“Leave Or Be Removed”: UK Issues New Warnings To Foreign Students

“Leave Or Be Removed”: UK Issues New Warnings To Foreign Students

The UK government is directly contacting tens of thousands of foreign students, warning them that they will be removed if they overstay their visas.

According to the Home Office, the move comes after a sharp rise in students entering on study visas and later applying for asylum once their permits expire. For the first time, text and email alerts are being sent to students as a warning.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that some students are applying for asylum “even when there has been no change in their home countries.” She added that many remain in the system for years, creating pressure on asylum housing and hotel spaces.

She said, “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.”

In the year leading up to June, about 13% of asylum claims—around 14,800 cases—came from former study visa holders, nearly six times the figure in 2020.

Although applications have since fallen by 10%, ministers want to bring the number down further.

So far, 10,000 students with soon-to-expire visas have been contacted, with many more expected to receive notices this autumn.

It warns: “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.”

The government has also tightened visa regulations, making it harder for universities to retain sponsorship licences if students fail to finish their studies. Earlier this year, it reduced the post-study stay period for international graduates from two years to 18 months.

As Parliament resumed on Monday, Cooper announced a temporary pause on 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.