The UK Home Office has launched a new campaign warning tens of thousands of international students that they will be removed from the country if they remain after their visas expire.
The initiative comes in response to what officials have described as an “alarming” rise in the number of students who legally arrive on study visas but then seek asylum once their permission to stay runs out.
As part of the campaign, the government will for the first time directly contact around 130,000 students and their families. They will be informed that those without a legal right to remain will be required to leave the UK.
The official message, to be sent to affected students, states: “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.”
The move has sparked backlash from university representatives. Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, criticised the policy as an “attack on international students” with “very little to do with visa overstays and everything to do with apeing Reform.”
She argued that ministers should instead “be making the case for a welcoming and economically strong Britain, of which international students and a world-leading higher education sector are an integral part.”
The campaign highlights a growing concern within government about the number of asylum claims made by visa holders. While public attention has largely focused on small boat crossings, Home Office data shows that in the year to June 2025, 43,600 asylum seekers arrived by boat, representing 39% of total claims. Another 41,100 asylum applications were submitted by people who had entered legally, with students making up the largest group at 16,000 – nearly six times the figure recorded in 2020.
Ministers argue that the system is being exploited by individuals using asylum claims as a means to remain in the UK after their student visas expire. Earlier this year, the Home Office reduced the post-study work period for overseas graduates from two years to 18 months in a bid to tighten migration rules.
The latest measures signal a hardening stance on immigration as the government seeks to curb both illegal entries and visa overstays, while critics warn the policy risks damaging the UK’s reputation as a leading destination for international students.
