Keir Starmer vowed to close a ‘loophole’ allowing Palestinians to seek refuge in the UK [Getty]
The Gaza Families Reunited Campaign group has condemned the UK government for imposing “arbitrary barriers” preventing Palestinians fleeing Gaza from reuniting with family members in Britain.
The warning comes after a landmark legal victory allowed one Palestinian family to settle in the UK.
Following the case, the UK government vowed to close what it calls a ‘loophole’ after they were granted the right to settle in Britain through the Ukraine Family Scheme.
The family of six – whose identities remain anonymous – won their appeal after a tribunal found that rejecting their application breached their human rights.
The grassroots group advocating for a dedicated family reunification scheme for Palestinians expressed mixed emotions over the case.
“We are relieved that this family has won their legal case and will hopefully be reunited soon. However, their struggle highlights the unjust and arbitrary barriers preventing Palestinians in Gaza from finding safety with their loved ones in the UK,” the Gaza Families Reunited Campaign group told The New Arab.
The ruling marks the first known instance of non-Ukrainian refugees successfully using the scheme, originally designed for Ukrainians escaping Russia’s 2022 invasion.
The group condemned the government’s focus on closing the so-called loophole rather than addressing the systemic lack of safe resettlement routes for Palestinians.
“We are dismayed by the government’s stated focus on ‘closing the loophole’ that enabled this particular family to flee the bloodshed, rather than providing Palestinians in Gaza with a practical means of reuniting with their loved ones in the UK,” the group said.
UK immigration policies under scrutiny
The Palestinian family – a mother, father, and four children aged 7, 8, 17, and 19 – had been living in a Gaza displacement camp after their home was destroyed in an Israeli strike.
Facing “daily threats to their lives from Israeli military attacks,” they sought refuge in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme, arguing that their case was “compelling and compassionate.”
The Home Office initially rejected their application, and a lower-tier immigration tribunal upheld the decision, claiming it was not the tribunal’s role to create a resettlement route for Palestinians.
However, an upper tribunal judge overturned this ruling, citing Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to family life. The judge described Gaza’s situation as “incredibly dangerous,” stating that the family faced a “high risk of death”.
Despite this, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed during Prime Minister’s Questions that his administration was actively working to prevent similar cases in the future.
“It should be the government that makes policy, that is the principle, and the home secretary is already looking at the legal loophole which we need to close in this particular case,” Starmer said.
Calls for a Gaza family scheme
The Gaza Families Reunited Campaign has urged the UK government to establish a formal resettlement route for Palestinians, like those provided for Ukrainians, Afghans, and Hong Kong residents.
“The temporary ceasefire is a long-overdue halt to the bloodshed, starvation, and bombardment that has devastated Gaza for over 15 months—though its longevity is uncertain,” the Gaza Families Reunited Campaign told TNA.
“As the Home Office’s arguments in court show, there is still no resettlement route for Palestinians – leaving families trapped in unliveable circumstances.”
According to UN estimates, it will take 14 years to clear the rubble left by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, yet Palestinians remain at daily risk with no safe way out.
“We continue to call for a Gaza Family Scheme to enable Palestinians to reunite with their relatives in the UK. This is not a political game—it is about survival. The UK government cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians while recognizing the dangers they face in court,” the group added.
The UK has been accused of hypocrisy in its refugee policies, having created tailored pathways for white European refugees while rejecting Palestinian asylum seekers.
The Ukraine Family Scheme, which granted over 70,000 visas, closed in February 2024, but the UK has refused to establish a similar program for Palestinians despite the devastation in Gaza, where Israel has killed over 61,000 civilians.
The New Arab has approached the Home Office to offer a comment.
