The United Kingdom government has informed foreign students they will be removed from the UK if they overstay their visas.
The Home Office launched the new government campaign in response to what it has called an “alarming” spike in the number of international students arriving legally on student visas then claiming asylum when they expire.
As part of the campaign, the Home Office has for the first time proactively contacted international students directly by text and email.
The new message campaign will see about 130,000 students and their families receive a message telling them if they have “no legal right to remain” in the country they “must leave”.
10,000 international students whose visas are due to expire have already been contacted directly by text and email – warning them they could be deported.
Tens of thousands more will receive the message in the coming months, to coincide with autumn when applications often increase.
The message read: “If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be swiftly and robustly refused.
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“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.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC some international students are claiming asylum “even when things haven’t changed in their home country”.
According to Home Office data, around 15% of asylum applications in the UK last year, some 16,000, came from people who arrived on a study visa.
The statistics, released for the first time in March, do not break down how many applications were made from students who overstayed their visa.
Clamping down on study as a means to claim asylum has increasingly been a focus for the Home Office in recent months.
In May, the department announced it planned to tighten rules that aim to stop migrants using university study as a way to enter the UK.
Under the plans, beginning this month, the visa refusal and course completion rates that universities have to meet in order not to risk losing their ability to sponsor future visas are to be made stricter.
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