Tens of thousands of international students in the United Kingdom are receiving direct warnings from the government to leave the country once their visas expire or risk forced removal.
The BBC reported on Tuesday that the Home Office has launched a first-of-its-kind campaign, sending texts and emails to students amid concerns over a sharp rise in visa holders attempting to remain in the UK by claiming asylum.
According to Home Office data, about 15 per cent of asylum applications in 2024 roughly 16,000 cases were lodged by people who originally entered on student visas. Officials said the trend has become significant enough to trigger immediate intervention.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that while Britain will continue to support genuine refugees, many students were making asylum claims “even when things have not changed in their home country.” She said the practice is straining the UK’s asylum accommodation and hotel system.
Around 10,000 students nearing the expiry of their visas have already been contacted, with another 130,000 expected to receive messages in the coming months as the autumn academic intake begins.
The warnings stress that unmerited asylum claims will be “swiftly and robustly refused” and overstayers will be removed.
The crackdown forms part of the Labour government’s broader immigration reforms. In May, the Home Office introduced stricter requirements for universities on visa refusal and course completion rates to retain their ability to sponsor international students.
Of the 108,000 asylum applications made in the UK last year, about 40,000 came from legal entrants, including students, workers, and visitors compared with 35,000 from small boat crossings. Student visa holders accounted for the largest share of legal entrants seeking asylum, with numbers nearly six times higher than in 2020, though slightly down in the last year.
Cooper said addressing such claims was key to fixing the asylum system, as the government also moves to shorten the post-study work period for overseas graduates from two years to 18 months.
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