Foreign Students in UK: Deportation Warning for Overstaying

In a sharp escalation of its immigration crackdown, the UK government has begun contacting tens of thousands of foreign students with a stark message: leave when your visa expires or face deportation. The UK student visa deportation warning campaign, launched by the Home Office, will see text messages and emails sent to around 130,000 students and their families over the coming months.

The move follows what officials described as an “alarming” increase in the number of international students arriving on legal study visas but later attempting to claim asylum. Messages warn recipients that “if you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”

Foreign Students: Rising Tensions Over Immigration

The crackdown comes amid mounting political pressure over migration, with public frustration fuelling the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. Ministers are determined to show they are tightening control of the system, even though asylum claims from students make up only a small share of the total.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the campaign during a BBC interview, saying:

“Students should not be claiming asylum at the end of their course. We will always do our bit to support genuine refugees, but the system must not be abused.”

Home Office data shows that in the year to June 2025, 43,600 asylum seekers entered the UK via small boats. Another 41,100 arrived legally and later claimed asylum, including about 16,000 international students.

Policy Shifts and Family Reunions

The government is also clamping down on asylum-related family reunion applications, which Cooper announced would be temporarily suspended. Officials say criminal gangs have exploited the process, encouraging migrants to risk dangerous Channel crossings with the promise of bringing relatives later.

Local councils, already stretched by a housing crisis, have warned that new arrivals are worsening homelessness, especially where families arrive before breadwinners are able to support them. To address this, the government plans to extend the waiting period before successful asylum seekers can apply to bring relatives and to require proof of financial stability.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer echoed the tougher line, pledging to accelerate the closure of asylum hotels but rejecting Reform UK’s proposals as “fanciful and unworkable.”

Foreign Students: International Law Debate

The immigration debate has also reignited calls for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). While critics argue the ECHR obstructs deportations, Cooper said the UK can act within international frameworks by reinterpreting judgments and amending domestic law.

“We don’t need to suspend our commitments to take practical action,” she said. “We will continue to work with European partners facing similar challenges.”

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