Palestinian students stranded in third country seeing visas processed after long wait
OTTAWA — A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Lena Diab says expedited visa processing for 37 Gazan students and their families stranded in a third country is now underway.
The news follows a lengthy advocacy campaign by Canadian academics who have been calling on the government to do more for Palestinian students who have been waiting upwards of two years for a visa decision.
Advocates say about 130 Palestinian students who have been accepted at Canadian universities are still stuck abroad — many of them in Gaza, where Israel controls entries and exits.
Laura Blondeau, Diab’s director of communications, said in a statement that most of the 37 students — who are not in Gaza — have received a final decision. She did not say how many have been approved or denied.


