Palestinian physician Ahmad Abu Jami, awarded a full scholarship for a Master’s in Public Health at Antwerp’s Institute of Tropical Medicine, is unable to take up the offer because Belgium insists that student-visa applications be submitted *in person* at a diplomatic post. Gaza has no Belgian mission, and leaving the enclave requires permits that the besieged 28-year-old cannot obtain. At least six other Gazan scholarship recipients face the same impasse. Flemish universities have appealed to Prime Minister Bart De Wever to allow remote filings, citing a recent Dutch precedent in which court rulings forced The Hague to accept e-mailed applications. A Belgian court similarly ruled in May that remote submission is legal, yet the Consulate-General in Jerusalem continues to refuse electronic dossiers for study visas. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot calls the situation “problematic” but argues that security checks require physical presence; Asylum Minister Van Bossuyt warns of fraud risks. Meanwhile, the students’ classes start in September and no evacuation corridor is in sight. The case exposes a gap in Belgium’s otherwise student-friendly immigration framework: while the country aggressively markets its universities abroad, its visa procedures lack contingency measures for conflict zones. Other source markets—Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine—could face similar hurdles. Universities and corporate research sponsors should factor visa feasibility into scholarship programmes and consider lobbying for regulatory flexibility. Failure to act could damage Belgium’s reputation as an education hub and limit the talent pipeline for its life-sciences sector.
Source: The Brussels Times
