The United Kingdom government has issued a fresh warning to foreign students, including Nigerians, against overstaying their visas, stressing that those who fail to leave when due will be removed.
According to the BBC, the UK Home Office has launched a new campaign directly contacting students via text and email — the first time such a measure has been used.
So far, about 10,000 students with visas nearing expiry have received the messages, while tens of thousands more are expected to be contacted in the coming months.
The message reads:
“If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”
The move comes amid mounting public concern over immigration, which has boosted support for Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Tuesday that foreign students should not be making asylum claims after their studies end.
“We obviously will do our bit to support genuine refugees,” she said.
Government data showed that in the year to June 2025, 43,600 asylum seekers entered the UK via small boats, while another 41,100 — including 16,000 students — entered legally with visas before later seeking asylum.
Although student asylum claims represent only a fraction of the total, Cooper insisted the government must “tackle every single bit” of the system.
On Monday, Cooper also announced a suspension of asylum seekers’ applications for family reunions, citing concerns that criminal gangs were exploiting the process to lure migrants into dangerous Channel crossings.
Local councils have raised alarms about rising homelessness, fuelled by newly successful asylum seekers bringing in relatives before being financially capable of supporting them.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed to accelerate efforts to close asylum hotels but dismissed Reform UK’s promises as “fanciful and unworkable.”
The heated immigration debate has reignited calls for Britain to leave or suspend its membership of the European Convention on Human Rights, which has repeatedly been used to block deportations.
