10,000 international students in UK receive warnings over visa overstay

• Posted on September 8, 2025September 8, 2025
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The U.K. Home Office has directly contacted about 10,000 international students and their families, warning they could face deportation if they overstay their visas.

In a message sent last week, the agency said that applications to remain in the country or seek asylum without valid grounds would be immediately rejected.

“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 U.K., you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you,” the message read.

In total, around 130,000 students and their families are expected to receive texts or emails reminding them that their visas are expiring, with an explicit warning that bogus asylum claims will be refused, according to The PIE News.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, as quoted by The PIE, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said some international students were applying for asylum “even when things have not changed in their home country” and staying in the U.K. for years afterwards, putting pressure on existing asylum accommodation.

She stressed that while the government wanted to support “genuine refugees,” students should not be claiming asylum at the end of their studies if nothing had changed in their home country.

“We need to clamp down on that kind of abuse, and that’s why we’re sending these messages – to be very clear to people the asylum system is not for people who just want to extend their visas,” she said.

In May, the U.K. government published the 2025 Immigration White Paper, which proposed reducing the Graduate Route visa duration from two years to 18 months for most international graduates, while doctoral students would still receive three years. The Graduate Route allows international graduates to remain in the U.K. after completing their studies, but they must secure graduate-level employment once their visa period ends.

The proposal, still pending formal approval, is intended to create a more controlled immigration system and curb potential abuse. However, critics warn it could hurt the U.K.’s ability to attract international students.

Jo Grady, General Secretary of the University and College Union, called the campaign “an attack on international students” that has “very little to do with visa overstays and everything to do with apeing Reform,” according to The Guardian.

She argued the government should instead focus on building a welcoming and economically strong Britain, where international students and a leading higher education sector play an essential role.

According to new data released by the Home Office, more than 110,800 U.K. student visas were approved in the first half of 2025, an increase of about 18% compared to the same period last year. The figures include students at all levels of study as well as their dependents.

However, full-year data shows a more complex picture. For the year ending June 2025, 431,725 sponsored study visas were granted, down 18% from the previous year.

This decline was driven largely by an 81% drop in dependent visas following a policy change, while visas for main student applicants saw only a modest fall of just over 4%, from 432,097 to 413,921.

“The decrease in visas issued from 2024 was due to fewer dependents following a policy change for courses starting on or after Jan. 1, 2024, whereby only researched-based postgraduate students are allowed to bring dependents (partners and children) to the U.K.,” the Home Office said.