A man living in the UK believes his sister-in-law, who died of cancer in Gaza, would still be alive if the Home Office had approved her family's visa application to come to Britain. The family faced difficulties with biometric requirements and were denied entry.
The case highlights the severe challenges faced by families in Gaza seeking to reunite with relatives in the UK, particularly when medical emergencies arise amidst conflict and restricted access to essential services and visa processing facilities.
Anwar, a refugee living in Glasgow, believes his sister-in-law Maryam would still be alive if the UK Home Office had approved her family's visa application to join him. Maryam died of cancer in Gaza on August 28, shortly after her seven-month-old son Ismail was born.
Anwar, who fled Gaza in 2020 and gained refugee status in the UK in 2021, applied in October 2023 to bring his brother Hassan, Hassan's wife Maryam, their two young children, and other relatives to Britain. The application was rejected because the family could not access a visa application centre (VAC) in Gaza for biometric checks, and travel outside the territory is extremely difficult.
In April, the family requested the Home Office waive the biometric requirement, but this was initially denied. After a legal challenge, the Home Office reconsidered but issued a new refusal in July. The family provided extensive medical evidence of Maryam's advanced renal cell carcinoma, which had spread to her lungs, and reports on their dire living conditions in Gaza, including sleeping in tents and shortages of food, medicine, and clean water.
The Home Office acknowledged Maryam's cancer and the risks associated with travel from a conflict zone but concluded that the circumstances did not meet the threshold for "compelling circumstances" to justify waiving pre-entry checks. Officials stated that "reliable healthcare may not be accessible" in Gaza and that it was "in the best interests of the children to stay with their parents and delay travel to the UK." The family's lawyers argued that it was difficult to understand what circumstances would qualify as compelling if the current situation did not.
Gordon McKee, MP for Glasgow South, had raised the case with ministers in June, warning of Maryam's deteriorating health and the collapse of healthcare in Gaza, describing the situation as involving "exceptional humanitarian circumstances."
Hassan, Maryam's husband, expressed his grief and struggle to come to terms with losing his wife while trapped in Gaza with their children, highlighting the Home Office's decision despite acknowledging Maryam's cancer.