Tens of thousands of international students in the United Kingdom are being directly contacted by the government with a warning: leave the country when your visa expires or face removal, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The Home Office has launched a new campaign aimed at tackling what it describes as an “alarming” rise in student visa holders attempting to stay in the UK by claiming asylum.
In a first-of-its-kind move, the government is now proactively contacting students via text and email to issue formal warnings about the consequences of overstaying.
The campaign came amid growing concern in Whitehall about students using the asylum system as a way to remain in the country after their studies end.
“If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you,” the messages read, as reported by BBC.
According to Home Office data, around 15 per cent of asylum applications last year—approximately 16,000—were submitted by people who originally arrived on student visas. While the data does not specify how many of those were made after visas had expired, officials say the pattern is clear enough to warrant immediate action.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that some students are “claiming asylum even when things have not changed in their home country.”
She added, “We obviously will do our bit to support genuine refugees, but if nothing has changed in their country, people should not be claiming asylum at the end of a student course.”
Cooper also said the growing number of students entering the asylum system is placing added pressure on already overstretched asylum accommodation and hotel services.
Around 10,000 students whose visas are nearing expiry have already received direct warnings.
A further 130,000 students and their families are expected to be contacted in the coming months, coinciding with the busy autumn intake period, according to the BBC.
The message being sent reads in full, “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 do not meet the criteria, you will not receive support.
“If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you,” as reported by BBC.
The crackdown is part of a broader tightening of immigration rules under the Labour government. In May, the Home Office announced that universities would face stricter thresholds on visa refusal and course completion rates to maintain their ability to sponsor international students.
While much public attention has focused on small boat arrivals across the Channel, ministers are increasingly concerned about legal entrants—such as students—who later switch to the asylum system.
Of the 108,000 asylum applications made in the UK last year, around 40,000 came from people who arrived legally, including on work, study, or visitor visas. By contrast, about 35,000 came from small boat crossings, BBC reported.
Among legal entrants, student visa holders made up the largest group seeking asylum, with numbers almost six times higher than in 2020. Although the figure has since fallen by 10 per cent, the Home Office wants further reductions.
Cooper acknowledged that student visa asylum claims account for just over 10 per cent of total applications but insisted that “to fix the system, we must tackle every single bit of it.”
The government has also moved to reduce the amount of time overseas graduates can stay in the UK after completing their courses, from two years to 18 months.
The number of successful asylum claims from skilled worker visa holders has also declined, according to recent Home Office figures.
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