Thousands of international students schooling in the United Kingdom have been directly contacted by the government with warnings to leave once their visas expire or risk removal.
According to a report by the BBC on Tuesday, the Home Office has launched a first-of-its-kind campaign using texts and emails to warn students.
This is coming amid an “alarming” rise in visa overstayers switching to the asylum system.
According to the report, around 10,000 students whose visas are nearing expiry have already received messages.
The messages read: “If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”
Bellnews reports that over 130,000 students and their families are expected to be contacted over the coming months, coinciding with the busy autumn intake period.
According to Home Office data, in 2024, 15 per cent of asylum claims, about 16,000, came from people who originally entered on student visas, with officials coming the applications were made after visas had expired.
Speaking on system abuse, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Some students are claiming asylum even when things have not changed in their home country. We will always support genuine refugees, but people should not be using asylum as a way to remain in the UK after studies.”
She added that the rise is straining already overstretched asylum accommodation and hotel services.
Of the 108,000 asylum applications made in the UK last year: 40,000 came from people who entered legally on work, study, or visitor visas; 35,000 came from small boat crossings across the Channel.
Student visa holders formed the largest group of legal entrants claiming asylum, with numbers nearly six times higher than in 2020. Although figures dropped by 10 per cent recently, the Home Office insists further reductions are necessary.
Cooper argued: “Student visa asylum claims may account for just over 10 per cent of applications, but to fix the system, we must tackle every single part of it.”
The message being circulated reads in part: “If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be swiftly and robustly refused. Any request for asylum support will be assessed against destitution criteria. If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”