International students warned by text they will be deported if they overstay their visas
Tens of thousands of foreign students have been contacted by the Home Office and warned they will be deported if they overstay their visas.
In part of separate plans to crack down on illegal immigration, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also told Gareth Barlow on Sky News Breakfast that she expects the first deportations under a new returns deal with France to begin “later this month”.
The Home Office messaging campaign comes as it says there has been a spike in the number of overseas students claiming asylum once their studies come to an end.
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The text warns that asylum applications without merit will be “swiftly and robustly refused”, and those without a legal right to remain in the UK must leave or face removal.
Nearly 10,000 students and dependents received the warning last week, but the plan is to send it to over 130,000 people in total as their visa expiry dates approach.
The full message reads: “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 UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”
The campaign is the latest step in the government’s attempt to crack down on migration.
While the summer recess has been dominated by negative headlines about small boat crossings, ministers want to bring down legal levels too, which they argue soared under the Tories.
According to the Home Office, asylum claims from legal routes – those who have entered the UK on a visa or other leave – tripled between June 2022 and June 2025, accounting for 37% (41,400) of overall claims in the year ending June 2025.
International students made up the highest proportion of claimants at 40%, followed by 29% from work visas and 24% visitors.
The data shows that over the past six months, there has been a 10% fall in student asylum claims, but the government wants this to drop further.
Ministers are under pressure to clear the asylum backlog and empty hotels after weeks of protests in many towns across the country against their use.
One way the government is trying to do this is through the previously agreed “one-in-one-out” deal with France.
Ms Cooper, speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, said she expected the first deportations to begin “later this month”.
However, she would not give a “cast-iron guarantee”, stressing the one-in-one-out deal is a “pilot” scheme.
On Monday, as Sir Keir Starmer launched “phase two” of his government with a reshuffle in Number 10, Ms Cooper also announced a crackdown on family reunion rules to deter small boat crossings.
But Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, which announced its migration policy last week, accused her of talking “waffle”.
He told Sky News: “The only way that you will create a proper deterrent is to detain and deport everybody who comes here illegally. Her measures, announced yesterday, is just more waffle. It’ll make no difference whatsoever.”
