UK Home Office warns international students to leave after visa expiry

The UK Government, led by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, is launching an unprecedented campaign to directly warn international students and their families via text and email that they must leave the country when their visas expire if they have no legal right to remain. The message emphasizes that asylum claims lacking merit will be swiftly refused and asylum support will be assessed against strict destitution criteria, with non-eligible individuals receiving no support and facing removal. This initiative is part of broader efforts to manage migration, including the beginning of returns of Channel migrants to France under a new 'one in, one out' pilot scheme. Additionally, new applications to the refugee family reunion route will be suspended temporarily, aligning refugees with standard family migration rules until further reforms are introduced. The campaign aims to reduce the number of international students making unfounded asylum claims and follows a summer of political unrest over the handling of migration. Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer has expressed support for speeding up the clearing of asylum hotels, reflecting bipartisan concern over migration management.