The UK government has issued a stern warning to tens of thousands of international students: leave the country when your visa expires or risk deportation.
According to the BBC, the Home Office has launched a new campaign after recording an “alarming” increase in students attempting to remain in the UK by claiming asylum. For the first time, students are being contacted directly via text and email with messages stressing, “If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”
Home Office data shows that around 16,000 asylum applications in 2024 came from people who originally entered on student visas. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper criticized cases where students claim asylum without genuine cause, saying it places added pressure on the UK’s already overstretched asylum system.
So far, 10,000 students nearing visa expiry have been contacted, with another 130,000 expected in the coming months.
The move forms part of wider immigration reforms under the Labour government, including stricter university visa rules and a reduction in post-study work rights for graduates from two years to 18 months.
