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- calendar_today October 28, 2026
Long Waits for Work Permits Leave Palestinian Refugee Children Out of School
Refugees from Gaza arriving in Canada are experiencing significant delays when applying for work permits, a situation that particularly affects families settling in Alberta. Without a valid work or study permit, children of these families are unable to access free enrollment in Alberta’s public schools, leading to months of exclusion from education and social integration opportunities.
Contrast in Refugee Processing: Ukrainians and Palestinians
Saima Jamal, co-founder of the Calgary Immigrant Support Society, highlighted the difference in how various refugee groups are processed upon arrival. "With the Ukrainians, right on arrival in the airport, they were given the three-year visitors’ visa and their work permit was there ... everything was all sealed and delivered to them right on arrival in the airport," Jamal explained. In contrast, families arriving from Gaza have faced much longer waiting periods for their permits, with some families in Calgary reporting waits of between 40 days and seven months. Five months is a common wait, according to local advocates.
Alberta's Permit Requirement for School Enrollment
While some provinces, such as British Columbia and Ontario, allow school attendance regardless of parental immigration status, Alberta strictly enforces a requirement for a valid work or study permit for school registration. Community advocates report that enforcement of this rule has become much more rigorous over the past two years. Children are now being de-registered from school if their parents’ immigration permits expire—even if a renewal is already in progress. Without proper permits, families must pay international student fees, which are set at $13,500 per child per year.
Personal Impact: Families Waiting and Hoping
Recent arrivals like Ziad Mohammed, Yasmin Talal, and their children have felt the effects of this bureaucratic hurdle firsthand since coming to Calgary three weeks ago. Mohammed, formerly a journalist and café owner in Gaza, and Talal, mother to eight-year-old Yousef Zaid who has never attended school due to war and displacement, hoped Canada would offer educational opportunities. However, Yousef remains at home, continuing with online classes from Egypt due to eligibility restrictions in Alberta. Volunteers have encouraged the family to use local libraries and English conversation clubs, while federal language lessons carry an estimated nine-month wait time. Despite challenges, Talal says, "We had no other options. We couldn't go back to Gaza. Everything is destroyed. ... So even knowing that he wouldn't be going to school right away, I would still make the decision to come here."
Emotional Toll on Refugee Children
Bureaucratic exclusion has had an emotional impact on children like 11-year-old Nasser Yaghi, who stayed at home in Calgary for three and a half months, missing the chance to make friends and learn English in a classroom until he could finally attend Grade 5. Nasser’s father, Rajab Yaghi, lost his business and home in Gaza before fleeing to Egypt, and is now working in Calgary. Nasser recalls, "I [felt] sad because I [didn’t] have somebody to play with, but I go to school. I am happy because I have friends. I play and I'm happy in school."
Policy Differences and Recent Changes
Saima Jamal draws a stark contrast between Canada’s treatment of Syrian, Afghan, Ukrainian, and Palestinian refugees. Syrian and Afghan arrivals previously received permanent residency, while 300,000 Ukrainians received three-year visas and faster processing. Palestinian refugees from Gaza are given temporary visas under a capped program size of 5,000, with limited prospects for permanent residency. Advocates point to changing political and social attitudes as influencing these policies, with Jamal stating, "There’s a culture shift now blaming everything on immigrants."
In July 2026, the federal government announced that Palestinians could apply for permit extensions and would have permit fees waived; these measures are scheduled to expire in December 2027.
Source: cbc.ca.
