MPs and peers call for Gaza visa scheme

Dozens of MPs and peers have written to the home secretary calling for special visa schemes for Palestinians with family in the UK.

The letter, sent to James Cleverly on Tuesday - and shared exclusively with BBC News - calls for the government to "extend a similar framework of compassion and solidarity" to people in Gaza as it has for people from Ukraine and Afghanistan.

The letter also proposes the establishment of a scheme similar to Homes for Ukraine, which allows Britons to sponsor Ukrainians to live with them in the UK.

The Home Office said it had no plans to introduce such a scheme, but added teams were "working around the clock" to get British nationals who wish to leave out of Gaza.

The letter has been signed by 36 MPs and peers, including Labour ministers Apsana Begum and Mick Whitley.

It asks for a “free-of-cost visa route” for Palestinians with British family members to come to the UK, “with a right to return” to Gaza when possible.

It also suggests a “Homes for Palestinians” scheme, modelled on the system set up after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

About 253,400 people have been granted British visas issued under the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine since they were established.

Green Party peer Baroness Bennett, who co-ordinated the letter, told BBC News that the “desperate conditions in which the people of Gaza are trying to survive just keeps intensifying the case for such a scheme”.

“I’ve no doubt many British people are ready to step in to help those in need,” she said.

British nationals currently have to apply for visas for spouses, partners and children living in Gaza through the existing family visa route, which carries substantial fees.

For example, someone living outside the UK who wishes to join their British spouse must typically pay £1,840. There is also a health surcharge, costing at least £1,560 per adult.

Relatives such as siblings, parents of adult children and extended family are not eligible for a visa in most cases.

By contrast, the Ukraine Family Scheme - which ended last month - allowed applications from immediate or extended family members, including parents of an adult child. It was free to apply, and additional fees, such as the health surcharge, were waived.

British-Palestinian families have been campaigning for similar tailor-made schemes since the conflict broke out last year.

A previous letter, sent to Foreign Secretary David Cameron in December, was signed by 80 families with relatives trapped in Gaza.

A Home Office spokesperson said teams in Cairo, and at the Rafah crossing, were providing consular assistance to British nationals trying to leave Gaza.

"We currently have no plans to establish a separate route for Palestinians to come to the UK," he said, adding that dependants of British citizens who need a visa can apply for one through the established channels.