Gaza refugee says sister-in-law ‘would be alive’ if Home Office had let her come to UK
Anwar, who lives in Glasgow, says Home Office refused visa application despite Maryam having cancer
TL;DR
- A UK refugee believes his sister-in-law, Maryam, would still be alive if her visa application to the UK had been approved.
- The Home Office rejected the application for Maryam, her husband Hassan, their two children, and other family members to leave Gaza.
- The refusal was based on the requirement for biometric checks at a visa application centre, which does not exist in Gaza, and the difficulty of travel for Palestinians.
- Despite evidence of Maryam's advanced renal cell carcinoma and dire living conditions in Gaza, the Home Office maintained the family's circumstances did not meet the threshold for 'compelling circumstances'.
- Maryam died of cancer on August 28th, shortly after the second refusal of their visa application.