Leave After Visa Expiry Or Face Deportation – UK Warns Nigerians, Others

Leave After Visa Expiry Or Face Deportation – UK Warns Nigerians, Others
Over 130,000 students, families expected to receive deportation notices.
Home Office vows crackdown on student visa asylum abuse.

Thousands of international students in the United Kingdom have received direct warnings from the government to leave once their visas expire or risk removal.

According to a BBC report on Tuesday, the Home Office has launched a new campaign using text messages and emails to caution students amid rising cases of visa overstayers switching to the asylum system.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the report revealed that about 10,000 students whose visas are close to expiring have already received these warnings. The messages read: “If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”

More than 130,000 students and their families are expected to be contacted over the coming months, coinciding with the busy autumn intake period.

Home Office data shows that in 2024, around 15 per cent of asylum claims about 16,000 were filed by people who originally entered on student visas, many of which came after visas had already expired.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the system was being abused, noting that some students were applying for asylum even when no significant changes had occurred in their home countries. She stated: “We will always support genuine refugees, but people should not be using asylum as a way to remain in the UK after studies.”

Cooper added that the rising trend is placing pressure on asylum accommodation and hotel services. Of the 108,000 asylum applications made in the UK last year, 40,000 came from people who entered legally on work, study, or visitor visas, while 35,000 came through small boat Channel crossings.

Student visa holders represented the largest group of legal entrants seeking asylum, with figures nearly six times higher than in 2020, although the number dropped by 10 per cent recently. The Home Office stressed that more reductions are still required.

The message sent to students warned: “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 have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”

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