The UK government has started directly warning foreign students that staying in the country after their visas expire could result in deportation.

The Home Office said the warning comes as more students on study visas later apply for asylum, even when the situation in their home countries hasn’t changed. For the first time, students are receiving text messages and emails as their visas near expiration.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that some people are taking advantage of the system by submitting asylum claims after completing their studies. This leads to long cases that put pressure on housing and accommodation resources.

Cooper added that the government will continue to support genuine refugees, but students shouldn’t file asylum claims if nothing has changed in their home country after finishing a course.

In the year ending June, around 13% of asylum applications—roughly 14,800—came from former students, almost six times the number in 2020. Although applications have dropped by 10%, the government wants to see further decreases.

So far, 10,000 students whose visas are about to expire have been contacted, with tens of thousands more expected to receive similar alerts this autumn.

The warning message sent to students says: “If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be refused. If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”

The government has also tightened visa rules, including stricter conditions for universities sponsoring students and reducing the post-study work period from two years to 18 months.

As Parliament resumed, Cooper also announced a temporary pause on new refugee family reunion applications and confirmed that the UK-France migrant return deal will start later this month.