seeks a limited, controllable solution for this specific group, with identity and security checks and clear criteria for future cases.
Values Humanity combined with practicality, legal certainty and administrative control.
Consequences Wants to prevent individual assistance from depending on political pressure, but acknowledges that ordinary visa procedures do not work well here.
Right
Arguments Wants to uphold existing migration and visa rules and prevent a special evacuation from becoming a precedent for other applications from conflict zones.
Values Borders, equal application of rules and national control over admission.
Consequences Emphasises the risk of a pull effect and of expanding exceptional routes that the government may later find difficult to limit.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved with corrections · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The legal and procedural background is well documented by Myria and Belgian parliamentary documents. The current political deadlock is based on recent reporting, but not on a public decision, and has therefore been classified as uncertain.
- confirmed Thirteen students and researchers from Gaza have a Belgian scholarship or academic admission. — This is stated in parliamentary documents and Myria’s explanatory material. source
- confirmed For most Belgian visa applications, an application must generally be submitted in person. — Myria describes the general rule and the limited exception for family reunification. source
- confirmed A Belgian visa does not automatically confer a right to an evacuation from Gaza organised by Belgium. — The parliamentary explanation by Minister Prévot and Myria make this distinction explicit. source
- uncertain On Saturday, the Belgian government had still not reached an agreement on the group. — This was reported in current VRT and RTBF headlines, but no public government decision was found confirming the state of affairs. source
- confirmed There is disagreement within the government over an exceptional route. — Parliamentary documents and earlier public statements by Prévot document the disagreement. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: Belgium has definitively found no solution for the 13 students.Now: According to current Belgian reporting, no solution had been reported on Saturday; we could not verify a public government decision. (The current deadlock was not recorded in an accessible primary decision.)
Editor's note
The procedural background and earlier parliamentary positions have been publicly confirmed. The current report that there was still no agreement on Saturday could not be linked to a public government decision; the status is therefore insufficient_sources.Sources
- Myria clarifies visa application and evacuation issues for people seeking to leave Gaza for Belgium — EMN Belgium / Myria
- Interpellaties over de 13 Gazaanse beursstudenten — Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers van België
- Etudiants bloqués à Gaza : le ministre des Affaires étrangères pose un ultimatum à sa collègue de la Migration — L-Post
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „belgië gaza”
- Trouw — „belgië gaza”
- NRC — „belgië gaza”