KEY POINTS
- UK warns foreign students over visa overstays.
- Asylum claims from students surged sixfold since 2020.
- New visa and asylum restrictions tighten government grip.
Tens of thousands of foreign students in Britain are being directly warned by the government that they risk removal if they overstay their visas.
For the first time, the Home Office is sending text and email alerts, targeting students whose study permits are about to expire. The move comes after what officials describe as an “alarming” rise in asylum claims lodged by those who originally entered the UK on student visas.
UK targets student visa overstays
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said some applicants were filing claims without any changes in conditions back home. She told the BBC that the practice was burdening asylum housing, including hotels, and slowing down processing for genuine refugees.
Asylum claims tied to study visas
About 13 percent of asylum applications in the year to June around 14,800 cases came from former students, nearly six times more than in 2020. While that number has since dipped by 10 percent, ministers want sharper reductions.
Ten thousand students with soon-to-expire visas have already received notices, with tens of thousands more expected this autumn. The warning states that meritless asylum claims will be “swiftly and robustly refused,” and that students who fail to leave voluntarily will be removed.
Student visa overstays under fresh scrutiny
The crackdown follows a broader tightening of immigration rules. Universities now face stricter penalties if foreign students fail to complete their courses. Earlier this year, ministers cut the post-study work period for graduates from two years to 18 months.
As Parliament resumed Monday, Cooper announced a temporary freeze on new refugee family reunion applications and confirmed that the first returns under the UK’s “one in, one out” deal with France would begin later this month.
