The UK Home Office has issued a stern warning to international students, cautioning that those who overstay their visas risk deportation.
As part of a new enforcement campaign, the government has begun contacting students directly via text and email — a first-of-its-kind approach.
According to the BBC, about 10,000 students with visas nearing expiration have already received the messages, with tens of thousands more expected to be contacted in the coming months.
“If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you,” the Home Office message states.
The alert also emphasizes that asylum applications “lacking merit” will be swiftly rejected.
The initiative comes in response to what ministers describe as an “alarming” surge in students applying for asylum once their visas lapse.
Data from the Home Office shows that between July 2024 and June 2025, 41,100 asylum claims were filed by people who had initially entered the UK legally on visas — with students accounting for the largest share.
In 2024 alone, international students submitted 16,000 asylum claims, nearly six times the number recorded in 2020. Although that figure has since fallen by about 10 percent, officials insist they are determined to drive it down further.
The department also reported a decline in asylum applications from skilled worker visa holders.
Earlier this year, the UK shortened ...-study work period for foreign graduates, reducing it from two years to 18 months.