A Palestinian father living in Britain says his three-year-old son asks him why he does not open the border so the family can be together. The father, who asked not to be named, has been granted protection in the UK, while his wife and two children remain in a tent in Gaza. Lawyers say UK immigration rules are keeping the family apart.
The couple speak over WhatsApp whenever the internet connection allows. The father said the separation has left him anxious and lonely, and that he worries constantly about his family. A second family, who also asked not to be named, said shrapnel from an Israeli bomb damaged their home earlier this month and that they have since been displaced again.
Separated families describe fear and loneliness in Gaza and Britain
The first father said he is frightened when he cannot reach his wife, fearing something has happened to her or the children. Sometimes he goes to a park to clear his head, where he sees children playing with their parents. “My heart hurts when I see that,” he said.
The second family’s mother described the danger around them. “Where we are now, there is no safety. They bombed the area next to us last night,” she said. Her youngest daughter, asked what she wanted most, said she wanted to go to her father with her sisters and mother.
Lawyers and rights groups estimate that between 250 and 300 people are seeking, through the courts, to have immediate family members join them from Gaza. Many remain separated.
Home Office appeal and biometric requirement delay reunions
On September 30, an Upper Tribunal ruled that the families should be reunited in the UK. The Home Office is appealing that decision. It is also refusing to waive the requirement that family members provide biometrics, even though there is no registration facility in Gaza where they could do so.
Lawyers say the families meet the requirements for reunion, but are caught in what they describe as a bureaucratic catch-22. Visas cannot be issued without biometric data, such as fingerprints. Gaza’s visa application centre, where those details would be recorded, has been closed since October 2023, so the families cannot leave Gaza to complete the process.
Both families applied before the government suspended new applications under the refugee family reunion route on September 4, 2025. Lawyers said the government has made flexible biometric arrangements for people who need medical evacuation from Gaza, and has helped scholarship students leave and complete checks in Jordan. They argue the Home Office is refusing to offer the same arrangements to separated family members, even though those people would still undergo UK and Israeli security checks.
Decla Palmer, a solicitor at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit who represents the families, said the Home Office was “actively keeping these families apart, leaving them stranded in Gaza in grave danger.” Palmer said the judge had ruled that the Home Office should apply its unsafe journeys policy lawfully, and accused the department of defending decisions that block eligible people in Gaza from coming to the UK.
Activists call for a dedicated Gaza family scheme
Activists say a dedicated family scheme for Gaza could overcome these barriers. They point to earlier arrangements that allowed eligible Ukrainians to provide biometrics after arriving in Britain. A petition calling for such a scheme gathered more than 100,000 signatures and was debated in parliament in May 2024.
The government’s December 2023 response said it had no plans for bespoke arrangements and directed people towards existing visa routes. Lawyers say that since Israel closed Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt in May 2024, no family has been reunited through the visa route these families must use. They are now calling on the government to remove the obstacles that stop eligible families from reuniting under that route.
Resettlement scheme announcement draws criticism from campaigners
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood this month announced the reopening of the UK Resettlement Scheme, with the Home Office expecting new referrals to include Palestinian refugees. The announcement was greeted with applause at the Labour Party conference and was initially praised by pro-Palestine groups.
The umbrella alliance Communities for Palestinians said Mahmood’s speech and later Home Office statements did not mention a key detail. The Palestinian programme covers only a small number of exceptionally vulnerable refugees already in Jordan or Lebanon, so it does not apply to mothers and children trapped in Gaza. Lawyers say the only remaining safe and legal routes to the UK are medical evacuation for those severely injured by Israel, or a student scholarship.
Ghassan Ghaben, senior community advocacy officer at the British Palestinian Committee, said there was a “real contradiction” in the government’s approach. He said the Home Office was continuing to oppose the reunification of Palestinian mothers and young children with fathers already in the UK. “These are families separated by genocide, and every additional day of delay could cost them their lives,” he said.
At the time of publication, the Home Office had not responded to a request for comment.
