Overview

• The Home Office has begun texting and emailing about 130,000 international students and family members to say that meritless asylum claims will be refused and those without status must leave or face removal.
• Around 10,000 students with visas expiring soon have already received the warning messages outlining destitution-based support criteria and potential enforcement action.
• Universities face new sponsor-compliance rules starting this month, including tighter quotas on visa sponsorship refusals and requirements tied to overseas students completing their courses.
• Official data show 14,800 asylum claims in the year to June 2025 from people who originally arrived on study visas, accounting for about 13% of all claims as total applications reached a record near 111,000.
• Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says up to 15,000 students a year seek asylum as visas end, while the University and College Union criticizes the campaign and NISAU advises students to follow visa rules and seek support if unsure.