The British government has warned international students to leave the country once their visas expire or risk deportation, in what officials describe as a clampdown on visa abuse.
According to the BBC, the Home Office has begun sending text and email alerts to tens of thousands of students, reminding them of the consequences of overstaying. The unprecedented campaign comes amid concern over a surge in asylum claims from people who originally entered the UK on student visas.
Data shows that about 15 per cent of asylum applications last year—roughly 16,000 out of 108,000—were lodged by former student visa holders. Although officials did not specify how many were filed after visas lapsed, they insist the trend is significant enough to justify intervention.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said some students were “claiming asylum even when nothing has changed in their home countries,” adding that the practice is straining accommodation services already under pressure from record asylum applications.
So far, around 10,000 students whose visas are close to expiry have received direct warnings, with a further 130,000 students and dependants expected to be contacted in the coming months, coinciding with the new academic year.
Figures show that while small boat arrivals accounted for about 35,000 asylum claims last year, legal entrants—including students, workers and visitors—made up around 40,000. Of these, students represented the largest share. Although the number of asylum applications from student visa holders has dropped by 10 per cent since last year, it remains almost six times higher than in 2020.
“To fix the system, we must tackle every part of it,” Cooper told the BBC, noting that the government has also shortened the post-study work period for foreign graduates from two years to 18 months.
The Home Office says the campaign is designed to send a clear message: “If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”
