UK Contacts 10,000 Foreign Students Over Expiring Visas, Warns Against Overstaying

The United Kingdom government has contacted at least 10,000 foreign students whose visas are due to expire, warning them against overstaying or attempting to file unmerited asylum claims.

The Home Office said the move was part of a wider crackdown on illegal migration, following what it described as an “alarming” rise in cases of students remaining in the country after their studies. For the first time, the government is issuing direct text and email messages to foreign students, reminding them of their obligations under immigration law.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper explained that a growing number of foreign students have been applying for asylum once their study visas lapse, even when circumstances in their home countries have not changed. She stressed that such practices put pressure on the UK’s asylum system and accommodation facilities.

“We will always do our bit to support genuine refugees,” Cooper said in an interview with the BBC. “But if nothing has changed in someone’s country, people should not be claiming asylum at the end of a student course.”

According to official figures, around 13 percent of asylum applications in the year to June were from people who initially entered the UK on student visas—about 14,800 cases, nearly six times more than in 2020. Although the number has since fallen by 10 percent, the government insists more action is needed.

The warnings sent to students state: “If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be swiftly and robustly refused… If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”

In addition, ministers have tightened visa rules to make it harder for universities to keep sponsorship licences if students fail to complete their courses. Earlier this year, the government also cut the post-study work period for foreign graduates from two years to 18 months.

As Parliament resumed on Monday, the Home Secretary further announced a temporary suspension of new refugee family reunion applications and confirmed that the first migrant returns under the UK’s new “one in, one out” agreement with France will begin later this month.