Tens of thousands of international students in the United Kingdom are being directly contacted by the government with a warning: leave the country when your visa expires or face removal, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The Home Office has launched a new campaign aimed at tackling what it describes as an “alarming” rise in student visa holders attempting to stay in the UK by claiming asylum.
In a first-of-its-kind move, the government is now proactively contacting students via text and email to issue formal warnings about the consequences of overstaying.
The campaign came amid growing concern in Whitehall about students using the asylum system as a way to remain in the country after their studies end.
“If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you,” the messages read, as reported by BBC.
According to Home Office data, around 15 per cent of asylum applications last year—approximately 16,000—were submitted by people who originally arrived on student visas. While the data does not specify how many of those were made after visas had expired, officials say the pattern is clear enough to warrant immediate action.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that some students are “claiming asylum even when things have not changed in their home country.”
She added, “We obviously will do our bit to support genuine refugees, but if nothing has changed in their country, people should not be claiming asylum at the end of a student course.”
Cooper also said the growing number of students entering the asylum system is placing added pressure on already overstretched asylum accommodation and hotel services.
Around 10,000 students whose visas are nearing expiry have already received direct warnings.
A further 130,000 students and their families are expected to be contacted in the coming months, coinciding with the busy autumn intake period, according to the BBC.
