The UK Home Office has launched a fresh campaign warning international students that those who overstay their visas face deportation.
For the first time, the government is contacting students directly via text and email. Around 10,000 students with visas nearing expiration have already received these messages, with many more expected to be contacted in the coming months.
One message from the Home Office states: “If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.” It further cautions that asylum claims “lacking merit” will be rejected swiftly.
Officials said the move was prompted by what ministers described as an “alarming” increase in students seeking asylum after their visas expire.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, Home Office figures show 41,100 asylum claims were lodged by people who had entered the UK legally on visas with students accounting for the largest share. In 2024 alone, 16,000 asylum claims were made by international students, nearly six times higher than in 2020. Although that number has since fallen by about 10 percent, ministers insist they want it reduced further.
The department also recorded a decline in asylum claims from skilled worker visa holders. Earlier this year, the government shortened the post-study stay for international graduates from two years to 18 months.
