September 2, 2025
The UK 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.
The BBC on Tuesday, reported that tens of thousands of international students in the United Kingdom are being directly contacted by the government with a warning to leave the country when their visa expires or face removal.
To ensure compliance, the government is now proactively contacting students via text and email to issue formal warnings about the consequences of overstaying.
The messages as reported by BBC, read, “If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”
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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.
Home Office data revealed that, around 15 per cent of asylum applications last year—approximately 16,000—were submitted by people who originally arrived on student visas. Though the data did not specify how many of those were made after visas had expired, officials say the pattern is clear enough to warrant immediate action.
According to BBC, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, said that some students are “claiming asylum even when nothing 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.”
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Cooper further said that the growing number of students entering the asylum system is placing added pressure on already overstretched asylum accommodation and hotel services.
BBC, reported that while 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,
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,”
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.
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Amongst the 108,000 asylum applications made in the UK last year, around 40,000 were from people who arrived legally, including on work, study, or visitor visas while about 35,000 came from small boat crossings.
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.
Home Secretary, 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.
