UK warns 130,000 foreign students: Overstay your visa and face deportation

Dubai: UK's Home Office has launched a new campaign aimed at tens of thousands of international students, issuing a direct warning that they will be removed from the country if they overstay their visas. This initiative is a response to what the Home Office describes as a notable increase in the number of students who arrive legally but then claim asylum as their visas are set to expire.

For the first time, the Home Office will proactively contact approximately 130,000 students and their families via text and email to clarify the strict rules regarding their legal right to remain in the country.

The message is clear and direct: '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.'

According to Home Office data, asylum claims from individuals who entered the UK on a legal visa have tripled between June 2022 and June 2025, now accounting for 37% of all claims. International students represent the largest group within this category, making up 40% of claimants, a number that has grown to 16,000 last year, nearly six times the figure reported in 2020.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that some students are entering the asylum 'even when things haven't changed in their home country'. The government's goal is to reduce these figures further, despite a 10% drop in student asylum claims over the last six months. This campaign is the latest move in a series of measures to tighten migration policies, following a recent decision to cut the post-study visa period for graduates from two years to 18 months.

The Home Office's initiative comes amid heightened political pressure from opposition parties, including the Conservatives and Reform, for the government to take a harder stance on immigration. The government has also been working to clear the backlog of asylum cases and reduce the use of hotels to house claimants. Home Secretary Cooper told Sky News Breakfast that she expects the first deportations under a new returns agreement with France to begin 'later this month.'