High Court quashes visa refusal for Palestinian engineering student

A High Court ruling on Tuesday overturned the refusal of a visa for 20‑year‑old Palestinian student Shaymaa Abudalu, who has been awarded a fully‑funded engineering scholarship at University College Cork.

Mr Justice Anthony Barr found “significant and demonstrable errors” in the decision by the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, to deny her visa in July. The judge ordered the application to be reconsidered afresh and directed that a decision be made within 10 working days, with a stay on the order until Thursday.

The court noted that the minister had wrongly claimed Ms Abudalu had not supplied required financial documentation and had failed to consider her English‑language certification. Although Ms Abudalu admitted she did not provide the bank statements normally required, the judge said the errors were not minor and could not be severed from the refusal.

The State argued that a statutory appeal would not be heard until September 2027, which would jeopardise the student’s scholarship. The judge rejected this, emphasizing the urgency of the matter.

Ms Abudalu’s family suffered losses in an Israeli air strike in March 2024. Her legal team argued that visa processing for Palestinians had previously been handled by Irish embassy staff in Tel Aviv with more flexible documentary requirements, a practice they said changed when processing moved to the Department of Justice in 2026. The State denied any policy shift and the court found no “legitimate expectation” of waived requirements.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Nadin Nandin / Pexels.